English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

South Kilworth

Major Settlement in the Parish of South Kilworth

Historical Forms

  • Alterius ~ 1220 MHW
  • Alia ~ 1209×35 RHug
  • Australis ~ Hy3 BM
  • ~ Rogeri 1249 RGros
  • ~ Rog' 1254 Val 1285 FA
  • ~ Roger 1344 Nichols
  • Suth ~ 1237 RGros 1268 Cur 1285 Banco 1328 1370 et passim
  • South(e) ~ 1309 Ferrers 1316 FA 1376 Wyg 1383 Goodacre
  • Sowth ~ 1526 LWills 1553 Pat
  • ~ South 1309 Ferrers 1376 Wyg 1502 MiscAccts
  • ~ Regis (sic) 1428 FA 1510 Visit

Etymology

For principal forms and interpretation, v. adjacent North Kilworth supra .The settlement is recorded independently in the Domesday Survey of 1086 by the garbled spelling Cleveliord (×2). The development of the name is otherwise as for North Kilworth.

Rogerus de Suthkiuelingworth is recorded in 1285 Banco and held the manor from the mid 13th century as the affixes ~ Rogeri and ~ Rog ' indicate. The later use of ~ Regis 'of the king, belonging to the king' is doubtlessly an error arising from misreadings of the abbreviated ~ Rog ' as ~ Reg '. South Kilworth was never a royal manor. A similar mistake may well have created a Studley Royal from Studley Roger, v. YW 5190, 192.

Note MLat  alterius , MLat  alia 'another, the other (of two)', MLat  australis 'southern'; and v. sūð .