Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Tedingesworde 1086 DB

• Tevlingorde 1086 DB

• Tediworde, Dedigworde 1086 DB

• Thaingewrtha c.1200 Sloane

• Teingeworth 1200 Cur

• Teingewrthe 1201 Pleas 1201 Cur

• Tedingewrth' 1206 ib

• Thedingewrth' 1207 ib

• Theingurda c.1140 BM

• Theingwrtha 1154×58 Ch 1340 Dugd Hy2

• Theingworth 1156 Ch 1318 MHW 1220 Dugd 1272 RH 1276

• Theyngwrth 1276 ib

• Taingwurda 1140 Reg Stephen Ch 1340

• Tainguurda c.1155 Dane

• Taingwrde l.12 ib

• Taingwrth Hy2 Dugd

• Teingwrth 1200 Cur 1201 Abbr 1202 FF

• Teingworth(e) 1201 Nichols c.1253 RHug 1269 RGrav

• Tedingwrth 1208 FF 1209 Fine

• Tedingwurth 1250 Cur

• Tedyngworth 1330 FA 1361 Cl

• Teddyngworth' 1524 Braye

• Tedingworth 1535 VE 1539 MinAccts

• Thedingwrþe c.1130 LeicSurv

• Thedingworth(e) 1242 Fees 1247 Abbr 1299 Banco 1302 Pat 1373,1385 Banco 1580 LEpis 1607 LML

• Thedyngworth(e) 1232,1252 Fine 1313 Pat 1323 Banco 1489,1497 Braye 1538 Fine 1556 Braye

• Thedyngwurth 1250 Cur

• Theddingworth 1340 Peake 1610 Speed

• Theddyngworth 1346 Pat 1540 MinAccts

Etymology

Possibly 'the enclosure of þēoda's or Tēoda's people', v. -inga-, worð . The OE  masc. pers.n. þēoda is unrecorded but appears to be a short form of dithematic pers.ns. in þēod - such as þēodgār and þēodwulf . The form Tēoda , perhaps another shortened style of such pers.ns., does occur independently (as in 687 (12) BCS 89 (S 233) and 688 (12) BCS 72 (S 235)). However, the unique DB spelling Tedingesworde presents a genitive singular composition-joint which may well be significant, especially as a local Thedyngesthorp is recorded in 1327.

Watts CDEPN s. n. suggests as an alternative derivation for Theddingworth an earlier OE  p.n. base *Thēoding ('a place called after Theoda'), from the pers.n. þeoda plus the p.n.-forming suffix -ing 2 , hence the meaning of the whole being 'the enclosure of Theoding'.Whether he intends the enclosure to be *Thēoding itself or at a location away from it is unclear. However, any proposed p.n. constructed of a pers.n. plus -ing2 is open to serious doubt.

A more satisfactory explanation of Theddingworth is to take þēoding Tēoding as an OE  masc. pers.n. from þēoda Tēoda with an -ing suffix; -ing 3 was commonly used in the formation of singular pers.ns. such as Dēoring (from Dēor ), Hemming (from Hemma ) and Lulling (from Lulla ).Theddingworth would then mean 'þēoding's or Tēoding's enclosure', v. worð , and Thedyngesthorp 'þēoding's or Tēoding's outlying farmstead', v. þrop , þorp , where the generic may be the survival of a metathesized OE  prop rather than the common ON  þorp , in an area of the Danelaw with only minimal Scandinavian influence.