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.

Brattleby

Major Settlement in the Parish of Brattleby

Historical Forms

  • Brotulbi 1086 DB
  • Brotulby 1400 Pat
  • Brotulebi c1115 LS
  • Brotolbi c1115 LS
  • Brotebeia 1123,1126 France
  • Brotebeya 1223 DuLaCh
  • Brotebi 1192,1193,1194,1195 P 1207 et passim
  • Brotelbi 1191 P lHy2 Dane 1202 Ass 1212 Fees 1232 RAii 1234 Cl 1242–3 Fees 1248 FF c1260 RAix 1275–6 RH ?1280–90 Cl 1416
  • Brotlebi l12 Dane 1202 Ass
  • Brothelby 1235–48 RAiv 1282 DuLaCh 1282 Ch
  • Brottelby 1242–3 Fees 1254 ValNor 1322 Pat 1318 Orig 1331 Cl
  • Brotilbi 1303 FA
  • Brotilby 1343 NI 1395 Peace 1405 Cl 1408 Pat 1428,1431 FA 1516 Sub 1638 WollCh
  • Brotylby 1409 Inqaqd 1428 FA
  • Brottilby 1277 RRGr 1303 FA
  • Brottylby 1535 VEiv
  • Brottylbye 1608–9 DuLaMB
  • Bratelby 1375 Peace
  • Bratelbie 1576 LER
  • Brattelbie 1585 SC
  • Bratylbye 1539 LP
  • Bratlebye 1576 Saxton 1610 Speed

Etymology

'Brot-Ulf's farmstead, village', v. . The first el. is the unrecorded ON  pers.n. *Brot -Úlfr , to date found only in this p.n. The pers.n. is of the same type as *Lag -Úlfr , 'Law-Ulf', the first element of the wapentake name Lawress (q. v .). The first component of *Brot -Úlfr belongs to ON  brot n. which has the primary sense 'fragment', but its semantic field appears to have been widened and shifted in compounds, cf. ON  brotfeldr adj. 'epileptic'. Lind also cites a Modern Norwegian term brotakar 'an incautious and impetuous person' (LindB 45).