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.

Usselby

Major Settlement in the Parish of Usselby

Historical Forms

  • Osoluabi, Osoluebi c.1115 LS
  • Osolvebi 1156–57 YChi Ed2 Ch R1 1308
  • Osolfby 1209–35 LAHW c.1221 Welles
  • Oselby Hy2 Bard p1269 AD Hy3 RH 1275,1276 QW 1281 Ipm 1287,1293 AD 1298 Ass 1298 AD e14 FA 1316 AD 1324,1327 SR 1332 Ch 1331 AD 1344 Fine 1349 Td'E 1622
  • Oselby alias Usselby 1606 ib
  • Oselbye 1545 LPxx 1555 Td'E
  • Oselbi c.1200 RAiv
  • Oseleby 1223 Welles
  • Osilby 1386,1392 Foster 1546 Dugdiii 1619,1623 Td'E
  • Osylby 1433 AD 1474 LCCA
  • Hoselby 1331 Ch 14 AD
  • Osselby 1267,e14,1371,1379,1410 AD 1536 LPxi
  • Osselbye 1538–9 Dugdvi
  • Ossellby 1460 Foster
  • Ossilbye 1537–38 AOMB
  • Ossylby 1559 Pat
  • Uselby 13 AD 1428 ASSRxxix 1534,1655 Monson
  • Uselby als Ulceby (sic) 1647 ib
  • Uselbie 1589 Td'E
  • Uselbie otherwise Oselbie 1611 ib
  • Uselebie 1611 1612 Monson
  • Usylby 1557 Pat
  • Vsleby 1539 Monson 1618 Foster 1655 Monson 1766 Td'E
  • Vsleby otherwise Uslaby 1765 ib
  • Vsleby otherwise Usselby 1789 Td'E
  • Vslebie 1602 Terrier 1613 Td'E
  • Uslaby 1629 1687 TLE
  • Usselby 1324,1330,1345 AD 1357 Cor 1357,1358,1385,1407,1412,1424 AD 1445 ASSRxxix
  • Usselby “next” Kaster 1509–10 LPi
  • Usselby alias Ulceby (sic) 1571 Pat
  • Usselbee 1602 Monson
  • Usselbye 1610 Speed
  • Usselbie als Oselbie 1611 Td'E
  • Vssylby 1530 Willsii
  • Ussilby 1623 Td'E
  • Ussolbye 1576 Saxton
  • Ussleby 1586,1788 Td'E
  • Owssylby Hy7 ASSRxxix
  • Ousleby als Usoleby 1721 Td'E
  • Ousleby als Useleby 1721 ib
  • Ozelby 1535 VEiv
  • Uzleby 1651 WillsPCC
  • Uzleby otherwise Usselby 1721 Td'E

Etymology

'Oswulf's farmstead or village', v. . Ekwall, DEPN s.n., assumes that the first el., the OE  pers.n. Ōswulf , is here in an Anglicized form, Ōsulf , from ON  Ásulfr , ODan  Ásulf , but Ōswulf is well-attested in OE  sources, cf. John Insley, Studia Anthroponymica Scandinavica 3, 26–27, 1985. There is, therefore, no reason to doubt that the first el. is the OE  pers.n., especially in view of the fact that Scand. Asulfr is characteristically Norwegian and is rare in Denmark.

It is noteworthy that there is no trace of the OE  gen.sg. -es in the forms of Usselby. It is possible that the 12th century -a - and -e - represent a Scand. gen.sg. -a <-ar, as proposed by Ekwall, IPN 62, suggesting that the p.n. had been given by Scandinavians. For a similar development cf. Audleby, Barnetby le Wold and Worlaby, PN L 288, 8–10 and 302–3 respectively.