Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Philebey (2x), Phileby (2x), Filebey (2x) 1086 DB

• Filibbi 1163 BM

• Filebi 1165etfreqto1202 P t.R1 Cur 1296 Ipm

• Fillebi 1200 FineR 1327 Banco 1475 Bodl

• Filleby 1200 BM, FineR

• Fileby 1219,1242–3 Fees 1220 BM 1225 Cur 1226–36 NCReg 1227 Bract 1242 P 1250 Ass 1275 RH 1310–1 NfD 1313,1331 FF 1322,1324,1331 Ipm 1330 SR 1340 AD

• Filiby 1223 Cur

• Phileby 1254 NfA 1254–75 Val 1286 Ass

• Phyleby 1254 FF

• Fyleby 1257(p),1269,1286 Ass 1275 Cl 1302,1316 FA 1310,1356 Pat 1324,1335 FF 1335 Bodl 1374,1375 Ipm

• Philebi 1286 Ass

• Fylby 1346,1401–2,1428 FA c.1390 AD 1405 FF 1444,1463,c.1479 Past 1535 VE

• Filby 1377,1431 Fine 1428 FA 1456,1472 Past

• Fylbye 1548 Pat

• Fylbie 1552 ib

• Fila 1042– 3 ASWills 30

Etymology

ODan  bȳ is common in this area. An ODan  pers.n. Fili , postulated as the first el. by Ekwall (DEPN), is not very well evidenced. It has been derived from place-names such as Felestad (formerly Danish, now in Sweden). In discussing the latter, Kousgård Sørensen (1958: 55) instead suggests an ODan  word *fili n., a collective noun formed from the stem *fel - in Dan  fjæl 'plank'.Such a word might have referred to a wooden foot-bridge or the like in the marshes. Insley (121 f.) prefers derivation from an OE pers.n. and draws attention to the OE  byname Fila (Osulf Fila 1042– 3 ASWills 30), which he derives from OE  fīl 'file'. An OE  name Fila also seems to be the first el. of Filendene 1241(p)Ass 'Fila's valley' (v. PN Bk 207, s.n. Fillington Farm). Mawer and Stenton (ib ) suggest that Fila is the name of which Filica is the diminutive, preserved only in Filican slæd 962 (13 Sawyer 705) BCS 1093.Filkins (PN O 320) is explained as 'the people of *Filica ' by Gelling, v. also Sandred 1988: 12 f. The church is dedicated to All Saints (v. Pevsner 133).