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.

Gresham

Major Settlement in the Parish of Gresham

Historical Forms

  • Gersam, Gressam 1086 DB
  • Grasham 1194 P
  • Gresham 1233,1309,1366 FF 1234to1399 Pat 1242–3 Fees 1272 AD 1275 RH 1286 Ass 1302,1316,1401–2 FA 1306,1324 Ipm 1317 ChancWarr 1318 Ch 1347 Fine
  • Gressam 1269 Ass 1448 Past
  • Gressham 1275 RH 1346 FA 1535 VE
  • Cresham 1286 Ass 1313 DeBanco 1428 FA
  • Gresseham 1254–75 Val 1374,1375 Ipm

Etymology

OE  gærs, græs, gres 'grass' and hām or hamm , which gives two possible explanations, 'grazing-farm' or 'grass enclosure' (cf. Ekwall in DEPN and Mills). Ekwall says that the persistent Gres - spellings might suggest Scandinavian influence, but the name was certainly given long before the Viking period.