Repps
Major Settlement in the Parish of Repps with Bastwick
Historical Forms
- Repes 1086 DB
- Reppes 1101–7,1155–8 Holme 1152–8,1155,c.1175,1175–1200 NLCh 1196to1373 FF 1199(p),1221 Cur 1254–75 Val 1269,1286 Ass l.13 HMC 1275 RH 1302to1428 FA 1331,1334,1547 Pat 1333 Inqaqd 1339 Cl 1468 Bodl 1535 VE
- Reppis 1155 NLCh 1464 Past
- Reppys 1448 FF 1467–72 ECP
- Repples 1191,1211 P
- Reples 1203 Ass
Etymology
The name is considered to be identical with that of the parishes of N. and S. Repps, N. Erpingham Hundred. Ekwall (DEPN) assumes that Repples was the original form of the name and derives it from a side-form *ripul of OE ripel 'a strip of land', whence through back-mutation *riopul , *reopul . The meaning would thus be 'strips of arable land in a fen'. Cf. Ripple in K (PN K 572) and Ripple in Wo (PN Wo 158), both of which lie on projecting tongues of land. Cf. also Ripplemere Hundred (PN Brk I 19).
It should be noted, however, that in the case of Repps in Flegg the l -spellings are by far outnumbered by the spellings without l . Schram (176) connects the name with OWScand hreppr , ODan rep , both meaning 'district, community' (v. Cleasby-Vigfusson, Fritzner, Kalkar), and ModSw (dial.) repp 'a minor division of a sokn ' (v. Rietz).