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.

Upleatham

Major Settlement in the Parish of Upleatham

Historical Forms

  • Upelider 1086 DB
  • Uplyum, Uplium, Uplihum 1119,1129,1230–50 Guis 1310 Ch
  • Uplithum 1140–54 Whitby 13 1280 Ch 1308 Whitby
  • Ouerlidun 1181 P
  • Uppelithum 1222–40,1239 Guis
  • Lyum 1231 Ass 1257,1292 Ch
  • Oppelidun 1314 NRS
  • Uplethum 1285 KI 16 YI 1407
  • Upleythome 1581 FF
  • Upledam 1613 NR
  • Up-Leatham 1665 Visit

Etymology

'The upper slopes' v. upp(e), hlið . The DB form represents the ON  nom. plur. hliðir , whilst the remaining forms are from the dat. plur. hliðum . For the P form Ouer -v. ufera .

The modern form of the name has arisen as follows:—ME ĭ in the open syllable was lengthened to ī and lowered to ē (written e , ey ) in the 15th cent.: this was raised to [i:] in modern times, as also in Cleveland 128supra , Kirkleatham, Healam, Skeeby, Smeaton 155, 220, 288, 211.

Places in the same Parish

Early-attested site