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.

Eye

Major Settlement in the Parish of Eye

Historical Forms

  • Ege 963 ASC 12th Dugdi,390 c.1115
  • Eia 1125–8 ChronPetro
  • Eya 1189(1332),1227 Ch
  • Eye 1284 FA 1305 Pat 1306,1348 Ch

Etymology

'Island,' v. eg . Bridges (ii, 513) says it is “situate on a rising ground, and, before the draining of the fen, in winter time (was) surrounded by water.”