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.

Stokeham

Major Settlement in the Parish of Stokeham

Historical Forms

  • Estoches 1086 DB
  • Stokum 1242 Fees 1280 Ass 1281 FF 1497 NtIpm
  • Stocum 1302 FA 1304 FF 1327 SR 1343 Cl
  • Stocom 1406 FF
  • Stockome 1522 Wills
  • Stockham 1542 LP
  • Stokecome 1553 Pat
  • Stokeham 1577 FF
  • Stokham 1598 ib
  • Stoakeham 1652 ib

Etymology

Ekwall (DEPN s. n. and Studies 28) takes this to be the dat. pl. of stoc , 'place, subordinate settlement,' etc. The use of this word in the dat. pl. is curious but such an etymology is on the whole, except for the late forms Stockome , Sto (c )kham , the one that is most consistent with the later sound developments. These last forms would point to OE  stoccum , 'at the stumps,' but are not consistent with the earliest or the latest forms.

Places in the same Parish