Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Chenet 1086 DB

• Chenot 1162,1173 P

• Cancia (sic) 1155 StCart

• Canet 1203 Ass

• Can(n)oc, Can(n)ok(e), Kan(n)oc, Kan(n)ok(e) c.1135–40 StCart 1153to1272 MRA 1198,1212,1236 Fees 1199,1231 MemR 1195,1230 P 1212–17 RBE 1222to1407 Pat 1234to1260 Cl 1230 Ch 1368 1256,1298 Misc 1271 For 1317 CoramR 1332 SR 1428 FA

• Can(n)ock(e), Kannock(e) 1151,1285,1292 MRA 1228,1237 Lib 1230 Ch c.1255 RH 1293 Ipm 1610 Ct

• Gan(n)ok, Gan(n)oc 1245 BM 1262 Lib

• Gannok vel Kannok 1221 ClR

• Chnoc 1130 P

• Chnot 1170 P

• Cnot 1156 P 1196 P

• Knot 1166 P

• Canot 1157to1215 P

• Kanot 1187 P

• le Cank(e) 1403 Cl 1415 CoramR 1432,1479 Banco 1518–29 ECP 1610 Speed

• Cannock als Canck 1493 Ipm 1584 Comm

• Cannock vulg' Cank 1686 Plot

• Cannock 1695 Morden 1834 O

• the vill of Kannokebire EdI AngleseyCh

• Cankbur' 1293 QW

• Kankbury 1352 Banco

• Canocbir', Kanocbir', Kanocbur' 1259 Ch c.1291 Tax

• Kan(n)ocbury, Can(n)o(c)k(e)bury, Can(n)o(c)k(e)buri 1259 MRA 1286 For 1290 Ch 1293 QW 1316 FA 1333 Ass 1360 Banco

• Canuc 956 (14) BCS 969 (Sawyer 609)

• Chnoc 1130 P

Etymology

In addition to the above and similar forms, it has until recently been customary to adduce the form Canuc 956 (14) BCS 969 (Sawyer 609) in support of a Celtic origin. Ekwall in EPN quotes *cunaco- 'hill'; Professor Kenneth Jackson points out that this is entirely bogus, and that the supposed PrWelsh  *cuno - 'high' is a ghost word, and does not exist. v. further Journal of Roman Studies xxviii (1948), p. 56. In any case, as the authors of The Names of Towns and Cities in Britain 66 point out, the charter in question does not refer to St, but rather to either Ha or W. This being so, we have to discard the BCS form altogether, in which case we must interpret the above forms as they stand. Ignoring Canuc as of British origin, it is clear that most of the forms derive simply from OE  cnocc 'hill' or 'hillock' modified by Norman pronunciation to canoc with the insertion of a vowel between two consonants. The standard parallel example is Cnut becoming Canute . In IPN 1 (i) Zachrisson lists Cannock (St) as an example of this, though not entering into detail. The hill or hillock in question would be Shoal Hill in the neighbouring township of Huntington on its border with Cannock. Chnoc 1130 P illustrates the older form before the development of the inserted vowel. The forms with final -t , Cnot , Canot for C (a )noc are scribal confusions, but such forms gain a certain acceptance in written documents until they finally disappear. The DB form shows a svarabhakti vowel and a scribal final ending. The forms with intial G - for K - (Gan (n )ok ) are due to Anglo-Normal scribes.