Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Anne 1086 DB

• Parva Onne 1271 Ass 1293 FF 1545 1327,1332 SR 1485 Banco

• Littell Onne 1545 FF

• Littelonne 1590 QSR

• Oune parva 1373 IpmR

• On parva 1577 Saxton

• Little On 1610 Speed 1755 Bowen

• Little Onn 1775 Yates 1834 O

Etymology

Ekwall tentatively suggests for Onn the Welsh  odyn 'kiln' from older Pr.Welsh  *otn . But Professor Jackson in a private letter informs me that he does not know of an etymology for odyn and that it certainly does not come from *otn , and must have been in Old Welsh  odin (spelt *otin ); cf. Old Cornish Oden . 'Even if the Old Welsh  had been odn (spelt *otn ), would not the d have been assimilated to the n when borrowed?' 'I should have thought that an obvious etymology for Onn was Welsh  onn “ash trees”, called probably after a local stream (cf. R. Onny (Sa) (Onye 1236 FF, Oneye 1301 For, RN310, “river on whose banks ashes grew”, v. on , ēa )), if it had not been for the forms with t .'

We might dismiss the early forms as errors, for the DB scribes were obviously confused by what they had before them and their two attempts can be ignored.