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.

Findon

Major Settlement in the Parish of Findon

Historical Forms

  • Fintona 1073 France
  • Fintune 1086 DB
  • Findune 1086 DB
  • Findon t.Hy1 Durf

Etymology

Findon church, where presumably we must look for the original nucleus of the village, is at the foot of a well-marked spur, with the ground rising steeply behind it. It is probable that the first element is the OE  fin, 'heap of wood,' later used of a hill which suggested a heap. Cf. finbeorg (unidentified) in BCS 992, which Grundy (Arch. Journal 77, 61) renders 'heap- barrow.'