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.

Southover

Major Settlement in the Parish of Southover

Historical Forms

  • Suthoure, Suthovere 1121 AC t.Hy3 ADiii
  • Suthenore 1248 Ass
  • Suthenouere 1255 FF 1279 Ass 1282 ADv 1415 AD
  • Sothenovere 1315 ADiii 1327 SR
  • Southenover juxta Lewes 1342 BM
  • Southnore 1380 ADiii

Etymology

'The south bank,' or 'south of the bank,' v. ofer . The place was so named because it lay to the south of the Winterbourne stream supra 321. There seems to have been an alternative form compounded with suðan , instead of the more usual suð .Cf. Bestnover infra 444. v. Addenda supra v.