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.

Hammingden

Early-attested site in the Parish of West Hoathly

Historical Forms

  • Hemelyngdenn 1296 SR
  • Hemelyngden 1332 SR
  • Hamelynden(ne) 1327 SR
  • Hamyngden 1597 Rowe
  • Hannyngden 1610 SRS14,102

Etymology

There was an OE  pers. name Hǣmele , Hēmele , a mutated derivative of a hām -stem. This might appear in ME  as Hemele , as in Hemblington (Nf), or in certain dialects (cf. Jordan, ME Grammar § 33, n. 1) as Hamele , cf. Dankton supra 202 and Danehill infra 335 and Introd. xxvii. It would seem that such a form prevailed in this name. If so the name means 'Hemele's denn' or swine-pasture, and ing is used as a connective element.