Stuntney
Early-attested site in the Parish of Ely Trinity Detached
Historical Forms
- Stuntenei 1086 DB
- Stunten(e)ie 1086 InqEl
- Stunteneia, Stunteneya, Stunteney(e) 1109 LibEl 1418 Pat
- Stounteneye 1323 Sacr
- Stuntney 1436 Ct
- Stonteneia 1086 InqEl
- Stonteney(e) 1285 Ass 1490 Ely
- Stumteneye 1283 Pat
- Stumpney 1541 MinAcct
- Stynteneye 1298 Ass
- Stantney 1576 Saxton 1610 Speed
Etymology
Both Skeat and Ekwall explain this name as'Stunta 's isle,' the personal name deriving from OE stunt , 'foolish,' v. ēg . Cf. Stonesfield (O), Stuntesfeld DB, from the strong form Stunt . It is perhaps worth noting that in the Cambridgeshire dialect, stunt means both 'blunt of manner' and 'steep.' The ultimate history of OE stunt is uncertain, but probably the physical sense 'cut off, abrupt, steep' is the earlier one, and possibly we have the adjective here, in which case the meaning would be '(at the) steep island.' Cf. “This Isle…riseth suddenly…” (1604Atkyns ).