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.

Knowle

Major Settlement in the Parish of Knowle

Historical Forms

  • Gnolla c.1200 BM
  • la Cnolle 1221 Ass 1251 Ch
  • (la) Knoll(e) 1262 Ass 1589 ADv
  • Knowl 1540 BM
  • Knole 1589 ADv
  • Knoll 1656 Dugdale

Etymology

v. cnoll . “Having had its name originally from the situation: for in our old English, cnolle signifieth the knap of an Hill, or an ascending ground” (Dugdale 701).