Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Mortonlay 1190 P 1442 Comp

• Mortunele(g)a 1190,1193 P

• Mortonelay 1191 P

• Mortunlay 1440 SheffMan

• Morthumlay, Morthumley(e) 13 YDxvi,96 1228 Hall 1379 PT 1383 Ipm 1384 Hlm 1403 YDxii,295 1442 Comp

• Morthomley 1415 YDxvi,94

• Mortumley 1403 Hall 1441 SheffMan

• Mortomley 1584 FF 1598 SessnR 1607 FF 1822 Langd

• Old Mortomley 1785 Fairb

• Mortemley 1622 FF

Etymology

The predominance of the form Morthumlay is significant and the few spellings with Mortonlay , etc., although early, can only be conscious adjustments to a popular form of a name that was already obscure in meaning; it would certainly be difficult to explain the change of Mortun - to Morthum -, except perhaps on the analogy of Brightholmlee 222, and Withamly 229supra . Judging by the latter, Morthum might be an older p.n. to which lēah 'forest-clearing' has been added, but its origin is not clear. It could be a reduced form of morð -holmr 'water-meadow where a murder took place', but there is here no trace of -holm in the spellings, as there is in those of Brightholmlee, and topographically holmr is inappropriate; Barthomley Ch (Bertemeleu 1086, Bert (h )umleg (h ) 1260,1288, Bert (h )onelegh 1287, 1289, Bertomlegh 1290) and Marchamley Sa (Mercemeslei 1086, Mercheme (s )leg , Mercheme (s )le 1185, 1206, Marchamlegh , Marchumlegh 1229, 1327) present similar problems; both may be elliptical or contracted compounds of older p.ns. Bertūn and Merchām with OE  hǣme 'dwellers'. So Mortomley might well be 'clearing of the folk of some lost Mortun '.v. mōr , tūn .