Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Feresbi 1086 DB

• Feringebi 1239 FF

• Feringesby(e), Feryngesby(e) 1269 Linds 1301 YI 1316 Vill 1576 FF

• Feryngisby(e) 1522 KnaresWill

• Feringsby(e) 1583 PRFrn

• Ferinsby, Ferinsbie 1606 KnaresWill 1609 PRFrn

Etymology

The first el. may well be, as Ekwall suggests, ON  fǽreyingr 'a man from the Faroe Islands', v. bȳ .It is also possible that it is an OE  fear (n )ing meaning 'a man from the adjacent parish of Farnham' (v. 91supra ), an elliptical formation in -ing of the type found in Buckingway C 173 (named from 'the men of Boxworth', cf. EPN i, 302). Although in many p.ns. containing fearn there is a loss of -n (as in Fareham Ha, Fernham 1086 DB, Fereham c. 1130), Farnham itself rarely shows this loss (cf. Phonol. § 45).