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.

Luddenden

Early-attested site in the Parish of Halifax

Historical Forms

  • Luddingden(e) 1284–1325 WCR 1587 WillY 1645 PRHept
  • Luddigden 1307 WCR
  • Luddinden 1563 TudPD
  • Luddenden 1805 YAJxxxii,355
  • Loddingdene 1285 WCR
  • Ludingden(e) 1296,1297 WCR
  • Ludigdenn 1309 Ext
  • Loudyngedene 1462 MinAcct
  • Lodynden 1563 PRHfx
  • Lodendyn 1568 ib

Etymology

The single form Loudynge - suggests that Luddenden goes back to an OE base in hlūd 'loud' (shortened in the polysyllabic compound to Lud (d )- with the spelling variant Lod (d )-) rather than the OE  pers.n. Lud (d )a . In all probability the first el. is *Hlūding , an old name for the stream which is now sometimes called the Ludd (or more commonly Luddenden Brook (RNs.)), Ludd being a modern back- formation from the p.n. On the formation of stream-names of this type from an adj. and the suffix -ing 2 , v. EPN i, 289 § iv. 'The Ludding valley', v. denu . Topographically this is an apt description of this steep deep side-valley of Calderdale and its stream.

Places in the same Parish

Early-attested site

Other OS name