Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Crakintorp 1254 Ipm

• Crakinthorpe 1610 Kendii,235

• Crakangthorp 1290 ib

• Crakenthorp 1517 1524 MinAcct 1630 Kendii,236

Etymology

Crackenthorpe (lost), Crakintorp 1254 Ipm, Crakinthorpe 1610 Kend ii, 235, Crakangthorp 1290 ib 218, Crakenthorp 1517 ib 232, 234, 1524MinAcct , 1630 Kend ii, 236. The place was described as 'in the vill of Bethom on the water of Betha ' in 1290 (Kend ii, 218) and 'in Kendale ' in 1517 (ib 232). The name is clearly of the same origin as Crackenthorpe (ii, 101infra ) and Cracanethorp in Caton (La 247). Ekwall (DEPN s.n.) has suggested for the first el. an ON byname related to Norw  krakande 'one who walks with difficulty' (Ross), though it would be noteworthy if this otherwise unrecorded pers.n. should appear thrice in p.ns. in combination with þorp 'hamlet, secondary settlement'. It is therefore possible that the first el. is ME  crakkande 'cracking, breaking' and refers to a farm building which is breaking down, but the single -k - is against this.