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.

Great & Little Ormside

Major Settlement in the Parish of Ormside

Historical Forms

  • Ormeshouad 1145–61 YCh
  • Ormesheued, Ormesheved 12 BylE 1133–47 Weth 1202 FF 1204 Weth Hy3 Macheli,1 1223–46 Carliol 1303 Cl 1390
  • Magna- 1278 Ass13 1279 FF 1415 NWm
  • -parva 1415 ib
  • Ormsheued 1250–60 Weth
  • Ormeshefd 1323 Carliol
  • Hormesheued 1256 Ass3d
  • Hormeshed 1292 QW
  • Hormisheved 1311 Carliol
  • Ormeshed(e) 1360 Pat 1390 ShpDd 1547 Lowth(Lo.130)
  • Ormeshed(e) als. Ormside 1625 FF
  • Great als. Myckle Ormeshead 1587 ib
  • Mekil-, Mikil- 1529,1539 NB
  • Great Ormshead 1649 Hothf(B.2)
  • Ormeset Hy6 Rent
  • Ormiside 1633 PR(Wp)
  • Great Ormside, Little Ormside 1687 PR(Asb) 1777 M

Etymology

'Orm's hill or headland', from the ON  pers.n. Ormr , v. hēafod ; the first form cited is from ON  hǫfuð 'headland'. Suggestions have been made that the place is named from Orm, the governor of Appleby Castle and father of Gospatric (NB 267), but there is no evidence of this. Besides an ancient burial site near the church, a hoard of Viking weapons was found here (CW xxxiv, 171 ff, NWm 189). For the affixes v. micel , lȳtel (Lat  magna , parva ).