Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• (in regia via juxta) Seleburgh 1281 Ass

• Selbyri, Selburi hille c.1540 L

• Selbarrowe hill t.Eliz LRMB

• Selbury or Silbury Hill 1663 Aubrey

• Selbury 1754 Pococke

Etymology

Silbury Hill is (in regia via juxta ) Seleburgh 1281Ass , Selbyri , Selburi hille c. 1540 L, Selbarrowe hill t. ElizLRMB , Selbury or Silbury Hill 1663 Aubrey, Selbury 1754 Pococke.Unluckily we have very little to go upon in the interpretation of this name, and its meaning must remain as uncertain as the history of Silbury itself. From the form it is probable that the second element goes back to OE  beorg, 'barrow,' rather than to burh, for names in burh nearly always appear in the dative form bury (from OE  byrig ) in ME forms. On the other hand bury is a common corruption of burgh from beorg in the 16th century and earlier. Formally, the first part of the name may be derived from OE  sele , 'hall,' but no certain conclusions can be drawn from a solitary thirteenth-century form.