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.

Kidley's Fm

Early-attested site in the Parish of Acton Beauchamp

Historical Forms

  • Kydele 1255 Ass
  • Kydelow(e) 1275 SR 1316 Ipm 1327,1332 SR

Etymology

This name is not as easy as it looks. The OE  pers. name Cydda is not very likely as we should expect some ME forms with u . The first element may be ME  kide , 'young goat,' though as that word is a Scandinavian loan-word we should not expect to find it so early in the west country. Alternatively, the first element might be the obscure kid (de ), 'brushwood,' recorded in the NED s.n. kid , sb. 2. Either of these would suit the suffix hlaw, 'hill,' which seems early to have been confused with leah .It may be manorial, but no other place-name Kidley or Kidlow has been noted.