Historical Onomastics

doi:10.1017/9781009205702.023

20 - Historical Onomastics

from Part III - The Long View by Levels and Areas

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 October 2025

Richard Coates

Edited by

Laura Wright and

Raymond Hickey

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Laura Wright: Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Raymond Hickey: Affiliation:
University of Limerick

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Summary

After a brief discussion of the nature of names and naming in general, the central sections of this chapter chart the history of given names (personal names), surnames and place-names from the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain to the present day. Names formed in English and the naming practices of English society are foregrounded, but attention is necessarily paid to names and practices adopted from speakers of other languages. Matters of significance include the near-total loss of English-language given names, the rise of surnaming as a new practice, and the intimate link between place-naming and changes in land-use practices. English is now a global language, but discussion is mostly confined to naming practices in England.

Keywords

names naming onomastics given names surnames place-names anthroponymy toponymy

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: The New Cambridge History of the English Language
Context, Contact and Development
, pp. 791 - 848

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009205702.023 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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