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The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland

@snsbi.bsky.social

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The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland. Follow us for updates on events, publications and other name-related news. https://www.snsbi.org.uk/index.html

www.snsbi.org.uk

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The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · May 11

Discover routes into names and name studies with the Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland! Our new SNSBI website contains lots of material on place-names and surnames, with name-stories focussing on interesting examples.

Exploring names - SNSBI

www.snsbi.org.uk

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The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 1h

As well as empowering us with the knowledge that multilingualism and multiculturalism are as much a part of our past as they are of our present, place-names have an important role to play as we face the challenge of renewing our relationship with our natural environment and living more sustainably.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 1h

Given this close relationship between Northern Brittonic and Gaelic, it is easy to see how Northern Brittonic place-names were adopted and adapted by Gaelic-speakers during the period in which Gaelic became the main community language in this part of what is now Scotland.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 1h

Like the Northern Brittonic word, this Gaelic word is also used in numerous place-names referring to the kind of lush-green vegetation to which its related Northern Brittonic word referred in the name Glasgow.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 1h

Its elements are glas ‘green’ and ceu ‘hollow’, and the name means ‘green hollow’, referring to the area near Glasgow Cathedral where the Molendinar Burn flows through a deep, natural hollow. The Northern Brittonic word glas has a related word in Gaelic: glas.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 1h

Glasgow has an established Gaelic form, Glaschu, but this is in fact an adaptation of an older name of Northern Brittonic origin.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 1h

Our next name story comes from Glasgow, Scotland, and is written by Dr Alasdair Whyte, Lecturer in Celtic Onomastics at the University of Glasgow.
www.snsbi.org.uk/exploring-na...
@namestudies.bsky.social @ainmean-aite.bsky.social

Glaschu ~ Glasgow and Gart nan Gad ~ Garngad - SNSBI

This story looks at some Glasgow place-names which tell us about the natural environment through a language which was the mother tongue of the area’s communities for several centuries: Gaelic.

www.snsbi.org.uk

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The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

The Norman Conquest brought a radical upheaval to all levels of English society. The English adoption and adaptation of the Norman baptismal name stock was both a public and an intimate process by which the ruled and their rulers began to develop a new, continentally English identity.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

As such, Hitchcock has two stories to tell. It exemplifies the primarily patriarchal nature of family life in England’s long history, and it shows how personal naming reflects and manages social change.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

But the old usages are still with us, largely unrecognised, in patronymic surnames that had become hereditary before 1500, including rhyming ones such as Hitchcock.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

It is a different matter with pet-forms, which tend to be less stable over time. Since the 16th century many of the medieval English pet-forms have been progressively abandoned.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

Most of the Norman R- names, including Richard, Robert and Roger, have continued as English first names at all levels of society up the present time, a span of around 900 years. It shows how strong traditions can be in the naming of children.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

These rhyming pet-forms, as well as the hypocoristic suffix -cok, were largely associated with the English rural peasantry (free and unfree) and the labouring folk in towns.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

An alternative was to rhyme these names with an initial D-, as in Dick, Dob and Dodge.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

An even more striking novelty was to play with the initial consonant to produce a rhyming form. Hitch and Hick are pet-forms of Richard (alias Rickard) and belong to a set that are rhymed on a name beginning with R-, such as Hob (Robert) and Hodge (Roger).

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

Hitchcock represents a peculiarly English way in which ordinary folk familiarised new Norman names as pet-forms. The suffix ‑cok is not French but English, probably a double diminutive ‑k-oc, giving rise to pet-forms such as Hancock (Henry), Tomcock and Wilcock.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

It is a hypocorism (or pet-form) of the baptismal name Richard, which the French-speaking Normans brought to England after the Conquest of 1066.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

The name derives from the Middle English personal name Hichecok, and is itself a product of a much earlier assimilation and eventual integration of immigrants into English life.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

The film director Alfred (Joseph) Hitchcock (1899–1980) has made this a household name. Known as the ‘Master of Suspense’, he directed more than fifty thrillers from the late 1920s to the 1970s, many of them regarded as cinematic masterpieces.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

@englishplacenames.bsky.social, @logainm.bsky.social, @placenames.bsky.social, @ainmean-aite.bsky.social, www.ulsterplacenamesociety.org, spns.org.uk

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · 25d

Our next family name story is 'Hitchcock: a southern English family name' and is written by Peter McClure, Honorary Professor (Name Studies) at the University of Nottingham. @namestudies.bsky.social

www.snsbi.org.uk/exploring-na...

www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/peop...

Hitchcock - SNSBI

This name story traces the history of the family name Hitchcock, best known today as the name of the film director Alfred Hitchcock.

www.snsbi.org.uk

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The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · Sep 9

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · Sep 9

The theme is 'Names Abroad - Names from Abroad'. The conference, organised by Peder Gammeltoft (University of Bergen), will focus on two interconnected areas:
A) Current Name Research in Scandinavia, of relevance to Britain and Ireland
B) Names of other origins in Britain and Ireland and elsewhere.

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The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · Sep 9

Registration is now open for the SNSBI 2025 Autumn Day Conference, which will take place online via Zoom on Saturday 25 October (11.00 to 16.30) - do join us!

Booking is via Eventbrite link: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/names-abro...

Abstracts are available here: www.snsbi.org.uk/2025_autumn_...

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The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · Aug 25

Professor Owen continues to contribute his expertise as a member of the Welsh Language Commissioner’s panel on place-names. A respected public speaker and cultural advocate, he remains deeply engaged in local/national initiatives to promote awareness/appreciation of Welsh place-names and heritage.

The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social · Aug 25

Professor Owen has served as president of the Welsh Place-Name Society @placenames.bsky.social, the Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland @snsbi.bsky.social, and the English Place-Name Society @englishplacenames.bsky.social.