Toponomy Myth

I have commented before on the unoriginality of our ancestors - everyone's ancestors - in naming things. A lot of rivers are just named "river" from a language previously spoken in the area. We do have some originality in Goffstown, but we wait until children are suitably mature before letting them in that the Uncanoonucs, North and South, mean "young woman's breasts." Yes, they are about the same height, knucklehead.

There has been a charming tale about an English toponym going around for some years, that Torpenhow Hill means Hillhillhill Hill, from four different languages. I am proud that I was always suspicious of the tale, finding it too neat. For example.

... is Torpenhow Hill in Cumbria, whose name seems to have grown by the addition of new elements by people who did not understand the original name: the first syllables tor is Brythonic, pen is Celtic, how is derived from the Old Norse haugr, and hill is Old English, but all four mean 'hill'.

I came across the debunking today, which seemed precise enough. The short version is that no such place name can be found in full, even the partial form is completely across the country from where it was reported to be, and each element can mean different hill aspects.

Torpenhow Hall and church, which doubtless form the nucleus of the settlement, stand on a `rising topped hill' which is itself on the northward slope of a long hill, and the name Torpenhow is doubtless descriptive of the site. The first element is the British torr, `peak', This would seem to have been compounded with British pen, Torpen then denoting `peak-head'. To this was added in Anglian days the English hoh, giving forms Torpenho and the like. The old story, that the name bears witness to three successive races--British (Pen), Saxon (Tor), and Danish (How)--is incorrect: torr, though occasionally found in Old English, is really a loanword from British and torpen may well be pure British. The added how, to judge by earlier forms in -oc and -oh (ie Torpenoc, Torpenoh), would seem to be from English hoh rather than Old Norse haugr.

The complete story here, for those interested.