Talk:Little Berkhamsted

[Untitled]

Does anyone have any info on why Berko and LB have similar names? Most Gt++ and Little++ are situated near each other. These two settlements are not and looking at their history there is little to connect the two. Even the local name of Berko for Berkhamsted has not translated into Little Berko for LB. I would welcome some ideas. Is it two similar sounding settlements with different roots being maned the same by outsiders? Or did a Berkhamstedian settle near Essendon and so people called his settlement after where he came from given his royal connections?

There appears to be no significant historical relationship between Great and Little Berkhampsted beyond both being in Hertfordshire and their names do not derive from a common root. According to The Concise Dictionary of English Place Names by Eilert Ekwall, the derivation of the name Great Berkhamsted or Berkhamstead which is first recorded in the 10th century was 'Homestead on the Hill', whereas Little or Parva Berkhamsted or Berkhamstead was first recorded in the 13th century, and although possibly having the same original meaning it is alternatively thought to derive from 'Homestead among birches' Prehaps reflecting this, their original spellings in 'Old English' are also somewhat different. Tmol42 (talk) 12:19, 21 January 2011 (UTC)