Placenames in Normandy have a variety of origins. Some belong to the common heritage of the Langue d'oïl extension zone in northern France and Belgium; this is called "Pre-Normanic". Others contain Old Norse and Old English male names and toponymic appellatives. These intermingle with Romance male names and place-name elements to create a very specific superstratum, typical of Normandy within the extension zone of the Langue d'oïl. These are sometimes called "Normanic".
Pre-Normanic placenames There are still a significant number of Celtic (Gaulish) names, as there are throughout France and western Europe. These names, partly mixed with Latin elements, follow the Late Latin phonetic changes that led to Langue d'oïl.
Traditional large cities Almost all the main cities kept a Romanized Celtic name, that produced the modern toponym.
BC era Rouen: from the Gallo-Romance ROTOMAGU (Latin Rotomagus), in turn from the Gaulish Ratumacos (sometimes Ratómagos, on the coins of the Veliocassi tribe). The first part of the name might refer to roto-, the word for "wheel" or "race", cf. Old Irish roth or Welsh rhod ("wheel" or "race"). The meaning of the second part, Magos, is much clearer: "field", "plain", or later "market" cf. Old Irish mag (gen. maige), meaning "field" or "plain"; Old Breton ma, meaning "place". Taken together, the whole could mean "hippodrome", "racecourse", or "wheel market". Caen: probably *Catumagus, from the Old Celtic catu-, meaning "battle", "fight", or "combat"; or the Old Irish cath (gen. catho), meaning "combat", "battalion", or "troop"; the Breton -kad /-gad and the Welsh cad, both meaning "combat" or "troop". As a whole, the name could mean "battlefield". Carentan: attested as Carentomagus. Vernon: probably *Vernomagus, meaning "plain of the alder-trees", derived from uernā, meaning "alder-tree"; or, in Old Irish, fern; and in Breton and Welsh, gwern.
AD era In the following examples, a Gaulish toponym was replaced by the name of the local tribe, according to a process well known in the later Roman Empire:
Bayeux: rooted in the civitas named Bajocassensis; which was formerly known as Augustodurum, meaning "forum dedicated to Augustus". Evreux: rooted in the civitas named Eburovicensis, formerly known as Mediolanum. Lisieux: rooted in the civitas named Lexoviensis, formerly known as Noviomagus, meaning "new market", from the Old Celtic noviios, meaning "new". Avranches: rooted in the civitas named Abrincatii; formerly known as Ingena or Legedia. There were exceptions to this practice, such as:
Coutances: derived from Constantia, meaning "dedicated to Emperor Constantius Chlorus". Lillebonne: derived from Juliobona, where Julio meant "dedicated to Julius", and bona, from the Old Celtic, meant "foundation" or "spring". (Also see Ratisbona or Vindobona). Some of these would disappear later, replaced by Normanic names; thus Coriovallum became Cherbourg and Caracotinum became Harfleur. Such changes indicate that the older inhabitants who used the earlier name were displaced by newcomers, either leaving completely or becoming a small minority. Some cities' Pre-Normanic names are not known, such as Honfleur or Dieppe.
Common northern French toponymic types The most common suffix in northern France is -acum (written -acum, -acus or -aco in early Medieval Latin documents, pronounced in Vulgar Latin as -acu), that means "place of" or "property". Its origin is the Celtic -āko(n). Originally, it was used to as the location of either a god or a people. Examples include Anualonacu, meaning "sanctuary of Anualō [a god]" and nautae Parisiaci, meaning "sailors of the Parisii [tribe]". In northern France and southern Belgium, –(i)acum became -ay, -ai, -ey, -é or -y. All of these variations are found in Normandy. Places with this suffix include Gournay, Bernay, Cernay, and Andilly. Another, generally later, variation is composed of masculine names that can be either Gaulish or Latin, for example: Massy from Gaulish Mascius; Marcilly from Roman Marcellus; Fleury from Roman Florius; and Montigny from Roman Montanius. However, the latest -acum formations are combined with a Christian or a Germanic masculine name, such as Repentigny, from the Christian name Repentin(i)us or with a Romance placename element. The most common -acum place-name in Normandy is Glatigny, of which more than 40 exist.
Romance place-name elements These come from the Vulgar Latin, but began only about 100 years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, in the 6th century AD, but we don't own any document mentioning such place-names before the 8th century with Bourville (Bodardi villa in 715). In this province, it is sometimes difficult to know if these formations (-ville, -val, -mont, -mesnil, etc.) are Pre-Normanic or Normanic, due to similarities between the two. The main romance appellatives are the following:
-ville or Ville-, meaning "farm", and later "village" -court, Cour-, or Cor-, meaning "farm with a courtyard" -val or Val-, meaning "small valley" -mont or Mont-, meaning "hill" -mesnil, -menil or Mesnil-, meaning "property"
General description In Northern France, including Normandy, the extension of -court, -ville, and -mesnil (including its variant spellings -maisnil and -ménil) corresponds generally to Frankish and other Germanic settlements. This is the most likely reason why the common word order is also from the Germanic: determinative (adjective, appellative or owner's name) plus determined (romance element). Examples include: Neuville, meaning "new village"; Bourville (Bodardi villa, 8th century) meaning "Bodard's farm"; Harcourt (Herolcurt, 11th century) meaning "Herulf's farm"; and Attemesnil (Ademesnil, 13th century) meaning "Adda's property". Less than one-third of France, the north, makes use of the Germanic ordering. In Vulgar Latin, as in Celtic, the opposite word order prevailed: determined (Romance appellative) plus determinative (adjective). This order dominates in Occitan toponymy, as well as in western France. Instead of Neuville, in the south we find Villeneuve, derived either from Occitan, Vielanova, or from a more modern name. Similarly, northern Neuchâtel, Neufchâtel, or Neufchâteau, meaning "new castle", corresponding to southern Châteauneuf or Châtelneuf, a translation of Castelnau in Occitan.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
