The elements Church, Kirk and Kir(k)by in English place-names and their distribution

Abstract

From the linguistic point of view, English place-names are rather heterogeneous material. This heterogeneity finds its explanation in the various relationships between different peoples of differing linguistic background who came to the British Isles and settled there. The linguistic formations of the place-names and their distribution often offer a clue as to how this heterogeneity has been formed, i. e. how various may have been the human contact of the peoples in a new land. The place-names containing church, kirk and kir(k)by will be, like many other names, plain indicators of such English and Scandinavian interrelations.