Ifing

Male
DWP
4 of 5

Discussion of the name

Ifing is an Old English masculine name best interpreted as an ing-derivitive of the name Ifa, which may have been of continental origin (cf. Forssner 1916: 169). It is not necessary to interpret the various DB and Exon forms as representing discrete names (von Feilitzen 1937: 249, 300, 429), and place-names containing Ifa and Ifing display a similar variety in DB spellings – such as Evinghehov (Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire), Iuintune (Ivington, Herefordshire), Iveleia (Eveleigh, Devon) and Winbroc (Ivonbrook, Derbyshire) – as well as in later medieval forms (Gover et al. 1931-2: 574; Ekwall 1960: 268).

There are two entries for Ifing in the PASE corpus, and both were moneyers: Ifing 1 was active in Exeter 1042-44 and Ifing 2 was active in Winchester 1042-55 (it is notable that the five PASE entries for the name Ifa were also moneyers, albeit from the ninth and tenth centuries). There is also a PASE entry for a variant form of the name, Yfing 1 occurring as a witness to a possibly spurious charter of 1062. This paucity of entries suggests that the name Ifing was extremely rare in pre-Conquest England.

Bibliography

Ekwall 1960: E. Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names, 4th edn. (Oxford, 1960)

von Feilitzen 1937: O. von Feilitzen, The Pre-Conquest Personal Names of Domesday Book, Nomina Germanica 3 (Uppsala, 1937)

Forssner 1916: T. Forssner, Continental-Germanic Personal Names in England in Old and Middle English Times (Uppsala, 1916)

Gover et al. 1931-2: J. E. B. Gover, A. Mawer and F. M. Stenton, The Place-Names of Devon, 2 vols. (Cambridge, 1931-2)

Forms of the name

Spellings in Domesday Book: Euing, Iuing, Juin

Variants in Exon Domesday: Iuinc, Iuingo, Juinus

Forms in modern scholarship:

  von Feilitzen head forms: Euing, Iuing

  Phillimore edition: Ewing, Ifing

  Alecto edition: Euing, Iuing, Iving

Distribution map of property and lordships associated with this name in DB

List of property and lordships associated with this name in DB

Holder 1066

Shire Phil. ref. Vill DB Spelling Holder 1066 Lord 1066 Tenant-in-Chief 1086 1086 Subtenant Fiscal Value 1066 Value 1086 Value Conf. Show on Map
Devon 16,167 Alreford Juin Ifing 'of Alreford' - Baldwin the sheriff Ranulph 'the man of Baldwin the sheriff' 0.25 0.25 0.25 - Map
Somerset 40,2 Norton St Philip Iuing Ifing 'of Norton' - Edward of Salisbury - 10.00 6.00 7.00 - Map
Wiltshire 47,1 Fonthill Giffard Euing Ifing 'of Norton' - Berenger Giffard - 5.00 5.00 6.00 - Map
Totals