York, York, so good they named it twice, three, five times?

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Lesson 1: I’m a geek. You knew that.

Lesson 2: I’m a geek for words and their derivations. Etymology, to be precise.

Lesson 3: I’m a geek for etymology who love to amaze all around me with my findings. Just ask my parents.

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My Mum’s off to York next week with her school class. They’re going to walk around the city walls and do other historocultural things to broaden the children’s education. You may or may not know that the Latin name for York was Eboracum, a fact that has intrigued me since I learnt of it years ago, the two words not being obviously linked. So with this reminder, I took the opportunity while on skype with my Mum to google it. How did Eboracum become York?, was the question...

Eburacon (Ebur/acon)
The place now known as York was originally named Eburacon by the native Brits. Eburacon means “place of the yew trees”. Yew tree = ebor/eburos; a sacred Celtic tree.

[Another theory says that Eburacon means “estate of Eboros”, supporting a claim that Ebracus was the founding king, but this meaning doesn’t seem to me to sit right.]

Eboracum (Ebor/acum)
The Romans invaded in 43AD, and it only took them 28 years to make it north and realise the strategic position of Eburacon, being on high ground in between the junction of the two rivers, Foss and Ouse. Thus in 71AD they occupied and fortified Eburacum, and either by mispronunciation or deliberation her name was Latinised to Eboracum. As with most other things the Romans did, it kinda stuck.

Eoforwic (Eofor/wic)
Well, the Romans moved out and the Anglo-Saxons moved in. They made the former Eboracum the capital of the Northumbrian sub-kingdom, Deira, and either by misinterpretation or deliberation, confused the Celtic ebor (yew tree) with their own eofor (wild boar) and renamed the place Eoforwic, meaning “wild boar settlement”, hence the boar is often seen as a symbol of York.

[Another theory says that it was the Roman general big cheese, Legio IX Hispana, who thought that Eboracum meant “place of the wild boar”, thus the boar symbol and ebor/eofor confusion. Those at the top never do seem quite aware of the truth down on the ground, do they… but, although I quite like this story for the satirical comment, I’m afraid I can’t believe it. First, it would be a fairly startling coincidence for both the Roman guy and the Anglo-Saxons to make the same yew/boar mistake. Next, remember that the Romans left in c4AD and the Anglo-Saxons didn’t arrive until c6AD, so I don’t see how one general’s misunderstanding would so directly affect the Anglo-Saxon naming 200years later. Also, the Latin words for boar are aper and verres; not easily confusable with eboracum in the first place. Anyway…]

Jorvik
In c8AD those bearded Vikings in longships arrived, who also liked York. Either by mistransliteration or deliberation, Eoforwic became Jorvik. The written and spoken f, v and w letters have long been interchangeable in old Germanic linguistic variations, so a change of this kind does not seem to me unlikely. Incidentally the change from the Saxon f to the Viking v can be seen in the evolution of the Saxon seofan to the Viking seven, which remains today.

York
The Vikings pronounced j as y, thus Jorvik was pronounced Yorvik. Further to this, I cannot find a better explanation for the change from Yorvik to York other than that it is not an improbable linguistic leap. Even with my limited knowledge I know that there is evidence of many more, far greater linguistic leaps than this achieved by the powerful plebeians and their (mis)pronunciations, so this assumption satisfies me.

Eburacon, Eboracum, Eoforwic, Jorvik or York, I trust my Mum and the kids will have a nice day; after all, the city has a very hospitable history.