Who?
A big name in toponymy/toponymics/toponomastics, at least in the UK.
Founded English Place-Name Society (1923), which promoted a
county-by-county survey of place names of England.
The "new" toponymics seems to involve applying to place names the same
criteria we apply to etymologies in general, rather than just retailing
local folklore.

"...it is impossible to place any satisfactory interpretation upon the
history of a name until we have traced it as far back as the records
will allow....in many cases, unless the records go a good way back, speculations upon its meaning are worse than useless." (Mawer, quoted by Crystal)

I recently responded to a query from someone in the USA, in a state a
long way from the Pacific, about a local place name said to be of
Polynesian origin (and said to have a certain meaning). The origins of
the name turn out to go back less than 50 years -- if they are not
completely made up (by persons still living) they go back to garbled recollections of something someone remembered the locals saying on a
Hawaiian vacation. Of such are place name etymologies in utero, I would say.

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Ross Clark <benlizro@ihug.co.nz> wrote:

Who?
A big name in toponymy/toponymics/toponomastics, at least in the UK.
Founded English Place-Name Society (1923), which promoted a
county-by-county survey of place names of England.
The "new" toponymics seems to involve applying to place names the same criteria we apply to etymologies in general, rather than just retailing
local folklore.

"...it is impossible to place any satisfactory interpretation upon the history of a name until we have traced it as far back as the records
will allow....in many cases, unless the records go a good way back, speculations upon its meaning are worse than useless." (Mawer, quoted by Crystal)

Could that be the guy who found out that a certain Woodhill was in fact Wolfdale?

I recently responded to a query from someone in the USA, in a state a
long way from the Pacific, about a local place name said to be of
Polynesian origin (and said to have a certain meaning). The origins of
the name turn out to go back less than 50 years -- if they are not
completely made up (by persons still living) they go back to garbled recollections of something someone remembered the locals saying on a
Hawaiian vacation. Of such are place name etymologies in utero, I would say.

How quaint.

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* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)