Hampton (place name)

The place name Hampton is of Old English origin and is common in England, particularly in the South of England and Central England. It can exist as a name in its own right or as a prefix or suffix. The name suggests a farm settlement, especially one where pastoral farmers keep livestock on flood-meadow pastures.

The name was exported around the world both as a place-name and as a surname, especially to those countries where the English language is an official language. Examples of place-names include:
 * Hampton – Australia
 * Hampton – Canada
 * Hampton – United States

Etymology
The English toponymist P. H. Reaney has suggested that the name element Hampton may derive from:
 * 1) Old English hām + tūn – "village with a home farm".
 * 2) Old English hamm + tūn – "village with a flood-meadow or pasture".

The English toponymist Victor Watts has suggested the following possibilities:
 * 1) Old English hēah + tūn – "high settlement"
 * 2) Old English hamm + tūn:
 * 3) "settlement or estate in a river bend".
 * 4) "settlement or estate between rivers".
 * 5) Old English hām + tūn – "home farm".

Examples (home farm)
Examples of Old English hām and tūn – "village with a home farm":

Examples (meadow)
Examples of Old English hamm and tūn – "village with a flood-meadow or pasture":

Examples (high settlement)
Examples of Old English hēah and tūn – "high settlement":

Hampton

 * Hampton, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
 * Hampton, Cheshire
 * Hampton, Herne Bay, Kent
 * Hampton, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
 * Hampton-on-the-Hill, Warwickshire
 * Hampton in Arden, Solihull, West Midlands
 * Hampton, Worcestershire

Hampton (prefix)
Examples of Hampton followed by a name, usually of a landowner:
 * Hampton Gay, Oxfordshire
 * Hampton Poyle, Oxfordshire
 * Hampton Loade, Shropshire
 * Hampton Lucy, Warwickshire
 * Hampton Lovett, Worcestershire

Hampton (suffix)

 * Littlehampton, West Sussex
 * Northampton, Northamptonshire
 * Southampton, Hampshire
 * Sevenhampton, Gloucestershire
 * Sevenhampton, Wiltshire
 * Wolverhampton, West Midlands