what is the origin of the place name Wraxall?

Answer 1

There seem to be two Wraxalls in the UK. One in Dorset and the other in Somerset. Both are said to mean:

'Buzzards' nook of land'.
OE *wrocc, OA halh
(note that if a word is preceded by an asterisk, it is a guess at the word which might have been the original word.)

I did a little research into Old English words and couldn't find the words 'buzzard' or 'wrocc' or anything like it mentioned in two quite extensive dictionaries online. One learns to be somewhat guarded about English name etymology but at least this doesn't just pass it off as the halh belonging to a man named Wrocc!


Wikipedia's entry for the Somerset village is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wraxall,_Somerset