The story
- Old English · inherited frombyriġ
- Old Norse · derived fromrauðr“red”
- Middle English · inherited fromRothebyr
- English todayRothbury
From Middle English Rothebyr, probably from Old Norse rauðr (“red”) + Old English byriġ, dative singular of burh (“fort”), since the bedrock in the area is red. However, the first element could alternatively come from Old English personal name *Hroþa, thus 'Hrotha's fort'.
Words from the same roots
Old Norserauðr all →
Rawdon
Old Englishbyriġ all →
CadburyMayberryTutbury-buryKentisburySpelsbury
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.