Vagniacis

Attested:  Vagniacis on iter 2 of the Antonine Itinerary

Where:  Roman settlement at Springhead, Kent, at TQ 61747246 where Watling Street crossed the head of the river Ebbsfleet.

Name Origin:  ‘Marshy place’, from PIE *wegh- ‘to go’, which led to OE wagian ‘to wag, to move back and forwards’.  Hence the sense ‘quaking bog’, which Ekwall (1964) recognised in Domesday Book's Wagene, now Wawne near Hull.  Related to Welsh gwaun and Breton geun ‘marsh’.

Notes:  A parallel name exists not far away in the little river Quaggy through Greenwich and Lewisham.

You may copy this text freely, provided you acknowledge its source as www.romaneranames.uk, recognise that it is liable to human error, and try to offer suggestions for improvement.
Last edited 8 April 2020     To main Menu