Jersey ( , ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (), is a British crown dependency.

Historic mentions

Andium (?) 4th centuryAntonine Itinerary, 4th century insula Gersoi 1022/1026.Marie Fauroux, Recueil des actes des ducs de Normandie (911–1066), Mémoire de la Société des Antiquaires de Normandie XXXVI, Caen, 1961, p. 161, § 49. insula Gerseii, var. Gersey, Gersei, Gersoii 1042.Marie Fauroux, Recueil des actes des ducs de Normandie (911–1066), Mémoire de la Société des Antiquaires de Normandie XXXVI, Caen, 1961, p. 255, § 99. Gersus ~1070.Adrian Room, Dictionary of place names in the British Isles, Bloomsbury, London, 1988, p. 188. insula de Gerzoi 1080/~1082.Lucien Musset, Les actes de Guillaume le Conquérant et de la Reine Mathilde pour les abbayes caennaises, Mémoires de la société des Antiquaires de Normandie XXXVII, Caen, 1967, p. 84, § 8. insula de Gersoi 1066/1083.Lucien Musset, Les actes de Guillaume le Conquérant et de la Reine Mathilde pour les abbayes caennaises, Mémoires de la société des Antiquaires de Normandie XXXVII, Caen, 1967, p. 94, § 11. insula Gersoi 1066/1083.Lucien Musset, Les actes de Guillaume le Conquérant et de la Reine Mathilde pour les abbayes caennaises, Mémoires de la société des Antiquaires de Normandie XXXVII, Caen, 1967, p. 97, § 12. l'isle de Gersui 1160/1174.Wace, Roman de Rou (1160/1174), édition de Hugo Andersen, Heilbronn, 1877, III, v. 5302, 5305. in Gersoio 1223/1236.Julie Fontanel, Le cartulaire du chapitre cathédral de Coutances, Archives départementales de la Manche, Saint-Lô, 2003, p. 411, § 273. Gersuy 1339.Léopold Delisle, Les actes normands de la Chambre des Comptes sous Philippe de Valois (1328–1350), Rouen, Le Brument, 1871, p. 208, § 116. Gersui 1339.Léopold Delisle, Les actes normands de la Chambre des Comptes sous Philippe de Valois (1328–1350), Rouen, Le Brument, 1871, p. 209, § 117. insula de Jersey 1372.Rôles Normands et Français et autres pièces tirées des archives de Londres par Bréquigny en 1764, 1765 et 1766, Mémoires de la société des Antiquaires de Normandie XXIII (3e série, 3e volume), 1re partie, Paris, 1858, p. 4b, § 42. insula de Jereseye 1372.Rôles Normands et Français et autres pièces tirées des archives de Londres par Bréquigny en 1764, 1765 et 1766, Mémoires de la société des Antiquaires de Normandie XXIII (3e série, 3e volume), 1re partie, Paris, 1858, p. 4b, § 46. insula de Gersey 1386.Rôles Normands et Français et autres pièces tirées des archives de Londres par Bréquigny en 1764, 1765 et 1766, Mémoires de la société des Antiquaires de Normandie XXIII (3e série, 3e volume), 1re partie, Paris, 1858, p. 5b, § 61. insula […] de Jersey 1419.Rôles Normands et Français et autres pièces tirées des archives de Londres par Bréquigny en 1764, 1765 et 1766, Mémoires de la société des Antiquaires de Normandie XXIII (3e série, 3e volume), 1re partie, Paris, 1858, p. 72a, § 393. Iarsay [read Jarsay] 1585.Gerard Mercator (1512–1594), Britannia et Normandia cum confinibus regionibus, Duisbourg, 1585 [NBF, Collection d'Anville, cote 00456 bis]. Jarsey 1693.Greenville Collins, Chart of the channell, Manche, 1693 [BNF, Collection d'Anville, cote 00757]. Jerzey 1753.Herman van Loon, D2.me [= Deuxième] carte particuliere des costes de Normandie contenant les costes du Cotentin depuis la Pointe de la Percée Jusqu'a Granville ou sont Comprises les Isles de Jersey, Grenezey, Cers, et Aurigny, avec les Isles de Brehat. Comme elles paroissent a basse Mer dans les grandes marées, Atlas Van Keulen, Amsterdam, 1753 [BN] Isle de Gersey 1753/1785.Cassini's map. Jerry 1829. Ile de Jersey 1854.V. Lavasseur, Atlas National Illustré des 86 départements et des possessions de la France, A. Combette éditeur, Paris, 1854.

The Channel Islands are mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary as the following: Sarnia, Caesarea, Barsa, Silia and Andium, but Jersey cannot be identified specifically because none corresponds directly to the present names.Dominique Fournier, Wikimanche. Furthermore, later records evoke Angia (also spelled Agna).

Andium is a Latinized version of the Gaulish (Celtic) *Andion, with and- the Gaulish intensive prefix meaning "very", "much", "big". Andium roughly translates as "big Island", Jersey being the largest of the Channel Islands. The spelling Angia could be an ultimate development of *Andia.

Some others identify it as Caesarea, a late recorded Roman name influenced by the Old English suffix -ey for "island"; this is plausible if, in the regional pronunciation of Latin, Caesarea was not but . Another theory is that the variation of the "J" sound today could be connected with phonetical cousins "g" and "k" (International Phonetic Alphabet) through variable pronunciations based on similar spelling. Theoretically, if Caesarea was originally pronounced with a "k", that may have naturally developed into a "g" sound for locals (or foreigners), making Gersei, Gersoi, or the other spellings relatable. Because "g" is pronounced as both a hard guttural "g" as in "go" and a soft "j" as in "gym" or "gem", the spelling of Jersey could be a result of the variance in its pronunciation.

The name Caesarea has been used as the Latin name for Jersey (also in its French version Césarée) since William Camden's Britannia (published in 1586), and is used in titles of associations and institutions today. The Latin name Caesarea was also applied to the colony of New Jersey as Nova Caesarea.

Angia could be a misspelling for *Augia, that is the Latinized form of Germanic *aujō (> Old English ī(e)ġ > is-land),T. F Hoad, English Etymology, Oxford University Press paperback 1993. that could have extended before the Viking Age along the coast of France, as for île d'Yeu (Augia, Insula Oya) or Oye-Plage (Ogia 7th century) and constitutes the suffix -ey in Jersey, Guernsey (Greneroi), Alderney (Alneroi) and Chausey (Calsoi).François de Beaurepaire, Les noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de la Manche, éditions Picard 1986. p. 100. Chausey can be compared with Cholsey (GB, Berkshire, Ċeolesiġ 891), interpreted by Eilert EkwallThe Concise Oxford Dictionary Of English Placenames, Oxford 1947. as "Ċeola 's island".

The ending -ey denotes an island. These -ey names could have been reinforced by the Viking heritage, because -ey is similar, so that it is possible to interpret the first part of the toponym as an Old Norse element. The source of it is unclear. Scholars surmise it derives from hjörr (Old Norse for "sword") or jarl (earl), or perhaps a personal name, Geirr ("Geirr's Island")."Jersey", Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. John Everett-Heath. Oxford University Press 2005. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Jersey Library. 6 October 2006 The personal name explanation is accepted by Richard Coates, who also discusses the names of the other Channel Islands.The ancient and modern names of the Channel Islands: a linguistic history. Richard Coates. Paul Watkins 1991.

See also History of Jersey Norman toponymy -hou

References