By Olof Holm
In: Ortnamnssällskapets i Uppsala årsskrift 2020
Summary
This article discusses three place-names: Hammarnäs, the present-day name of a village in Hallen parish in Jämtland, Sweden; Näset, a name occurring in old sources, denoting the same village; and Haftorsnäs, recorded in 1499 as a farm name. It is argued that Näset (OSw. Næs) was the original name of the village and that Hammarnäs (OSw. Homannenæs) and Haftorsnäs were names given to farms in this village during the late Middle Ages. The last two of these names can be explained as containing the name of the mother village as their second element and a genitive form of a male name, OSw. Hamund and Hafthor respectively, as their first element, thus meaning ʻHamund’s farm in Näset’ and ʻHafthor’s farm in Näset’. Local residents bearing the male names in question are recorded in the sources. Later on, Hammarnäs became the official name of the whole village, while Haftorsnäs and eventually also Näset disappeared.