The Etymology of Everton
All of the followers of this website share one thing in common: we all support Everton. That's simple, isn't it. That name unites us all. Commonly heard ringing out from the creaking old stands of Goodison Park whenever the team gets a corner, it has spurred on many great sides down the years, changing the outcome of hundreds of matches...
"Everton, Everton, Everton!" That is thousands of people passionately shouting without realising that it is just three syllables, just one word, meaningless to the majority of the world. Despite the constant use in everyday life, I'm sure the majority of fans have never even thought about what it means or what many of the other terms associated with us are doing in Everton's lexicon. Where did they come from? What do they mean?
A simple search of Wikipedia gives you these answers but I'm certain its something that most have never done. Take our original name as an example, St Domingo's FC. Inspired by the Methodist Church that founded the club, this served as our title from 1878 to 1879 and has left a mark on Everton throughout their history.
Currently, another Toffees fan-page as well as Everton's own cosmetic range take their name from this church which in turn owes its origins to none other than Saint Dominic, a 12th century monk. Born in Spain and rumoured to have been involved in the Medieval Inquisition, a predecessor to the infamous Spanish Inquisition, the man is the patron saint of astronomers (remember this if partaking in an especially difficult pub quiz!).
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He also gives his name to the Dominican Republic and its capital, Santo Domingo, the Spanish translation. Strangely, for our early team name, "saint" was Anglicised rather than written as "santo", whereas Dominic was used in its Spanish format. Don't ask me why!
Another example people may not have thought about very much is our very own Goodison Park. Almost 40,000 spectators visit the Grand Old Lady every fortnight yet barely any know of its derivation. Obviously, Goodison Road is adjacent to the stadium and provided the ground with a name. However, this street was called "Goodison" by the Walton Local Council who were given a sewage report of it by George Goodison, a local civil engineer, in 1882. As a result, part of our identity is indebted to Liverpool's 19th century sanitation system. Furthermore, the road and ground could easily be called Smith, Johnson, or any other common surname you could care to mention. How weird would that be?
Finally, the name 'Everton' itself is also easily explicable but not widely known. The "Ever" in our name comes from the Saxon word "eofor" meaning wild boar, and the "ton" equates to "town". Eofor is also coincidentally the name of a minor prince in JRR Tolkein's Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as a godly character in Beowulf, the oldest English poem. Evidently, when the small village of Everton was formed sometime in the 12th century, there must have been plenty of wild boars roaming the area.
Therefore, next time you're standing on the Gwladys Street (Gwladys means Princess in Welsh) when Everton have a corner, maybe you should think to yourself:
I am singing about wild boars in a stadium named after a sewage worker, in support of a team inspired by the patron saint of astronomy.
You learn something new everyday!
Reader Comments (30)
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2 Posted 06/04/2015 at 16:42:02
Being a relatively new fan and not being native to Liverpool (or England), it was a very interesting and informative read and I must thank you for it.
3 Posted 06/04/2015 at 16:55:41
Everton
4 Posted 06/04/2015 at 17:06:37
5 Posted 06/04/2015 at 22:16:43
6 Posted 06/04/2015 at 22:44:19
7 Posted 06/04/2015 at 22:56:39
8 Posted 06/04/2015 at 23:05:02
9 Posted 06/04/2015 at 23:05:58
10 Posted 07/04/2015 at 00:29:25
Perhaps Ferguson was the last of the wild boars to roam our sacred turf.
11 Posted 07/04/2015 at 05:26:05
The only thing is we are still seeing the Spanish pie in the sky philosophy and a load of shite is still emanating from Goodison Road.
12 Posted 07/04/2015 at 06:34:41
So pig's hill (Everon Brow?)
13 Posted 07/04/2015 at 06:58:35
14 Posted 07/04/2015 at 08:19:26
Everton and Swindon = uncomfortably close etymology for somebody who's had to live in that soul-less pig hill for 20 years while supporting the magnificent blues for around 35...
15 Posted 07/04/2015 at 08:17:51
Actually, Vicky was heard to mutter "þàra Ãdelnessa bastards æt Kitbag béo butan bearns clàþas edgrówung" as she left.
Loosely (very) translated as "Those useless bastards at Kitbag are out of kids sizes again".
16 Posted 07/04/2015 at 08:25:24
Patrick (#3), Apparently when they were in the shop they could only buy Man Utd, Arsenal or Chelski shirts.
17 Posted 07/04/2015 at 08:42:46
18 Posted 07/04/2015 at 08:47:02
My reference for eofor is A History of Britain - the Saxons and the Normans by Tim Wood (obviously an Evertonian). "Ton" is Anglo-Saxon for hill or farm, so Everton may have originally been a pig-farm on the hill!
19 Posted 07/04/2015 at 11:04:05
20 Posted 07/04/2015 at 12:43:49
21 Posted 07/04/2015 at 19:32:42
22 Posted 07/04/2015 at 21:46:03
We play like a bunch of wild boars, and it usually all ends in shite.
Please Lord, let us aspire to the heavenly heights our Patron Saint attends to.
Amen.
23 Posted 07/04/2015 at 19:41:19
Any new stadium we may build will probably have a naming rights tie in. I wonder if, in a hundred years time, someone will point out that the Cadbury Park was once...
24 Posted 08/04/2015 at 00:30:59
25 Posted 08/04/2015 at 01:46:34
26 Posted 08/04/2015 at 08:57:30
Incidentally the Catalan word for boar is "verro", e-verro-ton.
28 Posted 08/04/2015 at 17:32:01
29 Posted 08/04/2015 at 21:11:21
Our nickname is genuine and not conveniently manufactured.
Our Chilean Family of Evertonians also have nicknames which echo our own..........
Los oro y cielo (The gold and sky)
Ruleteros (Roulette players)
Los del Cerro (The Ones from the Hill)
"The Ones From The Hill" ! ... Was it just me that had hairs stood up when I read that?
30 Posted 09/04/2015 at 13:40:50
31 Posted 09/04/2015 at 14:10:24
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1 Posted 06/04/2015 at 16:38:58
The juxtaposition of wild pigs, a man whose business was a load of shite, and another bloke with his head in (or beyond) the clouds seems to sum everything right now!