Thursday, 13 May 2010
Chelsea
Chelsea was first a place name of Old English origin, and the most common theory of its meaning is chalk landing place, Cealc-hyð = "chalk wharf". The Synod of Chelsea at Chelchith in 787 is often identified with Chelsea, London but the first firm record is of a manor at Chelsea just before the Norman conquest. Today this original Chelsea is part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and is pronounced \ch(el)-sea\ CHELL-see. From this origin other usages and places have arisen. For example Chelsea, Manhattan takes its name from a Federal-style house in the area which had been named after the manor of Chelsea, London. Joni Mitchell's song Chelsea Morning was named after the Manhattan district. The girl's name Chelsea is a 20th-century coinage and is also pronounced \ch(el)-sea\ CHELL-see, "Chel-sAE", or "Chels-ee-a". This name is possibly linked with British pop culture of the late 1960s and Joni Mitchell's song.
