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Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!
You asked for our opinion of the proposed branch name "Dreadgate". Here is what we have found.
As your own research has shown, <Dreadgate> is not a plausible medieval English place name. We have found no example of <dread> used in a place name, nor of any other place name element meaning "awesome". Medieval place names tended to be more concrete. They were named after people, features of the landscape, or obvious characteristics like color. We could not find any example of a place named for a characteristic as abstract as "awesomeness". It is quite possible that someone might have _described_ a place as "awesome", but that's not the same as _naming_ it "awesome".
It may be possible to construct a period-style place name which sounds similar to "Dreadgate", but we found nothing better than your approach to that end. <Tredgate>, derived from the Old English <Trotes gata> "Trota's road", is not entirely implausible, but it is not a likely derivation. The mixture of the Old English <Trota> and the Old Norse <gata> is supported by the place name <Holegate>, recorded in 1200. The first element of that name is the Middle English word for "hollow". The form of the first element is loosely analogous to that in <Tredington>. However, this is a modern form of a place name which derived ultimately from <Troting tune>, and is recorded as <Trotinton> in 1185 and <Tretinton> in 1195 [1]. Note that the grammatical ending <-ing> is preserved in all forms of the name. It is far more likely that <Trotes gata> would have become <Trotesgate> or <Tretesgate> and then perhaps <Tredsgate>.
It is not likely that the initial <Tr> would have changed to <Dr>. We found no analogous transformations in Middle English place names or surnames. Your example of <Debden Green>, derived from <Tippedene>, is exceptional and not analogous: <d> to <t> is not the same transformation as <dr> to <tr>.
Based on our research and yours, we conclude that there is no support for <Dread-> as a Middle English place name element. <Tredgate> is possible and may well be registerable, but it is not a good example of historical re-creation of English place names.
We can suggest an interesting way around the problem that may appeal to your group. Please ask them to consider the name <Fellgate>. The element <fell> has two or three different origins in English place names. One of them is the Old Norse word <fell> "a hill or mountain" or <fjall> "mountainous country", either of which produced the Middle English word <fell> with a similar meaning. In northern England, the element appears in place names like <Bousfell>, <Whin Fell>, <Harter Fell>. Each of these names combined <fell> or <fjall> with another Old Norse word: <bogi> "a bow, an arch, curved", <hvin> "whin, gorse", <hjo:rtr> "a hart, a stag". We found no examples of this element used as the first element of a place name. (There are other place names which start with <Fell->, but those derive from a different root, Middle English <feld> "open ground") [2].
The Old Norse <gata> is usually combined with elements denoting (i) its physical character ('broad', 'stone'); (ii) its direction or the place to which it led ('dale, valley'); (iii) a building which stands in it or to which it leads ('castle', 'church'); and other less relevant categories [2]. The Old Norse compound <Fellgata> or <Fjallgata> falls into category (ii), and means "road to the mountain" or "road into the mountains". <Fellgate> would be the expected Middle English form of either name.
If this name appeals to your group, then you're set. If not, then if you'd like our assistance in choosing a name which is more compatible with period place naming, we'd be happy to help. We hope sincerely that the group will not decide to register <Tredgate> but actually use <Dreadgate>: That would be a fraud that would do no honor to anyone.
If you decide to start from scratch and want to choose a historically accurate name, we invite you to write us again. If you can send us a general statement of the ideas you'd like to capture, we may be able to suggest something appropriate. The broader the guidelines, the more likely we can fit something to your interests.
I hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Tangwystyl ferch Morgant Glasfryn, Zenobia Naphtali, Talan Gwynek, and Maryn Grey.
For the Academy,
Arval Benicoeur
References
[1] Ekwall, Eilert, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names,
4th edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991).
[2] Smith, A.H., _English Place-Name Elements_ (Cambridge: At the
University Press, 1956).