 The name is derived from "maes", meaning "field" or "plain" in Brythonic Welsh,
and "burh", meaning fort in Old English.There is also a record of the name "Merksburi" in 705 AD, meaning "boundary fort".The area was a boundary between the Romano-British Celts and West Saxons during the period 577-652 AD, when the nearby Wansdyke fortification comprised part of the border.