First attested as in uamele and vamele in 893. Potentially a compound of an unclear first component and lo (“light forest”). The first component might be cognate to Old Saxon wam (“bad”), Old High German wam (“bad”), Old English wamm (“bad”) or Old English wamm (“stain, shame”), Old Frisian wamm (“stain, shame”), Old High German wamm (“stain, shame”); however, one would expect to find an additional -m- in the toponym if this really were the case. A proposed derivation of the first element from the verb wamen (“bubble up, well up (of mud)”) does not match the timeframe of the earliest attestations.