Welsh toponymy
The place-names of Wales derive in most cases from the Welsh language, but have also been influenced by linguistic contact with the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Anglo-Normans and modern English.
[1] Toponymy in Wales reveals significant features of the country's history and geography, as well as the development of the Welsh language.
By stages between the 11th and 16th centuries, Wales was then subdued, conquered and eventually incorporated into the Kingdom of England while still retaining many distinct cultural features, most notably its language.
The Welsh language itself has many characteristics unfamiliar to most English speakers that can make it difficult to understand its place-names.
[3] Early inhabitants of Wales gave names first to noteworthy natural features, such as rivers, hills, mountains, harbours and shores.
Before the Roman occupation in the first century, there does not seem to have been a coming together in organised settlements, and therefore little reason to give names to such places.
For example, Abergele refers to the "mouth of the [river] Gele", Harlech means "fair rock", Rhuddlan "red bank", and Porthcawl "harbour with sea-kale".
Aberystwyth means "mouth of the Ystwyth", a river a mile or so away from the town centre, and was apparently so named as a result of confusion by the English over the different castles in the area.
An early example of a publicity stunt saw the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll ("St Mary's church beside the hollow with white hazels") renaming itself in the 1860s with an even longer title, in an attempt to keep its railway station open.
There are also places where there are ongoing disagreements over whether the Welsh spelling should be used exclusively or not, such as Criccieth (Cricieth), Rhayader (Rhaeadr), and Ruthin (Rhuthun).
[10] In other cases, the Welsh and English names clearly share the same original form, but spellings and pronunciation have diverged over the years.
Some examples of the anglicisation of place-names are the towns of Denbigh and Tenby, both derived from the Welsh name Dinbych ("little fort"); Pembroke (from Penfro, literally "land's end"); Lampeter (from Llanbedr, in full Llanbedr Pont Steffan); Skenfrith (from Ynysgynwraidd); and Barmouth (in modern Welsh Y Bermo, but originally Aber-mawdd, meaning "mouth of the [river] Mawdd(ach))".
[3] Finally, there are a number of places, listed in the table below, where the English and Welsh names have, or may appear to have, different origins.
Names given by Norse settlers, such as Swansea, Fishguard and Anglesey, tended to be adopted in English usage but not by the Welsh.
In some cases, these derive from the Brythonic names which were used during or before the Roman occupation: for example, Llundain (London), Cernyw (Cornwall), Dyfnaint (Devon), and Ebrauc/Efrog (York).
The origin of the modern Welsh name for England itself, Lloegr [ɬɔiɡr], is disputed, but one widely believed[citation needed] theory – which, however, has no etymological foundation – is that it derives from purportedly poetic words meaning "lost land", and was originally applied to areas of Mercia after the Saxon conquest before being applied to the whole of England.
Examples include Caer or Caerlleon (for Chester), Caerloyw (Gloucester), Caerwrangon (Worcester), Caergrawnt (Cambridge, from Grantchester), and Caerwynt (Winchester).
There are some erroneous "translations" such as Rhydwely for Bedford, which is actually derived from an English personal name Beda, and not the noun "bed" (Welsh (g)wely).
Examples are Bryste (Bristol) and Lerpwl (Liverpool), although some claim that Liverpool has a possible Welsh derivation from "Y Llif", a name for the Atlantic Ocean and meaning "the flood" together with "pwll" which represents the word Pool in English place names and is generally accepted as of Brythonic origin.
