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PLACE NAMES: (400 BC - 43 AD)

CELTIC BRITAIN

The Roman / Latin influence can especially be found in Wales and Cornwall. But the Celts covered the whole of the island, so some of their place names can still be traced.

• Tre- (hamlet) 207 Tre-places in Cornwall alone, but many in Wales: Trevone / Tredegar / Treforest / Tregaron
• Llan- (church) 370 and more: Llandudno the church of St.Tudno / Llandaff / Llanelli / Llantrisant
• Pol- (pool): Poltescoe
• Pont- (bridge as in pontoon): Pontypool / Pontypridd;
• Pen- (headland): Penzance / Penarth / Penrith / Pennines
• Porth- (cove / harbour): Porthcawl / Porthleven
• Bre- / Brae- (hill): Bredon, Worcs / Breedon, Leics / Braemar, Scotland
• Cwm- (dish-shaped hollow or valley): Cwmbran, Monmoth
• Combe: Branscombe, Devon / Ilfracombe, Devon / Cleaving Combe, Yorkshire Wolds
• Caer- (fortified camp): Cardiff: Fort on the Taff / Carlise / Canterbury / Cambridge may have a similar Celtic root
• Aber- (place where two rivers / waters meet) followed by name of the river: Aberdeen (River Don) / Aberystwyth / Abergavenny

The Celts tended to use Prefixes in their place names - rather than Suffixes (preferred by the Anglo-Saxons).

OTHER CELTIC PLACE NAMES:

• Banff, Scotland = Sow / Dover = water / Dundee / LICHfield = grey wood /LONDON - see Roman below / SALISbury

CELTIC RIVER NAMES - many mean 'Water':

• Avon (9) / Derwent (4) - clear water / Esk / Exe / Menai - narrow water / Ouse / Stour (Kent) - fast flowing / Tawe - quiet twisting river / Thames - smooth water / Usk - a river full of fish / Wye - twisting river

Sacred Celtic river names were largely left unchanged by waves of later invaders. Perhaps it was considered taboo to change them!

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