{"id":31655,"date":"2014-04-11T00:10:47","date_gmt":"2014-04-11T07:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=31655"},"modified":"2014-04-10T23:13:33","modified_gmt":"2014-04-11T06:13:33","slug":"origins-names-historic-counties-wales-northern-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2014\/04\/origins-names-historic-counties-wales-northern-ireland\/","title":{"rendered":"The Origins of the Names of the Historic Counties of Wales and Northern Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wales\"<\/a>Today I found out<\/a> the origins of the names of the historic counties of Wales and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

WALES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anglesey<\/b><\/p>\n

Anglesey is believed to be a Viking place name. The Vikings denoted islands with the suffix \u201cey.\u201d The best bet is that Anglesey started out as \u201cOngl\u2019s Ey,\u201d but no one knows who Ongl might have been.<\/p>\n

Brecknockshire<\/b><\/p>\n

Brecknockshire, as well as Brecon, stem from the old kingdom of Brycheiniog. The kingdom was likely established in the 5th<\/sup> century by Irish raiders and acted as an independent kingdom in the Brecknockshire area through the middle ages. Unfortunately, we don\u2019t know what Brycheiniog itself means. Tradition says that the kingdom was founded by a man named Brychan, and if that\u2019s true then it\u2019s possible it simply means something like \u201cBrychan\u2019s place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caernarfonshire<\/b><\/p>\n

Back in the day, this place used to be known as Caer-yn-afron<\/i>, which meant \u201cstronghold opposite the island.\u201d In this case, that island would be Anglesey, which is just off the coast of Caernarfonshire.<\/p>\n

Carmarthenshire<\/b><\/p>\n

The marthen<\/i> part of <\/i>Carmarthenshire comes from the Celtic Moridunon,<\/i> which the Romans translated to Moridunum.<\/i> It means \u201csea fort.\u201d The car<\/i> part is probably derived from caer<\/i>, which as you can see above, means something along the lines of \u201cstronghold.\u201d Bonus<\/span> fact: in Welsh, this area is known as Caerfyrddin<\/i> \u2013 that is, \u201cfortress of Merlin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cardiganshire<\/b><\/p>\n

This is an anglicised version of Ceredigion,<\/i> which literally means \u201cCeredig\u2019s land.\u201d Ceredig was a man who lived in the area sometime in the fifth century. Yes, this is also the origin of the word for the button-up sweater, which was named after James Thomas Brudenell, the Earl of Cardigan, in the 1860s.<\/p>\n

Denbighshire<\/b><\/p>\n

Denbighshire is taken from the Welsh Denbych<\/i>, which means \u201clittle fortress.\u201d The county takes its name from the town, which was established in the 11th<\/sup> century. In the early 1200s, it was captured by the English and submitted to English rule.<\/p>\n

Flintshire<\/b><\/p>\n

There are a couple of theories about how Flintshire got its name. Some believe that it was once named Llyn-dinas, which meant \u201clake fortress,\u201d and that was later corrupted into \u201cFllynd\u201d and changed to \u201cFlint.\u201d An alternative is the more obvious meaning: it was named for the rock on which the castle was built upon.<\/p>\n

Glamorgan<\/b><\/p>\n

Glamorgan is a shortened version of gwlad Morgan<\/i>. The word gwlad<\/i> in Welsh means \u201ccountry.\u201d Morgan comes from the Old Welsh Morcant<\/i>, which means \u201csea circle.\u201d Gwlad Morgan was a kingdom between the Wye and Tawe Rivers.<\/p>\n

Merioneth<\/b><\/p>\n

This is derived from the Welsh Meirionnydd. Meirion<\/i> is derived from the Roman Marius<\/i>, which is related to Mars, the god of war, or from the Latin mas<\/i>, meaning male. The word mynydd<\/i> means \u201cmountain\u201d or \u201cmoorland\u201d in Welsh, which might be the origin of the end of the name.<\/p>\n

Monmouthshire<\/b><\/p>\n

A river flowing through the county is called Mynwy<\/i> in Welsh, which was anglicized to \u201cMonnow.\u201d The town from which the county gets its name was called Abermynwy,<\/i> or \u201cmouth of the Monnow.\u201d Monmouth is a shortened, anglicized version of this.<\/p>\n

Montgomeryshire<\/b><\/p>\n

There are several different theories about where Montgomeryshire got its name. It is of Norman origin and most likely means something along the lines of \u201cGomer\u2019s Mountain.\u201d However, it could also mean \u201cmountain man,\u201d from the Germanic root guma<\/i>. Roger de Montgomerie, Earl of Shrewsbury, was one of the first recorded Montgomeries and likely lent his name to the county.<\/p>\n

Pembrokeshire<\/b><\/p>\n

Pembroke comes from the Welsh Penfro<\/i>, which means \u201cland\u2019s end\u201d or \u201cheadland.\u201d Over time, the word\u2019s pronunciation changed and Pembroke became more popular.<\/p>\n

Radnorshire<\/b><\/p>\n

Radnor comes from the Old English read<\/i>, which means \u201cred,\u201d and ofer<\/i>, which means \u201cbank.\u201d Radnor, therefore, means \u201cat the red bank.\u201d<\/p>\n

NORTHERN IRELAND<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"northern-ireland\"<\/a>County Antrim<\/b><\/p>\n

Antrim takes its name from the Irish Aontroim<\/i>, which was previously Aontruim<\/i> and Aontreibh,<\/i> meaning \u201clone dwelling.\u201d Bonus<\/span> fact: Belfast is mostly in County Antrim, but parts of it are also in County Down. Belfast comes from the Irish Beal Feriste,<\/i> which means \u201cmouth of the sandbanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

County Armagh<\/b><\/p>\n

Armagh gets its name from the goddess Macha, one of three war goddesses who was known as \u201cthe slaughterer of men\u201d alongside her fellow war goddess Morrigan, who you might know from Arthurian legends. The name of Armagh used to be Ard Mhacha,<\/i> or \u201cMacha\u2019s height.\u201d<\/p>\n

County Down<\/b><\/p>\n

The word d\u00fan <\/i>is a generic word meaning \u201cfortress,\u201d and Down is derived from dun.<\/i> In the county\u2019s case, it was likely taken from D\u00fan-da-leth-glas<\/i>, a fort in the area meaning \u201cfortress of the two broken fetters\u201d (a fetter is a chain used to detain a prisoner).<\/p>\n

County Fermanagh<\/b><\/p>\n

There are a couple different theories about where Fermanagh comes from. Most people agree that it is derived from the Irish Fir Manach<\/i> or Fear Manach<\/i>. Some people believe that this means \u201cregion of the monks.\u201d Others argue that it means \u201cmen of Manach,\u201d and that Manach<\/i> comes from Magh Eanagh,<\/i> which means \u201ccountry of the lakes.\u201d Therefore, the whole thing means \u201cmen from the lake country.\u201d<\/p>\n

County Londonderry<\/b><\/p>\n

Many of the residents of Londonderry simply call it \u201cDerry.\u201d Derry comes from the word Doire,<\/i> the area\u2019s original name when it was just a monastic settlement. The word means \u201coak grove.\u201d Around the 1600s, the \u201cDerry\u201d spelling was agreed upon, and that was also around the time \u201cLondon\u201d was tacked on the front. After the Plantation of Ulster in 1608, the county of what is now known as Londonderry was given to the London Guilds in hopes of establishing a loyal, anglicised population there. To this day, \u201cLondonderry\u201d is a reminder of that time, and is something of an insult to the residents there.<\/p>\n

County Tyrone<\/b><\/p>\n

Tyrone comes from the Irish Tir Eoghain<\/i>, which means \u201cLand of Eoghan.\u201d It was named after Eogan mac Neill, who founded the Kingdom of Ailech where Tyrone sits today.<\/p>\n

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show (iTunes<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, Google Play Music<\/a>, Feed<\/a>), as well as:<\/p>\n