Llan is Wales’ most common place name element
The holiday cottage company has taken a look at every place name in Wales, with ‘Llan’ meaning ‘church’ the most commonly used, for example Llanfair Caereinion, Llanfyllin and Llansantffraid.
Each place name element was compared against every place name in Wales to count how many times it featured to compile a list of the most popular elements.
The data was then mapped to reveal fascinating patterns across the UK, telling the story of the places’ origins, as well as the origins of the first people to settle there, some of which have been charted in this blog.
Laura Mackenzie, Senior Brand Communications Executive at Sugar & Loaf, commented: “We’re so proud to have such interesting places right here in Wales. The data has been really fascinating to analyse, and it’s great to delve into the meanings and patterns behind the place names, as well as the history behind them. We hope that this will inspire everyone to experience fascinating places right across the country.”
Wales’ most common place name elements and meanings (as compiled by Sugar & Loaf):
- Llan: church, churchyard, village with church, parish. As seen in: Llanfair Caereinion, Llanfyllin and Llansantffraid
- Pen: head (headland or hill), top, far end of, end of. As seen in: Pendine, Penderyn, Penrhos
- Ton: enclosure, estate, homestead.
- Tre: settlement. As seen in: Trefeglwys, Tresaith, Tregarth
- Cwm: valley. As seen in: Cwmaman, Cwm-yr-Eglwys, Cwmpengraig
- Pont: bridge. As seen in: Pontardawe, Pontcanna, Pontypridd
- Aber: mouth (of a river), confluence, a meeting of waters. As seen in: Aberaeron, Aberdyfi, Aberystwyth
- Coed: wood, forest. As seen in: Betws-y-Coed, Pen-y-coed, Cyncoed
- Pant: a hollow. As seen in: Panteg, Pant Eidal, Pantmawr
- Nant: ravine or the stream in it. As seen in: Nantgarw, Nantyglo, Nantgaredig
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