Surge in Welsh house names in Abersoch and Llanberis and what's driving it
Tourism is helping to drive a 'Cymrufication' of place names, a major study has found. The trend was observed in two holiday hotspots in Gwynedd and it appears to be accelerating.
In the two villages, Abersoch and Llanberis, higher-the-average numbers of holiday homes have Welsh names on platforms like Booking.com. Not only are Welsh place names considered increasingly 'fashionable', they are seen as helping to promote the area to tourists.
One person in Abersoch told the study that the area's 'Welshness' was an 'added bonus' for attracting tourists or in appealing to those with second homes in the area. A similar but less acute trend was seen in Llanberis but the outcomes sometimes differed, with a higher number of mixed Welsh-English names.
The findings were reported in a study commissioned by the Welsh Government into how property, street, and business names are changing across Wales. Despite high-profile switches of traditional Welsh properties to English names, the research found a clear shift towards using Welsh language place names over the past decade.
Local authorities received three times more applications for Welsh language street names than English language names between 2018-2023.
Most changes to property names are in the same language. However, when the language does change, properies are at least three more likely to be renamed from English to Welsh than the other way round.
People report that Welsh house names give them 'a sense of pride, place or nostalgia'.
For the study, seven locations were selected for in-depth scrutiny, including Abersoch and Llanberis. Others included Connah's Quay in Flintshire, Llanidloes in Powys and Narberth in Pembrokeshire. These were compared against data from other places in Wales, including Wrexham, Llangollen, Llandegla and Denbigh.
In Connah's Quary, most properties are numbered rather than named, though some do have 'alias names' - names given to homes in addition to house numbers. Often these alias names reflected rural areas outside the post-industrial town.
In contrast Abersoch has very few numbered-only properties (7.8%) with a higher prevalence of named properties (71.1% of the 332 surveyed properties) compared to other localities.
Where residents in Abersoch do have numbered properties, they like to give it a name – there's a higher prevalence of alias naming here compared to other places. Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now
The overall preference of named properties could reflect the village's settlement pattern, it being a smaller coastal community with a mix of older housing stock and houses built in small batches.
In contrast, Llanberis has a large number of numbered properties and most its Welsh language names were alias names. Here, Airbnbs have expanded rapidly in recent years and the resulting friction has led to the village being dubbed the "next Abersoch".
In Llanberis, the study detected particular concerns over the impacts of tourism amid a perception than more properties were being given English names.
This perception is based on the historic threat to local topographic names, especially online, said the study. Examples cited included the 'Steps of Cirith Ungol' in place of Llwybr Llwynog, and 'Looning the Tube Level' for Ponc Penrhydd, used by climbers at Dinorwig Quarry.
In both Abersoch and Llanberis, businesses and holiday lets were seen to be driving the adoption of Welsh names, often by switching from English. It's thought their names were often chosen to appeal to tourists.
In Llanberis, one business owner said a Welsh language name was an important part of their distinctive tourism 'brand'.
The study noted: 'Other non-Welsh-speaking business owners (in Llanberis) had adopted Welsh language business names to 'belong' and to create a distinctive Welsh language sense of place for the community and for tourists.'
This trend was supported by data from Booking.com, where the majority (63.2%) of named properties listed in Wales have an English language name – much higher than the all-Wales average (50.4%).
It's believed that accommodation providers appeal to tourists by offering properties with words like 'View', 'Cottage' and 'Sea'. In Abersoch, however, the opposite was true, with 72.4 % of its holiday properties listed having Welsh language names on Booking.com. This is in a village where 57% of residents are Welsh speakers.
Overall, holiday accommodation in Abersoch was found to almost four times more Welsh names (42 properties) than English names (11 properties).
Welsh Language Secretary Mark Drakeford said: 'Place names help tell the story of who we are as a nation, and this new research helps us understand our linguistic landscape.
"I'm encouraged to see more people embracing Welsh property names, regardless of their background.'
Gwynedd reclaiming Welsh language names
To further delve into property name trends in Gwynedd, 10 other localities were assessed. These were:
Aberdyfi
Blaenau Ffestiniog
Dolgellau
Morfa Bychan
Morfa Nefyn
Nefyn
Porthmadog
Trawsfynydd
Tywyn
Y Felinheli
Between 2009-2024, Dolgellau was found to have had the highest number (23) of property name changes, while Trawsfynydd had the fewest number (four). Across the county, changes from an English to a Welsh name were around 10 times greater than the other way round.
This was much higher than anywhere else in Wales and was particulaly noticeable with business names. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
Data from Cyngor Gwynedd suggest these switches peaked in 2020-21. Although no explanation was give, this activity is thought to be linked to the staycation boom that occurred during the Covid pandemic.
One council's Street Naming and Numbering officer told the study: 'In recent times, with Covid, we've seen an increase in staycations and being a tourist area, we had a lot of changes of use into B&Bs or Airbnbs and conversion of outbuildings to holiday lets and that kind of thing.'
The visitor economy has long dictated place naming in Wales and the legacy of Victorian tourism can still be felt: the study cited Happy Valley in Meirionnydd and Grey Mare's Tail waterfall in Conwy county – there's also a Happy Valley in Llandudno.
The Welsh Place-Name Society told the study that these names are 'not without interest, nor are they invalid, but are they names that we would wish to promote in today's world?'
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