Welsh Place Names P
PAINSCASTLE (Pow) Painscastle (1231). Meaning: Pain was a personal name, probably derived from Pagan ‘countryman'. (Christianity came to towns before the country.) The stone castle was built in 1251.
PEMBREY (Dyf) Pembrey Meaning: from WELSH pen ‘top' and bre ‘hill'.
PEMBROKE / PENFRO (Dyf) Penbrok (1245). Earliest Record: Pennbro (c. 1150). Meaning: WELSH pen ‘end' and bro ‘land'. The castle keep dates from the 12th century
PEMBROKE DOCK / LLANBADRIG (Dyf) Patrecherche (1289). Meaning: "St. Patrick's OE cirice ‘church' ". It is now lost under Pembroke Dock. In WELSH, it was "llan ‘church' of St. Patrick".
PEN CAER (Dyf) Pen Caer Meaning: WELSH pen ‘head, top' and caer ‘fort'.
PENARTH (SGl) Penharth (1266). Earliest Record: Ecclesia de Penarth (1254). Meaning: from WELSH pen ‘head' and garth ‘promontory'.
PENBRYN (Dyf) Penbryn Meaning: from WELSH pen ‘head, top' and bryn ‘hill'.
PENCADER (Dyf) Pencader Meaning: from WELSH pen ‘head, top' and cadair ‘seat' or caer ‘fort'.
PENLEY (Clw) Pendele (1300). Meaning: "Penda's OE leah ‘wood, clearing' ".
PENRHYNDEUDRAETH (Gwy) Penrryn Devdraeth (1457). Meaning: from WELSH penrhyn ‘headland' (between) dau ‘two' traeth ‘strand'. See Portmadoc.
PICTON (Dyf) Piketon (1230). Meaning: probably from OE pic ‘pointed instrument', hence ‘peak, summit' and tun ‘farm, settlement'.
PONTARDULAIS (WGl) Aberdulais Meaning: from WELSH pont ‘bridge', ar ‘over' and Dulais, a river name, derived from du ‘black' and glais ‘stream'. The 13th century name was "aber ‘mouth' of the Dulais"; presumably the bridge was built later. The Aberdulais, near Neath, is a later foundation.
PONTYPOOL (Gwe) Throvethin (1254). Meaning: from WELSH pont ‘bridge', y ‘the' and Pool, probably an English river name. The map shows Trefddyn ‘the fortified farm' out of which the town grew.
PORT TALBOT / ABERAFAN (WGl) Ecclesia de Avene Earliest Record: Port Talbot (1836). Meaning: the docks built in 1836 to export coal and iron were named after the Talbots of Margam. Welsh Meaning: WELSH aber ‘mouth' of the River Afan. Afen, also the original name of the local area, derives from a personal name.
PORTMADOC / PORTHMADOG (Gwy) Traeth Mawr (13th Century). Earliest Record: Trait maur (1194). Meaning: Portmadoc (first recorded in 1838) like Tremadoc ‘the town of the Maddocks' is named after William Alexander Madocks, who in c. 1800 enclosed an area of Traeth Mawr (WELSH traeth ‘strand' with mawr `great') and built a town and a port.
PRESTATYN (Clw) Prestattune (1257). Earliest Record: Prestetone (1086). Meaning: from OE preosta ‘priests' and tun ‘farm'.
PRESTEIGNE / LLANANDRAS (Rad) Presteheinede (c. 1250). Meaning: from OE preost ‘priest' and hmd ‘household'. Welsh Meaning: WELSH llan ‘church' of St. Andreas.
PUFFIN ISLAND / YNYS LANNOG (Gwy) Prestholm (1295) / Enislannach (c. 1191). Earliest Welsh Record: Enislannach (c. 1191). Meaning: Puffin Island is self-explanatory. The early name comes from OSCAN prestr and OSCAN holmr ‘island'; there was a religious cell there. Welsh Meaning: from WELSH ynys ‘island' with, possibly, a personal name.
PUNCHESTON (Dyf) Pounchardon (1291). Meaning: it was probably named by a Norman settler after Pontchardon in Normandy.
PWLLHELI (Gwy) Pwllhely (1292). Meaning: WELSH pwll ‘pool' and heli ‘brine'. The personal name Helig is a less probable alternative.