Celtic Names - Britain, Gaul, and Wales

Classical authors first called Britain "Albion" around the 4th century B.C. It later became known as Prettania, then Brettania, and then Britannia. Before the Celts came to England and Ireland, the land was inhabited by bronze-age pastoralists. This culture peaked for two to three hundred years around the fifteenth century B.C. Around the tenth century B.C., technological changes from the Continent were making their way to England. More efficient bronze socketed axes, sheet metal working techniques, and an increase in the supply of metals stimulated the local metal trade in England. Some groups were pushed out of France by iron-using Hallstatt warriors. These groups settled in southern England, especially around Kent. The numbers of immigrants increased greatly by the 8th century B.C. (2, 5)

Around the fifth century B.C., the iron-using Hallstatt warriors were themselves pushing into southern and eastern England. These Hallstatt warriors were a Celtic-speaking people who may have called themselves the Pretani. They may have come as warriors and not as family groups. In the course of two centuries, they had pushed into England as far as the Pennines. (2)

On the Continent the Celtic Hallstatt culture gave rise to the La Tene Celts in the fifth century B.C. The stronger La Tene Celts may have been responsible for forcing the bearers of the older Hallstatt culture into Britain. The La Tene Celts did not themselves invade Britain until the middle of the third century B.C. when they came in small family groupings. The new groups first appeared in southern England, especially in Sussex. They spread as far as southwestern Scotland. The La Tene Celts did not form their own enclaves but rather became overlords over existing populations. (2)

The last Celtic wave of settlers were the Belgic peoples. They were a mixed group of people from the Rhine and Seine areas who settled in southeastern England. They were followed by the Romans. Caesar first attacked Britain to discourage the Gauls from rebelling. Claudius established a stronger foothold on Britain. (2, 5)

Female Names from Celtic Britain - (Latinized)

Male Names from Celtic Britain - (Latinized)

Male Names from Celtic Britain - (Non-Latinized)

The kingdom's capital would have moved west over time. From the 5th to the 7th centuries, Tintagel may have been the royal seat. In Roman times, Tintagel was probably known as Durocornovium. The name means "the fort (duro) of the Cornovii". In Roman records, it is listed as being near Tamara, a Roman post on the Tamar. Tintagel is only 20 miles from the Tamar. There are signs of Roman and local occupation at Tintagel. Unlike other parts of Celtic Britain, a local pottery tradition survived after the coming of the Romans. Pottery changes around 600 A.D. suggest an influx of people from Ireland or from Irish settlements in southern Wales. (5)

The Anglo-Saxon victories divided the Celtic speakers of Britain until there were three dialects: Cornish in the south, Welsh in the West, and Cumbric in the north and northwest. Immigrants from Cornwall settled in Brittany and brought their language with them. The language of Brittany was largely the same as Cornish until the time of the Normans. Then the Breton language became distinct and was influenced by French. The Cumbric dialect was the first Celtic dialect to disappear. Cornish followed in the 18th century. Welsh survives today. (5)

Female Names from Cornwall

Male Names from Cornwall

Celtic tribes in early Wales included the Demetae in the southwest, the Silures in the southeast, and the Ordovician. Irish settlements, perhaps from Leinster, appeared in northwestern Wales before 400 A.D. The Irish of Leinster may have given their name to the Llyn peninsula. The Irish also settled Dalriadic Scotland, Galloway, and the Isle of Man. The Irish also settled in southwestern Wales from Pembroke to the Gower peninsula in great numbers. The royal Irish line in Welsh Dyfed continued until the 7th and 8th centuries. The Q-Celtic rulers of Wales used the ogham script while the Welsh spoke a P-Celtic language and used the Latin script. Despite the numbers of Irish in Wales, Wales never became a Q-celtic-speaking nation. Scotland, which had been P-Celtic-speaking, did become Q-Celtic-speaking after the Irish settlers of Dalriada conquered the rest of Scotland. (5)

After Roman power faded, various non-Celtic groups invaded Celtic territory. One group was the German-speaking Saxons, whose homeland had been north of the Rhine and Danube and outside of Roman territory. They defeated the Celts at Dyrham (north of Bath) in 577. The Northumbrian Angles later pushed in from Yorkshire and defeated the Celts at Chester in 613 or 616 A.D. These defeats cut off the Welsh Britons from other Celtic speakers. The Late British dialects now developed into three separate languages: Cumbric, Welsh, and Cornish. (5)

Female Names from Wales

Male Names from Wales

Male Names - Area Unspecified - (Latinized)

Sources:

(1) Celts and the Classical World, David Rankin, New York: Routledge, 1996.

(2) The Celts, T.G.E. Powell, New York: Thames and Hudson, Ltd., 1983, 1997.

(3) Kingdoms of the Celts: A History and Guide, John Robert King, London: Blandford, 1998.

(4) Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages, Andrew Dalby, 1998.

(5) Celtic Britain, Charles Thomas, New York: Thames & Hudson, 1986, 1997.

(6) The Celts: Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture, Jean Markale, Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions International, 1976, 1993.

(7) Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, Lesley Adkins and Roy A. Adins, New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. (9) Who's Who in the Classical World, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

There are many good web sites that list early personal names for the Brythonic or P-Celtic-speaking lands: