Aber and Inver as place-name elements

"Aber" and "Inver" are common elements in place-names of Celtic origin. Both mean "confluence of waters" or "river mouth". Their distribution reflects the geographical influence of the Brythonic and Goidelic language groups respectively.

"Aber"

"Aber" goes back to the ancient British language, or Brythonic, which was a p-Celtic language. In Old Welsh it has the form "Oper" and is derived from an assumed Proto-Brythonic "*od-ber", meaning 'pouring away'. It is found in Welsh, Cornish and Breton, and must also have been common in Pictish.

Place names with "aber" are very common in Wales, and to a lesser extent Cornwall, and are found in other parts of England, and in Brittany. They are also common on the East coast of Scotland.

In Anglicised forms, "aber" is often contracted: Arbroath (formerly "Aberbrothick") for "Aber Brothaig", Abriachan for "Aber Briachan". In the case of "Applecross" (first attested as "Aporcrosan"), it has been transformed by a folk etymology. (Its Gaelic name, A' Chomraich, has lost the "Aber-" element altogether [http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/faclair/sbg/lorg.php?facal=A'%20Chomraich&seorsa=Gaidhlig&tairg=Lorg&eis_saor=on] .)

"Aber" is rendered into Scottish Gaelic as "Oba(i)r" [http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/faclair/sbg/lorg.php?facal=Aber&seorsa=Beurla&tairg=Lorg&eis_saor=on] , e.g. "Obar Dheadhain" (Aberdeen), "Obar Pheallaidh" (Aberfeldy), and "Obar Phuill" (Aberfoyle).

The Welsh names Fishguard (Abergwaun), Brecon (Aberhonndu), Cardigan (Aberteifi), Milford Haven (Aberdaugleddau), Mountain Ash (Aberpennar) and Swansea (Abertawe) all contain Aber- in their Welsh language equivalent.

It occurs in Brittany and Cornwall, although with far less frequency. In this case of Cornwall, this may be partly geographical since there are fewer rivers on a peninsula.

"Inver"

"Inver" is the Goidelic or q-Celtic form, an Anglicised spelling of Scottish Gaelic "inbhir" (likewise pronounced with /v/), which occurs in Irish as "innbhear" or "inbhear", going back to Old Irish "indber, inbir, inber". This is derived from the PIE root "*bher-", 'carry' (English "bear", Latin "fero") with the prefix "in-", 'into'. The word also occurs in Manx in the form "Inver" [http://www.gaelg.iofm.net/DICTIONARY/dict2/I.html]

Place-names with "inver" are very common throughout Scotland, where they outnumber "aber"-names by about 3:1. They are most common throughout the Western Highlands and the Grampians. It is usually assumed that in many cases, places which originally had a name with "aber" experienced a substitution, and occasionally this can be verified from historical records. This must be seen in the context of the Gaelic settlement of Western Scotland from Ireland in the early Middle Ages. Place-names with "inver" are, however, oddly seldom in Ireland, given that the form is originally Irish.

In Anglicised forms, "inver" occasionally appears as "inner": such as Innerleithen. Innerhaddon is also variant of Inverhaddon.

In some cases, an "Inver" has been lost, e.g. Ayr (Inbhir Air), which was recorded as "Inberair", and Ayre (Inver Ayre) in the Isle of Man.

Occasionally, the English name forms are entirely unrelated: Dingwall (Inbhir Pheofharan) Scotland and Arklow (An tInbhear Mór) in Ireland both have "Inbhir-" in their Gaelic forms.

yntax

Because Celtic languages place the generic element of a compound (it's a rivermouth) before the specific element (which river), the elements "aber" and "inver" normally appear at the beginning of a place name, the opposite of the English (Germanic) pattern. Contrast:
*Inver-ness (mouth of the river Ness)
*Eye-mouth (mouth of the river Eye)This explains why Celtic placenames are often stressed on (the first syllable of) the last element (Inverness, Aberystwyth), whereas English placenames seldom are.

A variation occurs when the confluence itself is made the specific element. The names "Lochaber" and "Lochinver" both mean 'lake of the confluence'. Here, exceptionally, the elements "aber" and "inver" answer the question "which loch?", and so are placed second. This is reflected perfectly regularly in the stress patterns: Lochaber, Lochinver. Similarly, "Cuan Inbhir" on Clear Island, Co. Cork, means the "ocean of confluence".

Use in British colonies

Place names from the British isles were frequently exported to the colonies which became the British Empire, often without much thought being given to etymology. Thus there are many examples in the United States and in Commonwealth countries of places with names in Aber- or Inver- which are not located at a confluence. In Gaelic-speaking Nova Scotia, however, the element Inbhir- seems to have been productive in its original sense.

Invercargill in the South Island of New Zealand is a special case. In 1856 a petition was put forward to Thomas Gore Browne, the Governor of New Zealand, for a port at Bluff. Browne agreed to the petition and gave the name Invercargill to the settlement north of the port. Cargill is not the name of a river, or a location, but is in honour of Captain William Cargill, who was at the time the Superintendent of Otago, of which Southland was then a part.

List of place-names with "Aber" and "Inver"

In Wales

Aberaeron, Aberaman, Aberangell, Aberarth, Aberavon, Aberbanc, Aberbargoed, Aberbeeg, Abercarn, Abercastle, Abercegir, Abercynon, Aberdare, Aberdaron, Aberdaughleddau (Milford Haven), Aberdyfi, Aberfan, Aberffraw, Aberffrwd, Abergavenny, Abergele, Abergorlech, Abergwaun (Fishguard), Abergwili, Abergwyngregyn, Aberhonddu (Brecon) Aberllefenni, Abermaw, Abermorddu, Abernant, Aberpennar (Mountain Ash), Aberporth, Abersoch, Abertawe (Swansea), Aberteifi (Cardigan - town), Abertillery, Abertridwr, Aberystwyth, Llanaber

In Ireland

An tInbhear Mór (Arklow), Dromineer, Inbhear Inver Co. Donegal, Cuan Inbhir, "Inbhear Scéine" the traditional name for Kenmare Bay

In Scotland

Aberarder, Aberargie, Aberbothrie, Abercairney, Aberchalder, Aberchirder, Abercorn, Abercrombie, Aberdalgie, Aberdeen, Aberdour, Aberfeldy, Aberfoyle, Abergairn, Abergeldie, Aberlady, Aberlednock, Aberlemno, Aberlour, Abermilk, Abernethy, Aberscross, Abersky, Abertarff, Abertay, Aberuchill, Aberuthven, Abriachan, Applecross, Arbirlot, Arboll, Arbuthnott, Arbroath, Fochabers, Kinnaber, Lochaber, Obar Neithich (Nethybridge), Slongaber

Ayr (formerly "Inberair" etc), Inbhir Bhrùra (Brora), Inbhir Chalain (Kalemouth), Inbhir Eireann (Findhorn), Inbhir Nàrann (Nairn), Inbhir Pheofharain (Dingwall), Inbhir Theòrsa (Thurso - name of Norse origin), Inbhir Uige (Wick), Innerleithen, Innerleven, Innerwick (in Perth and Kinross), Inver, Inverarnan, Inverallan, Inveraldie, Inveralmond Inveramsay, Inveran, Inveraray, Inverbervie, Inverclyde, Inveresk, Invergarry, Invergordon, Invergowrie, Inverhaddon (or Innerhaddon), Inverkeilor, Inverkeithing, Inverkeithney, Inverkip, Inverleith, Invermoriston, Inverness, Invershin, Inversnaid, Inverugie, Inverurie, Kilninver, Lochinver, Rossinver

"Notes" - "Bail' Inbhir Fharrair",( [http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/faclair/sbg/lorg.php?facal=Beauly&seorsa=Beurla&tairg=Lorg&eis_saor=on&tus_saor=on] is an uncommon name for Beauly, usually "A' Mhanachain"); Fort William, formerly known as Inverlochy, and a small district nearby is still referred to as such.

In Brittany

Aber Benoît, Aber Ildut, Aber Wrac'h

In England

Aberfal (Falmouth, Cornwall), Aberplymm (Plymouth, Devon).

Isle of Man

Inver Ayre (Ayre)

Nova Scotia

Usage in Canadian Gaelic -
Baile Inbhir Nis (Inverness) , Siorramachd Inbhir Nis (Inverness County), Inbhir-pheofharain (Dingwall), Loch Abar (Lochaber)

New Zealand

Invercargill

ources

*David Dorward, "Scotland's Place Names", Mercat Press, Edinburgh, 2001.
*cite book | first=A. W. | last=Reed | title=The Reed Dictionary of New Zealand Place Names | publisher=Reed Books | location=Auckland | year=2002 | id=ISBN 0-7900-0761-4

ee also

*List of generic forms in British place names
*Welsh placenames
*Kirk as a placename element