Name Origins and Population
The name 'Trefriw' is variously attributed to 'tref' + 'rhiw' (farm/homestead + hill) or to 'tref' + 'briw' (a wound, i.e. a reference to the healing waters of the Spa). Given the nature of Welsh consonant mutation, both of these are feasible - Tref + riw (soft mutation of rhiw, as the second part of a compound word) or Tre' + friw (mutation of briw).
The information board in the village opts for the meaning deriving from the healing waters. However, D. Geraint Lewis, who has done much research into place names, concludes that the meaning is "homestead on the hill".
The following explanation is also given:
"Trefriw means the town of the slope or hillside, and stands for Tref y Riw, not tref y Rhiw, which would have yielded Treffriw, for there is a tendency in Gwynedd to make the mutation after the definite article conform to the general rule, and to say y law, 'the hand,' and y raw, 'the spade,' instead of what would be in books - y llaw and y rhaw."
The word 'tref' historically meant 'farm/homestead'. Today it means 'town'. The definition of the word 'town' has altered over the centuries. Certainly Trefriw, in its heyday, was undeniably a town. Today it would be described as a large village.
Over the centuries the spelling of the name Trefriw has seen numerous versions. As has been mentioned above, Hanes Trefriw records that Llywelyn named the new parish "Tref Rhiw Las". A document of 1254AD refers to the place as Treffruu. and a number of documents from the 16th century refer to Treverewe, Treffrewe, Treverow and Treffrew (as well as to Trefriw), with Trefriew appearing on a document of 1795.
By 1801 the village had a population of 301, according to the "Topographical Dictionary of the Dominion of Wales" (1811). By 1851 the population had risen to 428. The 1991 Census records a population of 1,286, 54.9% of whom could speak Welsh. The 2001 Census records an increased population as 1,338, there being some 565 residences within the Ward, and reports that exactly half of the population is Welsh speaking.
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