Carnedd Llewelyn - Name

Name

Carnedd Llywelyn means "Llywelyn's cairn" in Welsh. It is widely believed that Carnedd Llewelyn and the neighbouring Carnedd Dafydd are named after Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and his brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd, the last independent prince of Wales, respectively. An alternative theory is that the twin peaks are named after Llywelyn the Great, an earlier prince of Gwynedd, and his son and successor, Dafydd ap Llywelyn. Other sources cite a combination of the above, i.e. Llywelyn the Great and Dafydd ap Gruffudd.

The spelling of the name is also controversial. Carnedd Llewelyn is the form used by the Ordnance Survey, the mapping agency for Great Britain, and other sources. In Wales the spelling Carnedd Llywelyn predominates (it is used on the website of the Snowdonia National Park Authority, for example); this is also the form preferred by most Welsh writers, among others. Many authoritative works, from other study groups, also use the Welsh form. The Welsh personal name Llywelyn, from which the mountain's name is derived, is always spelt thus in the Welsh language, although the forms Llewelyn and Llewellyn are found in older English-language sources.