Etymology
Castell Dinas Brân translates into English literally as Castle of the City of Crows, so the simple explanation for the name of the castle is as a place where crows live. However, Dinas is a name associated with several ancient hill forts in Wales and England (i.e. Dinas Emrys, Dinas Powys, Pen Dinas and Castle-an-Dinas in Cornwall) and so can be taken to mean fort or stronghold. The origins of the name Brân are more uncertain. There is a legend which says that Brân was a Cornish prince, the son of the Duke of Cornwall, another suggests Brân could be named for King Bran Fendigaid (the Blessed) also called Bendigeidfran, a Celtic God who appears in both Welsh and Irish mythology.
The castle is known in English as "Crow Castle", from the Welsh word Brân; this name was recorded in Gough's edition of William Camden's Britannia.
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