Cambria

Cambria is the Latin word for “Wales” derived for the Welsh word Cymru which is what Welsh people call their own country. It’s similar to how Germans refer to their own country as Deutschland, or how the Latin word for France is “Gallia”. Cymru (and thus Cambria) comes from the Welsh word “combrogi” meaning “fellow countrymen, compatriots”. Welsh is a Celtic language from the Brythonic branch rather than the Gaelic branch; in other words, the Welsh language is more closely related to Cornish and Breton rather than Manx, Irish and Scottish Gaelic. Think about it this way: Welsh, Latin and English all come from different language groups, i.e., Celtic (Welsh), Italic (Latin) and Germanic (English) which is why you get quite disparate forms of the same word: Cymru vs. Cambria vs. Wales. Yet all three words mean the same thing. The Welsh people’s name for themselves (Cymru) is actually an ancient self-designated term dating back to the 5th or 6th centuries. The Roman occupation of Britain was followed by various invasions, occupations and settlements of Angles, Saxons and Scandinavians. The Welsh were among the original, native inhabitants and so aligned themselves with other Brythons (Celts) of Northern England and Southern Scotland in able to mark and defend their own territories in “Yr Hen Ogledd” (The Old North). After all, times were not easy back then and “fellow-countrymen” needed to form allies within their own tribal clans against a greater enemy. Cymru is a perfect example of a proud name with a super cool etymology! Cambria is simply the Latinized form of the Welsh name Cymru and so we consider it a Place Name since it’s just another word for Wales. It’s like naming your daughter Erin for Ireland.