Belfast Lough, County Antrim/Down
Origin
Ir. Loch Lao ‘sea-inlet of the calf’
Background
This may be among the earliest documented place-names names of Ireland. It was recorded as Logia meaning 'female calf, heifer' in the Geographia of the Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy). This work was compiled c. AD150, although the earliest surviving manuscript copies date from the 13th century. Logia (fem.) is a very early form of a word meaning 'calf' which became lóeg in Old Irish and lao in Modern Irish (both masc.). The Irish name, Loch Lao, has been very stable throughout history. It is recorded as Loch Laigh in the Annals of Tigernach under the year AD 272, and appears in contemporary Irish sources from the 7th century. Ir. loch which commonly means ‘lake’ can also mean ‘sea inlet/estuary’. The river Lagan which flows into Belfast Lough was at an early period known as Lao ‘calf’, from the bovine goddess which was believed to inhabit it. When the lough began to appear in English on late-16th century maps, it was associated with Carrickfergus which was then the principal town of the area, e.g. Knock Fergas Baye (SE Ulster map, 1580) or The Baye of Karegfergus (Mercator's Ulster, 1595). This was superseded in the second half of the 18th century by Belfast Lough, the current English name, as Belfast developed with the linen industry and overtook Carrickfergus in size and importance.
References
McKay, P. (1999): A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names, p. 21; with additions PT, 2012.Additional Information
Historical name form
Old Form | Ref. Date | Reference |
---|---|---|
Λογια ποταμου εκβολαι (= Logia river-mouth) [O’Rahilly 1946: 3] | 0150c | Geographia |
Loch Laigh | 0161 | EA 272 [citing Annals of Tigernach] |
Lough-Laoigh | 0650c | Mon. Hib. 3 |
in stagno dimersis vituli, monacis.. Comg. [L.Laíg] | 0690c | Adomnán 490n 114a |
Loch-Laig | 0830c | Mon. Hib. 15 |
[bru] locha laig | 0830c | EA 272 |
Locha Laigh i n-Ultoibh, for brú | 1170c | Mart. Gorm. Oct 16n p196 |
Locha Laigh in Ultoibh, for brú | 1170c | Mart. Gorm. Oct 25n p202 |
Breasail Laig qui subintravit Loch Laig | 1200c | Descendants Ir ii 68 |
The bay of Cragfergus | 1567 | Goghe's Map |
lough magherghie [referring to Islandmagee, marked in wrong situation acc. to Benn] | 1570c | Early Chart B'fast Lough (Benn) i 275 |
Knock Fergas Baye | 1580c | SE Ulster Map |
Cnokfergus bay | 1591 | Hondius Map |
The Baye of Karegfergus | 1595 | Mercator's Ulst. |
Baiy of Knockfergus | 1602-3 | Bartlett Maps (Esch. Co. Maps) i (Ulster) |
Locha Laoigh i nUltoiph, for bru | 1630c | Mart. Don. Oct 15 276 |
for bru Locha Laoigh, i nUltoibh | 1630c | Mart. Don. Oct 25 p282 |
Loch Laodh | 1647 | EA 273 |
Loch Loedh | 1647 | EA 273 |
Loch-Laodh | 1650c | Mon. Hib. 15 |
Carreckfergus Lough | 1693 | Collins B'fast Lough |
Carickfergus Bay | 1708 | Pratt's Tabula |
Carickfergus Bay | 1744 | Harris Hist. frontispiece map |
The Lough and Harbour of Belfast [title of a painting by Paul Sandby, R.A.] | 1750 | Owen, D.J. 1917 facing page 9 |
Carrickferges Bay | 1759 | Jefferys' Ireland |
Belfast Lough | 1777 | Taylor & Skinner 5, 13 |
Belfast Lough | 1780 | Lendrick Map |
Belfast Lough | 1791 | Williamson's Belfast |
Belfast Lough | 1793 | Taylor's Ireland |
Lough Bannchor | 1873 | Mon. Hib. 3 |
Loch Lao | 1989 | GÉ 129 |
Loch Lao | 1989 | GÉ 189 |
Loch Lao ""estuary of the Lao or Lagan"" | 1999 | Dict. Ulst. PN 21 |
Loch Laogh | 3506AM [≈1694BC] | AFM i 32 |
the bay or haven of Carrickfergus | 1604 | CPR Jas I 38b |
Kncokfergus bay | 1605 | CPR Jas I 73b |
the bay of Knockfergus | 1605 | CPR Jas I 73a |
the bay of Knockfergus | 1605 | Inq. Ant. (DK) 43,47,48 |
the bay of Carrickfergus | 1606 | CPR Jas I 89a |
Carrickfergus bay | 1608 | CPR Jas I 120b |
the bay of Carrickfergus | 1608 | CPR Jas I 125b |
the bay of Knockfergus | 1608 | CPR Jas I 120b |
Knockfergus Bay | 1610 | Speed's Ulster |
Knockfergus bay | 1611 | CPR Jas I 216b |
the bay of Knockfergus | 1621 | CPR Jas I 523b |
the bay of Carrickfergus | 1654-6 | Civ. Surv. 62a |
- Barony
- None
- Parish
- None
- Parish in 1851
- None
- Townland
- None
- Place name ID
- 6524
- Place name type
- M:W:X