Perhaps some readers of the South Wales Argus have wondered where the name of the river that runs through the city of Newport comes from.

For hundreds of years it has been called ‘Usk’. The word ‘Usk’ is derived from the Roman/Latin word ‘Isca’, for a waterway to/a river to a particular location.

The Roman name for Caerleon is Isca Augusta – though it has often been called Isca Silurum.

The name Caerleon is derived from the Norman-French words ‘Gare’ – meaning station of/ camp of/ fortress of, and the word ‘leon’ for legion. The name ‘Gaer’ is the Welsh spelling of ‘Gare’.

There is no ‘proper name’ for the river that flows through Newport.

The ancient Welsh people may have had a name for the river – however, there is no written record of a name – simply because there was no written Welsh language (until about the 16th century), and even then, few welsh people could read or write.

In other words, the river that flows through Newport does not have a name (other than ‘River to’).

Brian Hayes
Newport

 

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