Place name of the week: Inverness - Inbhir Nis
In Lewis and Sutherland it was pronounced Eara Nis; on Skye and in parts of Perthshire it was pronounced Eanar Nis, whilst on Uist and Harris it is Eilear Nis; in parts of Easter Ross, round Inverness itself and elsewhere it was Eornais.
Inverness in Nova Scotia – which until recently had a thriving Gaelic speaking population – was transferred as a name from the Scottish Inverness, but was always called simply ‘Inverness’ in both Gaelic and English.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdInverness is sometimes affectionately referred to as Inversnecky, from the name of a dance hall song by Harry Gordon; how it came to be attached to Inverness is not known.
For more information visit Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba