Fawr

Fawr is a Welsh toponymic element that appears in place names across Wales. It is used to indicate that a geographic feature or locality is notable for its size or importance relative to nearby features. As a component of compound names, Fawr typically does not stand alone but qualifies another noun such as a hill, river, valley, village, or estate. Because of Wales's rich toponymic tradition, many places with Fawr in their name exist in both Welsh-speaking communities and English-language contexts in Wales and abroad, though the exact referent of "Fawr" varies locally and historically.

Linguistically, Fawr is part of a class of descriptive elements common in Welsh toponyms that convey size, prominence, or character. Its appearance in a name can reflect historical land holdings, geographical descriptions, or routes and settlements that were considered significant within a region. The use of such elements illustrates how Welsh place names encode landscape information and local history.

Because Fawr is a descriptive component rather than a standalone name, identifying the precise feature it designates in a given place often requires local knowledge or additional context. The term is most visible in Wales and in Welsh-language contexts, where it contributes to the broader pattern of descriptive naming found in Welsh geography.