Aber and Inver are common elements in place-names of Celtic origin. Both mean "confluence of waters" or "river mouth". Their distribution reflects the geographical influence of the Brythonic and Goidelic language groups respectively.
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Aber goes back to the ancient British language, or Brythonic, which was a p-Celtic language. In Old Welsh it has the form Oper and is derived from an assumed Proto-Brythonic *od-ber, meaning 'pouring away'. It is found in Welsh, Cornish and Breton, and must also have been common in Pictish.
Place names with aber are very common in Wales. They are also common on the East coast of Scotland. They are found to a lesser extent in Cornwall and other parts of England, and in Brittany.
In Anglicised forms, aber is often contracted: Arbroath (formerly "Aberbrothick") for Aber Brothaig, Abriachan for Aber Briachan. In the case of Applecross (first attested as Aporcrosan), it has been transformed by a folk etymology. (Its Gaelic name, A' Chomraich, has lost the "Aber-" element altogether[1].)
"Aber" is rendered into Scottish Gaelic as Oba(i)r [2], e.g. "Obar Dheadhain" (Aberdeen), "Obar Pheallaidh" (Aberfeldy), and "Obar Phuill" (Aberfoyle).
The Welsh names Fishguard (Abergwaun), Brecon (Aberhonddu), Cardigan (Aberteifi), Milford Haven (Aberdaugleddau), Mountain Ash (Aberpennar) and Swansea (Abertawe) all contain Aber- in their Welsh language equivalent.
It occurs in Brittany and Cornwall, although with far less frequency. In this case of Cornwall, this may be partly geographical since there are fewer rivers on a peninsula.
Inver is the Goidelic or q-Celtic form, an Anglicised spelling of Scottish Gaelic inbhir (likewise pronounced with /v/), which occurs in Irish as innbhear or inbhear, going back to Old Irish indber, inbir, inber. This is derived from the PIE root *bher-, 'carry' (English bear, Latin fero) with the prefix in-, 'into'. The word also occurs in Manx in the form Inver [3]
Place-names with inver are very common throughout Scotland, where they outnumber aber-names by about 3:1. They are most common throughout the Western Highlands and the Grampians. It is usually assumed that in many cases, places which originally had a name with aber experienced a substitution, and occasionally this can be verified from historical records. This must be seen in the context of the Gaelic settlement of Scotland from Ireland in the early Middle Ages.
Place-names with inver are, however, oddly seldom in Ireland, given that the form is originally Irish; Ireland tends instead to have names with béal ('mouth') in such locations, as Béal Átha na Sluaighe (Ballinasloe, Co. Galway), Béal an Átha an Fheá (Ballina, Co. Mayo) or Béal Feirste (Belfast). The difference in usage may be explained by the fact that Gaelic names in Ireland are typically a thousand years older than those in Scotland, and hence the prevailing fashion could have been different.
In Anglicised forms, inver occasionally appears as inner: such as Innerleithen. Innerhaddon is also variant of Inverhaddon.
In some cases, an "Inver" has been lost, e.g. Ayr (Inbhir Air), which was recorded as "Inberair", and Ayre (Inver Ayre) in the Isle of Man.
Occasionally, the English name forms are entirely unrelated: Dingwall (Inbhir Pheofharan) Scotland and Arklow (An tInbhear Mór) in Ireland both have "Inbhir-" in their Gaelic forms.
Because Celtic languages place the generic element of a compound (what kind of thing it is) before the specific element (which one it is), the elements aber and inver normally appear at the beginning of a place name, the opposite of the English (Germanic) pattern. Contrast:
This explains why Celtic placenames are often stressed on (the first syllable of) the last element (Inverness, Aberystwyth), whereas English placenames seldom are.
A variation occurs when the confluence itself is made the specific element. The names Lochaber and Lochinver both mean 'lake of the confluence'. Here, exceptionally, the elements aber and inver answer the question which loch, and so are placed second. This is reflected perfectly regularly in the stress patterns: Lochaber, Lochinver. Similarly, Cuan Inbhir on Clear Island, Co. Cork, means the "harbour of confluence".
Place names from the British isles were frequently exported to the colonies which became the British Empire, often without any thought being given to etymology. Thus there are many examples in the United States and in Commonwealth countries of places with names in Aber- or Inver- which are not located at a confluence. In Gaelic-speaking Nova Scotia, however, the element Inbhir- seems to have been productive in its original sense.
Invercargill in the South Island of New Zealand is a special case. In 1856 a petition was put forward to Thomas Gore Browne, the Governor of New Zealand, for a port at Bluff. Browne agreed to the petition and gave the name Invercargill to the settlement north of the port. Cargill is not the name of a river, or a location, but is in honour of Captain William Cargill, who was at the time the Superintendent of Otago, of which Southland was then a part.
Aberaeron, Aberaman, Aberangell, Aberarth, Aberon, Aberbanc, Aberbargoed, Aberbeeg, Abercanaid, Abercarn, Abercastle, Abercegir, Abercraf, Abercregan, Abercych, Abercynon, Aberdare, Aberdaron, Aberdaugleddau (Milford Haven), Aberdulais, Aberdyfi, Aberedw, Abereiddy, Abererch, Aberfan, Aberffraw, Aberffrwd, Ceredigion, Aberffrwd, Monmouthshire, Abergavenny, Abergele, Abergorlech, Abergwaun (Fishguard), Aberkenfig, Abergwesyn, Abergwili, Abergwynfi, Abergwyngregyn, Abergynolwyn, Aberhafesp, Aberhonddu (Brecon), Aberllefenni, Abermaw (Barmouth), Abermorddu, Abermule, Abernant, Carmarthenshire, Abernant, Powys, Abernant, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Aberpennar (Mountain Ash), Aberporth, Aberriw (Berriew), Abersoch, Abersychan, Abertawe (Swansea), Aberteifi (Cardigan - town), Abertillery, Aberthin, Abertillery, Abertridwr, Caerphilly, Abertridwr, Powys, Aberystwyth, Llanaber
An tInbhear Mór (Arklow, Co. Wicklow), Inbhear (Inver, Co. Donegal), Inbhear nOllarbha (Larne Lough, Co. Antrim), Inbhear Scéine the traditional name for Kenmare Bay, Co. Kerry
Aberarder, Aberargie, Aberbothrie, Abercairney, Aberchalder, Aberchirder, Abercorn, Abercrombie, Aberdalgie, Aberdeen, Aberdour, Aberfeldy, Aberfoyle, Abergairn, Abergeldie, Aberlady, Aberlednock, Aberlemno, Aberlour, Abermilk, Abernethy, Aberscross, Abersky, Abertarff, Abertay, Aberuchill, Aberuthven, Abriachan, Applecross, Arbirlot, Arboll, Arbuthnott, Arbroath, Fochabers, Kinnaber, Lochaber, Obar Neithich (Nethybridge), Slongaber
Ayr (formerly "Inberair" etc), Inbhir Bhrùra (Brora), Inbhir Chalain (Kalemouth), Inbhir Eireann (Findhorn), Inbhir Nàrann (Nairn), Inbhir Pheofharain (Dingwall), Inbhir Theòrsa (Thurso - name of Norse origin), Inbhir Ùige (Wick), Innerleithen, Innerleven, Innerwick (in Perth and Kinross), Inver, Inverarnan, Inverallan, Inveraldie, Inveralmond Inveramsay, Inveran, Inveraray, Inverbervie, Inverclyde, Inveresk, Inverfarigaig, Invergarry, Invergordon, Invergowrie, Inverhaddon (or Innerhaddon), Inverkeilor, Inverkeithing, Inverkeithney, Inverkip, Inverleith, Invermoriston, Inverness, Invershin, Inversnaid, Inverugie, Inverurie, Kilninver, Lochinver, Rossinver
Notes - "Bail' Inbhir Fharrair",([4] is an uncommon name for Beauly, usually "A' Mhanachain"); Fort William was formerly known as Inverlochy, and a small district nearby is still referred to as such.
Aber Benoît, Aber Ildut, Aber Wrac'h
Aberfal (Falmouth, Cornwall), Aberplymm (Plymouth, Devon).
Inver Ayre (Ayre)
Italicised names denote usage in Canadian Gaelic. Baile Inbhir Nis (Inverness, NS) , Siorramachd Inbhir Nis (Inverness County, NS), Inbhir-pheofharain (Dingwall, NS), Loch Abar (Lochaber, NS), Inverhuron, ON
Invercargill formerly Inverkelly[1]