In Wales there’s a lake in Snowdonia called Llyn Bochlwyd, which has been changed to Lake Australia (as it vaguely resembles the outline of Australia - and I mean vaguely) in guidebooks as they’ve deemed Llyn Bochlwyd too difficult to pronounce. Llyn Bochlwyd translates as Greycheek Lake, as legend has it an old grey stag was hunted but escaped by swimming to safety in the lake while holding its grey cheeks above the surface. By changing the name we risk losing this story and the rich history of this lake, dismissing the importance of the name purely because it’s ‘a bit difficult to pronounce’.

So, is it acceptable to change names of places based purely on pronunciation?

If the name is changed, should it be a translation or a complete change of name?

Throughout Wales we have the Welsh, and then the English translation. It’s very rare the Welsh and English don’t translate and are two completely different things. All our signs, for place names and road signs, are bilingual