Snowdon: Should it be called by its Welsh name, Yr Wyddfa?

Snowdon - or Yr Wyddfa - is the highest mountain in Wales at 3,560ft (1,085m)

Snowdon might not be the name of Wales' highest mountain for much longer, with park authorities considering having it referred to only by its Welsh name: Yr Wyddfa.

It's after a local councillor asked Snowdonia National Park authorities to make the change.

He's also calling for the Welsh name Eryri to be used for the mountain range known as Snowdonia.

The mountain in Snowdonia National Park stands at 3,560ft (1,085m) and attracts about 400,000 walkers a year.

Councillor John Pughe Roberts, who put forward the motion for Snowdon and Snowdonia, said many people were "complaining that people are changing house names, rock names, renaming the mountains".

He said: "In this area, for example Bwlch y Groes has become Hellfire Pass, Dol Hir is known as Longmeadow and this is happening in many areas."

He'd wanted the names to be changed straight away but Snowdonia National Park Authority (SNPA) said the motion would be considered by its task group, set up to adapt guidelines on the use of Welsh place names.

What are the different meanings behind the two names: Snowdon and Yr Wyddfa?

Snowdonia National Park said about 10 million visitor days were spent in Snowdonia - or Eryri - each year

Yr Wyddfa means grave.

According to legend a giant called Rhita Gawr, the king of Wales, was buried under a cairn of stones on the summit of the mountain, following a battle with King Arthur.

It is said that the giant defeated 30 kings of Britain, taking their beards to create a cloak of the beards, reaching from his shoulder to the floor.

Meanwhile, Eryri, the Welsh name for Snowdonia, is believed to have come from the Latin word oriri (to rise) and was first documented in the 9th Century.

Before this it had long been thought to refer to the Welsh name for eagle - Eryr.

The English names for Snowdonia and Snowdon are thought to derive from the Saxon: snow dune, meaning snow hill.

Have place names ever been changed before?

Yes! Uluru a giant rock feature in Australia was previous known as Ayers Rock but was renamed in 1993, and although it now has a dual name almost all Australians now refer to it as Uluru.

The name Ayers Rock came from former South Australian leader Sir Henry Ayers, whereas Uluru is the name in the language of the Anangu people, an Australian aboriginal community.

For them Uluru is a sacred site and it is seen as a resting place for ancient spirits.

The highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, is not commonly known by its Tibetan name Chomolungma, meaning goddess mother of the world.

Many Sherpas, a community indigenous to the Himalayan region, believe that the summit of Chomolungma is home to the Buddhist goddess Miyolangsangma.

Its English name Everest comes from Colonel Sir George Everest, a Surveyor General of India.