READERS have cast their vote over calls for Snowdon to be retitled with its Welsh name Yr Wyddfa

Earlier this week Snowdonia National Park Authority held off its decision on whether Wales' highest peak should only be referred to by its Welsh name of Yr Wyddfa, in place of its English name Snowdon.

A notice of motion by Cllr John Pugh Roberts was delayed as the authority said that further discussions are needed on the implications of only using the Welsh forms. The motion also called for the park to use 'Eryri' rather than 'Snowdonia' in future.

Authority chiefs have instead set up a working group to consider its future policy on Welsh place names.

Readers were asked to cast their vote on whether the motion should go ahead, and there was a clear majority for one side.

Of the 369 votes, 60 per cent opposed the motion, and 40 per cent was in favour.

This breaks down to 221 votes against, and 148 for the proposal.

Divided opinion among members of the public may have influenced the authority's decision to carry out further discussions over the motion.

Snowdonia National Park was established in 1951, covering 827 square miles (2,140 km2) of mainly mountainous land in Gwynedd and Conwy counties.

An earlier petition calling for the national park to drop 'Snowdon' and 'Snowdonia' was rejected by the Senedd last year after it was found to be the responsibility of the park itself rather than Cardiff Bay.

'Yr Wyddfa' means grave, with legend stating that the giant Rhita Gawr was buried on the 3560 ft mountain. However, it was also known as Carnedd y Cawr (the Cairn of the Giant).

'Eryri', meanwhile, is believed to originate from the Latin 'oriri' (to rise) and was first documented in the 9th century, despite it long being thought to refer to the Welsh name for Eagle – 'Eryr'.

The more recently popularised English forms Snowdon and Snowdonia are thought to derive from the Saxon 'snow dune' meaning 'snow hill'.