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*Agronā was a hypothetical reconstructed Proto-Celtic name for the River Ayr in Scotland, later applied to the River Aeron in Wales. The claim is linguistic and first appeared in William J. Watson's Celtic Placenames of Scotland (1926). Watson suggested the River Ayr in Scotland could be worked back to a hypothetical Proto-Celtic "river goddess of slaughter and carnage" and that the deity name was *Agronā. At that time there were many questionable Scottish nationalist attempts to use the River Ayr place-name to claim Taliesin's battle poems for Scotland and Watson's derivation strongly and implicitly supported such claims. This hypothesis has also been used to support locating the ancient kingdom of Aeron in modern-day Ayrshire.

Two years after Watson, Eilert Ekwall in his English River-Names (1928) instead derived the River Ayr simply from the root *Ara (but see his discussion of the Aeron under the entry for the Yorkshire River Aire). However, the earlier claim that the river's name literally means "carnage" persisted. The alleged goddess even entered some encyclopaedias. The derivation from "carnage" has become casually conflated with the similarly named Welsh river Aeron. Pughe's 1803 Dictionary of the Welsh Language states that the Aeron name for rivers in living Welsh meant "Queen of Brightness".

References

1. Watson, William J: The Celtic Placenames of Scotland. Birlinn (1926, reprinted 2004). ISBN 978-1-84158-323-5
2. Matson, Gienna. Celtic Mythology A to Z; p. 1. Chelsea House (2004). ISBN 978-1-60413-413-1
3. Eilert Ekwall (September 1968) . English River-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 306. ISBN 978-0-19-869119-8.
4. Pughe, William Owen, A Dictionary of the Welsh Language: Explained in English, Volume 1; p. 23 (1803).

Bibliography

• Berresford Ellis, Peter. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (Oxford Paperback Reference), Oxford University Press (1994). ISBN 0-19-508961-8
• MacKillop, James. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford University Press (1998). ISBN 0-19-280120-1.
• Wood, Juliette, The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art, Thorsons Publishers (2002). ISBN 0-00-764059-5

v t e Celtic mythology series
Ancient deities of Gaul, Britain and Gallaecia by region
Supra-regional	Alaunus Alisanos Andarta Anextiomarus Artio Aveta Belenus Belisama Borvo Brigantia Camulus Cernunnos Cicolluis Cissonius Condatis Damona Dis Pater Divona Epona Erecura Esus Genii Cucullati Grannus Ialonus Contrebis Lenus Litavis Loucetios Lugus Maponos Matres Matrona Mogons Nantosuelta Ogmios Ritona Rosmerta Segomo Sirona Sucellus Suleviae Taranis Telesphorus Toutatis Virotutis Visucius
Britannia	Abandinus Alaisiagae Ancasta Andraste Apollo Cunomaglus Arnemetia Belatucadros Britannia Clota Cocidius Coventina Iouga Latis Nodens Ocelus Ricagambeda Satiada Senuna Sulis Vinotonus Verbeia Veteris
Gallia Aquitania	Abellio Baco Fagus Sexarbores
Gallia Belgica	Abnoba Ancamna Arduinna Arvernus Icovellauna Inciona Intarabus Iovantucarus Veraudunus Vindonnus Vosegus Xulsigiae
Gallia Celtica	Acionna Anvallus Atepomarus Bricta Gobannus Icaunis Luxovius Nemetona Moccus Moritasgus Mullo Naria Robor Sequana Souconna Smertrios Telo
Gallia Cisalpina	Ambisagrus
Gallia Narbonensis	Albiorix Artaius Buxenus Cathubodua Lero et Lerina Nemausus Rudianos
Germania Inferior	Matronae Aufaniae Gebrinius Nehalennia
Gallaecia	Bandua Endovelicus Nabia Reue

• Goddesses of the ancient Britons
• Sea and river goddesses