A national park authority has voted to go ahead with its plans to only use Welsh names for its lakes. Eryri National Park, alongside the School of Welsh at Cardiff University and the Welsh Language Commissioner, have now recommended a standard list of Eryri lake names.

In a meeting on Thursday, November 15, members voted unanimously in favour of using this standardised list. Over recent years there has been much discussion on the fact that certain lakes in the national park have been recognised by their English names such as 'Australia Lake' in Conwy and 'Bala Lake' in Bala.

But these lakes' first and official names are Llyn Bochlwyd and Llyn Tegid respectively, which offer an indication to the lakes and their surrounding areas' history. According to Eryri National Park's authority the aim of this pilot project is to research and record their historical geographical names so that they are safeguarded and "used extensively in conversations, on maps, and in print" and that they are conserved for future generations.

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The standardised list of Eryri’s lake names is the first of its kind to be recommended by the Welsh Language Commissioner, with work now under way on standardising a list of waterfall and peak names found in the national park. Last year the national park decided to drop 'Snowdonia' and officially only be recognised for its Welsh name Eryri. Its highest peak, formerly known as Snowdon, is now only recognised for its Welsh name, which is Yr Wyddfa. A few months later Bannau Brycheiniog National Park also made changes so that it would officially be known by its Welsh name only. You can read more about this here.

Through the process the panel said it considered the history, meaning, and the origin of the names. Furthermore they said there was a "special emphasis" on local use and consulting with individuals or experts. According to reports Llyn Bochlwyd got its name 'Australia Lake' due to the fact that the lake is shaped like the country of Australia. For the latest analysis of the biggest stories sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.

However in Welsh Llyn Bochlwyd means "grey cheek lake" and legend has it the lake got its Welsh name because it was the spot where an old grey stag leapt down from high up on the cliffs to escape a hunter before swimming to safety while holding its grey cheeks above the surface. According to the panel it became evident that many of the names had been incorrectly spelt on maps for many years. This project therefore was an opportunity to rectify them, they said.

Naomi Jones, the head of the National Park Authority’s cultural heritage, said: "Eryri national park’s wealth of names for landscape features is a treasured part of our cultural heritage and we’re extremely pleased to see our project with the language commissioner and Cardiff University come to fruition. By recommending the standard list of Eryri’s lake names the authority ensures that these historical names are recorded for future generations and used extensively in day-to-day life."

Dr Dylan Foster, who is Cardiff University's head of school of Welsh, said: "Place names are part of everyone’s heritage and in a digital age when information is shared online in an instant having standardised forms of names benefits everyone. Projects like this also draw attention to the richness of our local dialects and folklore and allow us to share all kinds of stories about the names that are such an important part of the identities of our communities."