The Celtic place names in Galicia are the names of places, rivers, or mountains that were created using a Celtic language. These names have origins in Celtic languages and are found in the area that is now called Galicia.

Ancient Celtic toponyms

In Galicia, about half of the place names that were recorded by ancient writers and mapmakers, or found in Roman stone writings, are from the Celtic language. The other half are mostly from the Indo-European language group, but they may not be clearly Celtic or lack clear Celtic origins. Here is a list of place names that are likely Celtic. A common feature in these names is the ending -bri(s), which comes from the ancient Celtic word brigs, meaning "hill." This word also led to terms like brigā, which could mean "hillfort" or "town." During the Iron Age, the only known settlements in Galicia were forts and towns called castros, built on hills and peninsulas. Many of these were abandoned after the Romans took control of the region.

Britonia

In the 5th or 6th centuries, a group of people from Britain settled in northern Galicia. Their religious leaders attended several meetings, first with the Suebic Kingdom of Galicia and later with the Visigoths in Toledo, until the 8th century. Some place names are believed to be connected to them:

A village named Bretonos was located near the city of Lugo during the Middle Ages.

Modern and medieval toponyms

In Galicia, many place names have Celtic or pre-Latin origins. These names are most common along the coast, especially in the Rías Altas region near A Coruña and in the valley of the Ulla River.

Some areas of Galicia, called "comarcas" when they include multiple towns or "concellos" otherwise, have names that were directly inherited from pre-Roman tribal groups or have roots in pre-Roman times.

Many rivers in Galicia have names that date back to the Celtic and pre-Roman Indo-European languages, especially the larger rivers. Some rivers no longer use their original pre-Latin names, but these names were recorded in medieval writings.

Out of the 3,794 parishes in Galicia, most are small rural areas that were built on or near ancient Roman villages. These villages were often located on top of Iron Age hillforts. Many parishes still use old pre-Latin names.

A common part of Celtic place names in Galicia is "brigs," which means "hill" or "high place" and can also refer to "hillfort." This word often appears as the second part of place names ending in "-bre," "-be," or "-ve." It is related to the Irish Gaelic word "brí," which also means "hill." This pattern comes from the Proto-Celtic root "-brigs," which evolved into "-brixs" and then "-bris." A few place names ending in "-bra" come from the derivative "*brigā," which also influenced the Breton and Welsh words for "hill." Examples include:

Another common type of Celtic place names in Galicia are those that use a superlative form, either with the suffix "-mmo-" or the combination "-is-mmo-."

Other villages and parishes have names with pre-Latin, likely Celtic, origins, especially in the coastal areas of the A Coruña and Pontevedra provinces and along the Ulla River valley. Examples include: