Saint-Arnac (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃.t‿aʁnak] ; Occitan: Centernac) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.

Geography

Saint-Arnac is in the canton of La Vallée de l'Agly and in the arrondissement of Perpignan.

Map of Saint-Arnac and its surrounding communes

Toponymy

Attested forms

The name of Saint-Arnac appears in 899 as villare Centernacho, followed by Centernacum in the 12th century. But already in 1137, Ermengaud de So gives the name Sent Ernach, which later becomes Sant Arnach or Sanctum Arnachum, and then Saint-Arnac or Saint-Arnach in French.[3][4]

Etymology

The original name, Centernach, is probably that of a landowner, followed by the suffix -acum, which may be either :[4]

  • Centerinus (from Centenus) ;
  • Cincturinus (from Cinctura) ;
  • Centuriones (from centurion).

The mistake made in the 12th century by homonymy is a reference to a supposed saint Arnach, who never existed, although Arnac used to be a common German name at the time (from arn, eagle, followed by -acum).[4]

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 95—    
1975 67−4.87%
1982 68+0.21%
1990 65−0.56%
1999 82+2.62%
2007 120+4.87%
2012 121+0.17%
2017 115−1.01%
Source: INSEE[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Populations de référence 2022" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.
  3. ^ (in French) Jean Sagnes (dir.), Le pays catalan, t. 2, Pau, Société nouvelle d'éditions régionales, 1985
  4. ^ a b c (in French) Lluís Basseda, Toponymie historique de Catalunya Nord, t. 1, Prades, Revista Terra Nostra, 1990
  5. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE


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