Why do most places in northern ireland begin wth the prefix of Bally?

Question

for example Ballymena, Ballymoney, Ballykeal

Answer 1

its not most places

and there are other common prefixes such as 'kil'

killowen, kilrea, Kilrush, Kilrean, Kilkenny, Kilbride

and more

look here: http://www.fallingrain.com/world/EI/a/

Answer 2

Exceptions

Ballyhoo is NOT an Irish town. It's an attitude

Ballkissangel is a made up name for Avoca

Ballgobackwards is a TV term [of abuse].

Balljamesduff is a real town [in Cavan]

Bally is a clothing trade name

Answer 3

ballybunion

ballycury

ballychlamydia

ballyira

Answer 4

in all of ireland there are places beginning with bally

this is because originally all these places were in irish and the name of the place was baile whatever. then when the english translated them the just called them whatever sounded like the irish pronunciation

Answer 5

yeah Bally towns are more common in the Republic of Ireland, not the North! Bally is the anglicised name for the word "Baile" which means town in Irish.

Answer 6

It's not only in the North but all over the island of Ireland. Bally is english for Baile which means "town". Alot of places ended up being called bally something or other.Ballymena is town of mena for example.

Answer 7

It's not just in the North. There's plenty of places in the republic that has this too.

Answer 8

Baile na is irish for place of.

BTW it's pronounced Ballymenahey

Answer 9

A feature of the landscape or a description of the place eg Ballybeg - from "Baile" (town) and "beag" (small) - means "small town".

it is also the same in the republic , here are a few examples:

ballyfin

baile atha cliath- dublin

Answer 10

Baile is the Irish word for town or homestead. It was anglicised as 'Bally'.

Answer 11

It comes from the Irish for town which is Baile, pronounced like Bally.

I should add its not just in NI, but all over the republic too.

Answer 12

Most places in Northern Ireland don't begin with the prefix "Bally". Where did you get that idea from?