Arfon was one of five district

Districts of Wales

In 1974, Wales was re-divided for local government purposes into thirty-seven districts. Districts were the second tier of local government introduced by the Local Government Act 1972, being subdivisions of the eight counties introduced at the same time...

s of Gwynedd

Gwynedd

Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, from 1974 to 1996.

It was created by the Local Government Act 1972

Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

 on 1 April 1974 from part of the administrative county of Caernarfonshire

Caernarfonshire

Caernarfonshire , historically spelled as Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire in English during its existence, was one of the thirteen historic counties, a vice-county and a former administrative county of Wales....

, namely the municipal borough

Municipal borough

Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...

s of Bangor

Bangor, Wales

Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...

 and Caernarfon

Caernarfon

Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...

, the Bethesda

Bethesda, Wales

Bethesda is a town lying on the River Ogwen and the A5 road on the edge of Snowdonia, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, colloquially called Pesda by the locals.- History :...

 urban district

Urban district

In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....

, the rural district

Rural district

Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...

s of Ogwen

Ogwen Rural District

Ogwen was a rural district in the administrative county of Caernarfonshire in Wales from 1894 to 1974.The district was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from the part of the former Bangor Rural Sanitary District in Caernarfonshire. The rest on the Isle of Anglesey, formed Aethwy Rural...

, and the Gwyrfai Rural District

Gwyrfai Rural District

Gwyrfai was a rural district in the administrative county of Caernarvonshire from 1894 to 1974.The district was formed under the Local Government Act 1894, taking over the area of the Carnarvon Rural Sanitary District...

, less the parishes

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Beddgelert

Beddgelert

Beddgelert, or in older English spelling often Bedgellert, is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound Gelert. Population 617.- History:...

 and Clynnog.

It was abolished as a district on 1 April 1996, when Gwynedd was reconstituted as a unitary authority. The area remains in use for an area committee

Area committee

Many large local government councils in the United Kingdom have a system of area committees, with responsibility for services in a particular part of the area covered by the council....

 of Gwynedd Council

Gwynedd Council

Gwynedd Council is the governing body for the principal area of Gwynedd, one of the subdivisions of Wales within the United Kingdom.- Creation of the Authority :...

.

Etymology

Arfon means "opposite Anglesey" ('Ar' + 'Fôn' which is the soft mutation of 'Môn', the Welsh name for Anglesey). The name is ancient and has been used to designate the area since early medieval times. In the Middle Ages Cantref Arfon

Cantref Arfon

The mediaeval Welsh cantref of Arfon in north-west Wales was the core of the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Later it was included in the new county of Caernarfonshire, together with Llŷn and Arllechwedd under the terms of the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284...

 was an administrative unit of the Kingdom of Gwynedd

Kingdom of Gwynedd

Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...

. Arfon survived as a geocultural name (Welsh: bro) over the centuries and remains in use today. It is also sometimes found as a personal name (e.g. Arfon Griffiths

Arfon Griffiths

Arfon Trevor Griffiths is a Welsh former football player and manager. During his playing career which lasted from 1959 to 1979, Griffiths played at both professional and international levels, before becoming a football manager.-Career:...

).