Saint-Arnac Sent Arnac
Commune
The village with the Corbières Massif in the background
Coat of arms
Location of Saint-Arnac
Saint-Arnac Show map of France Saint-Arnac Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 42°46′51″N 2°31′48″E / 42.7808°N 2.53°E / 42.7808; 2.53
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Prades
Canton	La Vallée de l'Agly
Intercommunality	Agly Fenouillèdes
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Guy Calvet[1]
Area 1	6.60 km2 (2.55 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	104
• Density	16/km2 (41/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	66169 /66220
Elevation	212–583 m (696–1,913 ft) (avg. 306 m or 1,004 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

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.

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