Morphology: pen+cam
Phonetic: pen-gah-m
The village name refers to a "crooked hill". Originally named Aberpengam, the village name comes from the farm and stream of the same name in the area. The word "aber" can mean the confluence of two of more rivers, possibly referring to the fact that the Union Brook, Nant Cascade and a small un-named stream all join the Rhymney river in the area. The spellings for the village name have been varied over the centuries, with it being recorded as Pont y manpenagm 1704, Pontar Pengam c1790, Tir Pont Pengam and Pont Aber Pengam 1813, Pontabar Pengam 1831, Pontmaenpengam 1851. The present day name seems to have first appeared in 1860 with both Pengam and Pontaberpengam being recorded in that year.