Iceland had a few other names throughout history, including “Snæland” (snowland) and Garðarshólmur ("Garðar's little island"). Iceland current name came from a Norwegian Viking called Flóki Vilgerðarson. He chose the name after seeing a distant fjord full of sea-ice from a mountain. He didn’t think very much of Iceland, and that may be why he chose this uninviting name. You sometimes hear the story that Iceland was so named to discourage excessive immigration, but there seems to be no basis for this claim as thousands of people did in fact immigrate from Norway.
Greenland is said to have gotten its name from the Viking Erik the Red. After being banished from Norway and then Iceland, he settled in what is now Greenland. When his term of banishment expired, he returned to Icleand to invite his neighbors and friends to settle the new country with him. He purposely chose the pleasant name Grænland ("green land") to attract settlers, and he wasn’t really lying. Some parts of Greenland, especially where they settled, really are green, as these pictures from the tourist board attest (www.greenland-guide.dk/outdoor_life_photo.htm).
Mystery solved!
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