Island names come from whoever reaches the island. Mistholm is "the small island of mist": mist (the sight) + holm (the Norse islet word). Here are names for islands with their parts on the table: 114 of them, Norse geography builds and explorer homeland builds, six real islands included, each row carrying its receipt.
Two documented conventions share this list. The Norse rows pass the geographic criterion: a sight root plus an island suffix that sizes the land. The explorer rows pass the convention criterion: a naming prefix plus a homeland stem. The last six rows are attested islands. Names bold, glosses italic, nothing between the rows.
Island names with their builds, meanings and traditions
Name
Built from
Meaning
Tradition
Mistey
mist + ey
the island of mist
Geographic root + Norse island suffix (documented convention); receipt: Orkney
the new Scotland's Latin name, after the settlers' home
Explorer convention prefix + homeland stem (documented); receipt: New Caledonia
New Hibernia
new + hibernia
the new Ireland's Latin name, after the settlers' home
Explorer convention prefix + homeland stem (documented); receipt: New Caledonia
Cape Batavia
cape + batavia
the cape sighted off the Netherlands' Latin name's shores
Explorer convention prefix + homeland stem (documented); receipt: Cape Verde
Saint Armorica
saint + armorica
the dedication to Brittany's Latin name
Explorer convention prefix + homeland stem (documented); receipt: St. Helena
Orkney
orkn + ey
the seal islands (Old Norse Orkneyjar)
Real island (attested)
Greenland
green + land
Erik the Red's inviting name for settlers (saga record)
Real island (attested)
New Zealand
new + zeeland
the new Zeeland, from Dutch Nova Zeelandia
Real island (attested)
New Caledonia
new + caledonia
the new Scotland, named by Cook in 1774
Real island (attested)
How do island names work?
Name the sight, then size the land. Orkney is seals plus ey, the island of seals. The Norse suffix ladder sizes honestly: sker for a reef that drowns, holm for a small island, ey for a true island, land for island-continent scale like Iceland. The explorer grammar works the other way: it names the far place after the near one, Zeeland carried to New Zealand, Caledonia carried to New Caledonia. The craft of choosing is taught on the how to name a character page, in its worldbuilding section.
The explorer conventions
Four prefixes, four documented motives. New names homesickness. Cape names the headland sighted first. Port claims a harbor. Saint dedicates the landfall. Each carried a real island across the centuries.
Explorer conventions with their receipts
Convention
Motive
Real receipt
New
name the far place for the home one
New Zealand, New Caledonia
Cape
name the headland sighted first
Cape Verde, the green cape
Port
claim a harbor
Port Royal
Saint
dedicate the landfall
St. Helena, by tradition
Eponym
name for the finder or a patron
Tasmania, for Abel Tasman
Island name questions, answered
What are mysterious island names?
Names built from what hides an island: mist, fog, tide, bare stone. Mistholm and Fogland read mysterious because the roots deny a clear view. The real tradition backs it: Hy-Brasil stayed on charts for five centuries without existing, and St. Brendan's Isle was mapped for a thousand years.
Are these island names real?
Six rows are real islands, and they say so. Orkney, Greenland, Iceland, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and Newfoundland are attested with their naming history. Every other row is a build from the same two documented conventions, Norse and explorer.
What is a good island name?
One that names what a boat notices first. Norse settlers did exactly that: Orkney is the seal islands. Pick the sight, seals, kelp, fog, crags, then size the island with the suffix: sker for a reef, holm for an islet, ey for an island, land for a country. Build your own in the generator.
Where the meanings come from.Norse suffix glosses and explorer-convention receipts follow published toponymy and exploration history; every attested island (Orkney, Greenland, New Zealand, New Caledonia) is real, and Erik the Red's naming motive is saga-recorded. Generated combinations are ours. Where every name's receipt comes from →