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  • 2021-03-22 (xsd:date)
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  • Is Greenland Called Greenland Because It's a Green Land? (en)
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  • The world's largest island is a vast tundra whose most defining geographical features are the large icebergs that line its coast. How then, did this icy region become known as Greenland? In March 2021, the etymological origins of Greenland found themselves at the center of the conversation on social media after Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin was quoted in The New York Times saying that Greenland was named Greenland because it was once a green land. The article, which focused primarily on Johnson's shaky relationship with the truth, later quoted Johnson saying that he had no idea if his statements about Greenland in this interview were accurate: As the Times notes above, the reason Greenland was called Greenland is not because it was once a green land. The island actually received its deceptive name from Erik the Red, a Norse explorer who was exiled from Iceland circa 980 for murder. When Erik the Red established the first permanent European settlement in the ice-covered region to the west of Iceland, he dubbed the area Greenland in an attempt to make it sound more hospitable to potential settlers. The deceptive origins of Greenland's naming can be found in The Saga of Erik the Red, a text compiled between the 13th and 15th centuries. Here's an excerpt from an 1880 translation (emphasis ours): This origin story is also recounted on the tourism site Visit Greenland, Etymology Online, and in the following passage from book Amid Greenland Snows; Or, The Early History of Arctic Missions: While naming this ice-covered island Greenland was certainly a deceptive marketing ploy, Erik the Red was not being entirely dishonest. Greenland is primarily covered in ice, but there is vegetation in the southern fjords, especially during the summer when temperatures can reach 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The government of Greenland noted in a 2020 report: It should also be noted that while Erik the Red may have slightly exaggerated the extent of Greenland's greeness when he encouraged his fellow Icelanders to settle the area, this name would have aptly described the island a few hundred thousand years before it's discovery by European settlers. According to Scientific American, the southern part of Greenland contained a forest 400,000 to 800,000 years ago: In short, the reason Greenland was named Greenland was because a Norse explorer named Erik the Red was hoping that the name would encourage people to settle on the newly discovered island. While Erik the Red had some standing to bestow this name on the land — the southern portion of Greenland does have some vegetation in the summer months — the island was primarily covered in snow and ice. (en)
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