The names "England" and "English" both originate from the Angles, a Germanic tribe that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages.
Origin of the Name "England"
- The name "England" comes from the Old English Englaland , meaning "land of the Angles"
- The Angles came from the Angeln region in what is now northern Germany and southern Denmark.
- The earliest recorded use of the term is from the late 9th century, where it referred to the land inhabited by the English people, including parts of what is now southeast Scotland
- The name replaced earlier names like Britannia as the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms unified under a single identity by around 1000 AD
- The choice of "Angles" over other tribes like the Saxons likely relates to the Angles' dominance in establishing royal dynasties and larger kingdoms in Britain, whereas the Saxons had their own homeland in continental Saxony, making "Saxon land" less distinctive
Origin of the Name "English"
- The English language's name also derives from the Angles; the Old English word for the language was Englisc , meaning the language of the Angles
- English developed from the West Germanic dialects spoken by the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes who invaded Britain in the 5th century, replacing the native Celtic languages
- The term "English" thus reflects the language spoken by the people of the Angles, who became the dominant cultural group in the region.
In summary, both England and English are named after the Angles, a Germanic tribe whose settlement and political dominance in early medieval Britain led to their name being used for the land and its language. The Saxons and Jutes were also important groups but did not lend their names to the country or language in the same way
