Etymology

The country's name is derived from the Old English word Englaland, which literally translates as "land of the Angles". The Angles were one of the Germanic ruling elites who inserted monarchies in the area during the Early Middle Ages and created various petty kingdoms. The Angles in particular came from the Angeln peninsula, flanked on either side by the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known usage of "England" referring to the southern part of the island of Great Britain was in 897, with the modern spelling first used in 1538.The earliest attested mention of the term in general, is by Tacitus in his 1st century work Germania, where the Latin word Anglii is used. The etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars; it has been suggested it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape.

Alternatively, in a more poetic capacity the name Albion has been applied to England, though originally it was used to denote the entire island of Great Britain. The oldest mention of it is found in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically De Mundo from the 4th century. Within the work it states, "Beyond the Pillars of Hercules is the ocean that flows round the earth. In it are two very large islands called Britannia; these are Albion and Ierne". The word Albion (Ἀλβίων) or insula Albionum has two possible origins. It either derives from the Latin albus meaning white, a reference to the white cliffs of Dover, which is the first view of Britain from the European Continent.An alternative origin is suggested by the ancient merchant's handbook Massaliote Periplus which mentions an "island of the Albiones". Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh Lloegr and used in Arthurian legend