Alternate Names for English Colonies in America

I'm trying to think up some names for English colonies that developed where Edward VI survived. So far I have Edwardia and thats it. They would be located largely in Mid Atlantic and Southern parts of British America.
 
Brasil is a common one. Also, possibly some variation on "Cipangu", or - never forget the classics - the Hesperides.
 
Jania (after his mother Jane Seymour)
New Somerset
Kingsland

Or for more mythological
Avalon
Lyonesse
 
I never figured out where some of those older colonial names come from-- what's "Brazil" from, anyways?

mate, I believe that was named for the brazil-nut trees there...

As for other poss alternate English colonial names- how bout (recycling other proposals put before on this board):
Nova Albion
Drakesland
Hesperia
Vinlandia
Columbia
Wellsland (for the failed settlement in Maine)
 
There's always the redoubtable fall-back of New-[Any English County Name Here], but I don't think that that's what you were going for.
 
I already have a Hybrasil. I think I'll use some of the suggested names, probably some of the more mythological ones, though I do like Formosa and Tudoria.
 
WP says Brasil means ember: "Pau brazil" was "ember wood", which is what the Portuguese called the local trees.

There are some old Spanish maps of North America with some unfamiliar names. I've found Apalche for the Carolinas region (http://www.mapsofpa.com/17thcentury/1597wytfliet.jpg); Tierra de Nuremberg on this Italian map for some reason (http://www.mapsofpa.com/17thcentury/1561_1693.jpg), which also gives an unidentifiable island in the St. Lawrence the name "Isola de Demoni", and, for a more workable name, Arcadia for the Delaware River region; Norumbega for the New England area(http://www.mapsofpa.com/17thcentury/1597HMM.jpg). Also, I saw Tudoria suggested, but Stuartia or Stuarterra/e could also work. Elisabetana, Mariana, and Gulielmia also come to mind.
 
I never figured out where some of those older colonial names come from-- what's "Brazil" from, anyways?

Not sure about the Hesperides, but Cipangu was an alternate name of Japan, IIRC. So this would probably be a TL where the New World = India meme continues longer and more things get a chance to be mistakenly "identified."

Continuing along that vein, how about West Cathay?
 
'New Wales' was to be on the upper Ohio River:

http://books.google.com/books?id=PJnRGCrzkggC&pg=PA115&lpg=PA115&dq=%22New+Wales%22+colony+Ohio+1763&source=bl&ots=eauFV2PYvg&sig=YATpuyt1F16t3Pez_f_hhcizJ00&hl=en&ei=9u1rStmYOpP-NcOktfkG&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8#v=onepage&q=%22New%20Wales%22%20colony%20Ohio%201763&f=false

http://www.rarenewspapers.com/view/547931

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache...ales"+Ohio+1763+Webb&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

'New Somersetshire', the sister colony to New Hampshire, was the original grant of Maine to Fernando Gorges. He later was re-granted the land under the current name of Maine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Somersetshire

Charlotina was to be between Rupert's Land/the Great Lakes, the Ohio, Wabash, and Mississippi Rivers. Incidentally, a land company called the 'Illinois-Wabash' Company tried to found a settlement in the same borders some time later, so one of those two names could potentially work (witness the Virginia Company, Plymouth Company, Massachusetts Bay Company, Somers Isles Company, Transylvania Company, Vandalia Company, and other joint-stock company names giving their name to their colonial venture).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotina

Vandalia was actually approved by the Privy Council but Virginia's balking at being thrown out of the western lands it claimed, then the ARW happening, killed that off.

Transylvania was founded in 1775 but voided by Virginia in the same vein as Vandalia.

'Pittsylvania' was to be another potential name for Vandalia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsylvania

'New Albion' was *again* given to the Californian coast by George Vancouver, who then gave the name 'New Georgia' to Oregon/Washington, then 'New Hanover' to lower British Columbia, 'New Bremen' to middle BC, and 'New Cornwall' to Upper BC/lowermost Alaska.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Ps...page&q="New Hanover" George Vancouver&f=false

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Georgia

'New Ireland' was to be eastern Maine/the Territory of Sagadahook, a Loyalist Colony in the same vein as New Brunswick.

http://www.mainememory.net/bin/Detail?ln=6949

http://books.google.com/books?id=3s...=3#v=onepage&q=New Ireland Maine 1780&f=false

'Cabeck' might have stuck as an anglicized corruption of 'Quebec' (incidentally itself a French corruption of the Amerindian 'Kebec'), or maybe directly from the Amerindian word.

http://books.google.com/books?id=4Z...1&ct=result#v=onepage&q=Cabeck Quebec&f=false
 
Last edited:
After New England and Nova Scotia, what about a New (North) Wales and
New Ireland somewhere in the Americas?

And we could go on with New Kent, New Cornwall, New Wessex ...

But I don't think there would be much interest in an Isle of Newman.
 
Top