Hibernia

Hibernia (Latin: [(h)ɪ.ˈbɛr.n̪i.a]) is the Classical Latin name for Ireland, and today is used as a poetic name for the island. It is derived from the native Celtic name for the island and its people, but influenced by the Latin hībernus, as though it meant "wintry land". The name Hibernia or Ibernia as a name for Ireland dates back to the 1st century BC, when Julius Caesar used it in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico. It then became the main Latin name for Ireland. Roman geographer Pomponius Mela and the poet Juvenal, writing in the 1st century AD, call Ireland Iuverna. In his 2nd century Geographia (c. 150 AD), Greek geographer Ptolemy called the island Iouernia or Iwernia (Ἰουερνία; ou represented /w/). In the 4th century, Claudian calls the island Hiverne. All of these names are believed to come from a Q-Celtic name *Īweriū, meaning "fertile land". From this eventually arose the Irish names Ériu and Éire.