When the Norsemen settled in these islands, they gave to each a name in their own language, and these names have been preserved with little alteration, though their meaning has generally been forgotten. Some were named from their configuration or appearance, as Hoy (_Ha-ey_), the high island; Flotta (_Flat-ey_), the flat island; Sanday, the sand island; Eday, the island of the _eith_ or isthmus; Burray (_Borgar-ey_), the islands of the “brochs.” Some were named from their position, as Westray, the west island; Auskerry, the east skerry. Some were named after persons as Rousay, Rolf’s island; Gairsay (_Gareksey_), Garek’s island; Graemsay (_Grimsey_), Grim’s island; Copinsay, Kolbein’s island. The name _Rinansey_, the island of St. Ninian, often called Ringan, was afterwards changed to Ronaldsay, with “North” prefixed to distinguish it from the original Rognvald’s island, now South Ronaldsay. A few were named from their uses, as Faray, the sheep island; and Hrossey, the horse island, an old name for the Mainland (_Meginland_), or principal island of the group. It is very odd to find in books and on maps the Latin name _Pomona_ applied to this last island—Pomona, the Roman goddess of harvest-plenty, whose name was also used to indicate the fruits of the earth. The explanation seems to be that a mistake was made by George Buchanan, the greatest Latin scholar whom Scotland ever produced, in quoting a passage from Solinus, an old Latin writer. Solinus, speaking of some island which he calls Thylé or Thulé, says that it is five days’ sail from the Orcades, and that it is large and rich in the constant yield of its harvests (_pomona_). Buchanan, who knew much of Latin but little of either Thulé or the Orcades, takes this to mean that “Thulé is large and Pomona is rich and fertile,” and he concludes from this that Pomona must be the chief island of the Orcades. Thus by a mere blunder the name “Pomona” was given to the Mainland; but there is no good reason why we should perpetuate this blunder. “Mainland” is the name which every intelligent Orcadian should use. It is believed by some that the use of the word _pomona_ itself is due to another blunder, the mistake of a copyist, and that what Solinus really wrote was a contracted form of a word which simply meant fruit.