Is it a bit cocky to for Britons to call their country 'Great' Britain?

Question

Is it a bit cocky to for Britons to call their country 'Great' Britain?

Answer 1

Britains are both proud and tolerant and have supported the underdog against the odds through out the ages.

When you look at the world the British influence is present in most cultures. True it was born from imperialism and driven by Commerce and controlled with the gun and sword but the civilisations that have formed when the empire changed after the second world war have and are still blossoming because of the great legacies. That is the Greatness we have as Britains. To Irish people, Ireland (which is our land to call as we choose) is not in the British Isles. In Ireland all reference to it was removed from official documents and school curriculum’s a few years back. The fact that some Brits hold on to this term like the islands will sink if they do not is testament to the idea that some Brits cannot just give up their countries colonial past. It cannot be denied that the term is more than merely geographical, it is entirely political. If it is geographical then it is inaccurate, as again, it is a fact that Ireland is not a part of Britain. I would be interested to hear what people from outside the Atlantic Archipelago think of this, would they ever use the term British Isles and what do they understand it to mean?

Answer 2

At the timne though, it occured to many progressives that the British Empire could mantain its dominant position if the colonies and dominions were tied in more closely with the mother country, even though they were spread across the world. This would involve giving some say to them in the running of a 'Greater Britain', a kind of international federation, half-way between the current Commonwealth and the previous Empire. Because of the prevailing cultural attitudes, this concept was directed mostly to the overseas white-ruled dominions of Canada, Australia and New Zealand (and South Africa, though of course it was only white ruled, not populated), which would have a vote on federal policies, whilst self-governing locally. Other options for India and other non-white colonies were also put forward. These concepts never took off ultimately because of the difficulty in getting all the different parties aligned - the home country would always have seen this as a dilution of power, whilst outlying members of Greater Britain wanted near total self-government whilst retaining all the priviledged trade relations and the protection of the British Navy. So we ended up with the situation we have - which is probably the best outcome. Interestingly the French did, in a small way, implement a Greater France vision - whereby some of the previous colonies became politically part of France, as overseas 'departments', their citizens are French and to this day they have a vote in presidential elections, e.g. Martinique. However, it seems that many of those 'departments' are still asking for more independence and freedoms from 'home rule', despite the priviledges they enjoy by being part of France (like having access to vast pools of EU subsidies and regional development aid). Maybe the Brits got it right.

Answer 3

As an interesting angle on previous answers ..... ln mid-to-late 1800s, Great Britain was the undisputed superpower of the world. But by about 1900 other powers were challenging Great Britain industrially, economically, militarily and politically. Whenever there was a discussion about who the leading powers would be in a hundred years' time (2000) the UK was always in the top 3. But there was a big debate in the country about its inevitable relative decline, as continental powers with more resources and greater populations (mainly USA, Russia, Germany) overcame geopolitical disadvantages through industrialisation and militarisation. This of course turned out to be a very valid concern and the UK featured only in the top 5 or top 10 by 2000, depending which of those criteria you consider. Two world wars, where the mother country was at the heart of the conflict, the resulting loss of Empire and the rise of Japan and now also of China, made this inevitable.



At the timne though, it occured to many progressives that the British Empire could mantain its dominant position if the colonies and dominions were tied in more closely with the mother country, even though they were spread across the world. This would involve giving some say to them in the running of a 'Greater Britain', a kind of international federation, half-way between the current Commonwealth and the previous Empire. Because of the prevailing cultural attitudes, this concept was directed mostly to the overseas white-ruled dominions of Canada, Australia and New Zealand (and South Africa, though of course it was only white ruled, not populated), which would have a vote on federal policies, whilst self-governing locally. Other options for India and other non-white colonies were also put forward. These concepts never took off ultimately because of the difficulty in getting all the different parties aligned - the home country would always have seen this as a dilution of power, whilst outlying members of Greater Britain wanted near total self-government whilst retaining all the priviledged trade relations and the protection of the British Navy. So we ended up with the situation we have - which is probably the best outcome. Interestingly the French did, in a small way, implement a Greater France vision - whereby some of the previous colonies became politically part of France, as overseas 'departments', their citizens are French and to this day they have a vote in presidential elections, e.g. Martinique. However, it seems that many of those 'departments' are still asking for more independence and freedoms from 'home rule', despite the priviledges they enjoy by being part of France (like having access to vast pools of EU subsidies and regional development aid). Maybe the Brits got it right.

Answer 4

The country is not called Great Britain - the island is. The country is the United Kingdom. Or parts of the island are the formally independent Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Wales. The island is called Great Britain to distinguish it from little or small Britain, now known as Brittany in modern day France. The word Britain comes from old Briton language (in modern Welsh, who are the ancestors of those ancient Britons, the word is Prydain, it was anglicized or Saxonized! to Britain. The Britons who fled the saxon invasion in the sixth century set up home in the Roman province of Amorica, and that area became largely Brittonic - hence the Breton language and the Welsh language being very similar.

Answer 5

I’m not 100% sure but I think Britney got it name during the 100 years war, the angles walked over from the Netherlands about 7000 years ago before the north sea flood the flat plans that once joined us to mainland Europe, see climate change has always been an issue.



The Romans I think where first to refer to the island as Britannia after those came the Saxons, and created what we know as Anglo-Saxon, at no time as far as I know did the Anglo-Saxon make a clam on Brittany.



When Edward the confessor die, I sure most of you will remember the Duke or Normandy (William the Conquer) landed on the south cost and there was a small battle at hasting where King Harold got an arrow in his eye.



What is often forgot about the Normans is that they where from Norway, and had invade France and was given the option to settle there by Charles the Simple if they took up Christianity, and the people from Norway, where give land which became known as Normandy.



So before that time there was no Anglo-Saxon attacks on France, because there was no organisation or manpower. William the 1st changed a lot of things that happened in l'Angleterre and he also gave us the two of the three lions we are so proud to call English on our England football shirts.



So it wasn’t until the 100 years war that English troops invaded France, by that time there was organisation, manpower and money and for along time a a lot of France was ruled from England but over the years the French took it back, right up to Elizabeth 1st



Great Britain I think you will find is Victoria propaganda and I guess at that time it was Great, it was the riches country in the world, it had the biggest Empire in the world it was a superpower and there where many rivals in Europe so it was important to look good, at the Time Great Britain would include Ireland as it wasn’t until after the first world war the Irish grain it independent back, after the “British” ignore them during the potato famine and sent many Irishmen of to fight and die in the First world War, also there is the Boar war where we made a number of bad calls and lets not forget our part in the slave trade, that been forgotten or left out of our schools curriculum, and it also how high street bank own there origins to.



Great Brittan and the United Kingdom are two very different things the United Kingdom consist of only Wales, Scotland and England, the first union happen when James Stuart (James 1st) was made king of England, Elizabeth 1st had no bloodline and So the King of Scotland won a duel thorns of Scotland and England which is why sometime you can see a different version of the union jack in some painting of battles, like the death of James Wolf at the Battle of Quebec.



Great Britain is a Victoria phrase, it was to make all the bad stuff we did, be right because we where an empire, perfect in every way, If Nazi’s had won the second world war, Hitler had plans on calling Germany, Greater Germany same idea.



Off course I could be wrong and have my wires crossed, but petty sure it nothing to do with Anglo-Saxons

Answer 6

When you look at Britain as a britain there is much to be proud of. The NHS is there for every one and if like me you have need of treatment then when you are in the system the care is the greatest in the world. Yes you may scoff but if it was reported that every 36 hours 1million people successfully pass through the NHS rather than when a poor soul has to wait on a trolley over night when the service is stretched to capacity because A&E is full of drunks who also get first class treatment even though their injuries were avoidable.This is one of the the things that make Britain Great.



Britains are both proud and tolerant and have supported the underdog against the odds through out the ages.

When you look at the world the British influence is present in most cultures. True it was born from imperialism and driven by Commerce and controlled with the gun and sword but the civilisations that have formed when the empire changed after the second world war have and are still blossoming because of the great legacies. That is the Greatness we have as Britains.

Other things that make Britain great are Trooping the colour, the Proms, Wimbledon and most free live people in the world has Great Britain as the model for their own political, judicial and democratic way of life.

Answer 7

obvious troll, but who cares.



well, you're asking a question in english, on an internet shell designed by an englishman, based on technology designed by a scotsman.

The UK was the only European power to consistently stand against Napoleon and Hitler.

It ruled a quarter of the world's surface and a third of its people.

Its system of government is one of the most stable in the world.

Its explorers stretched the boundaries of the world as it was known.

Its history as a kingdom dates back more than 1200 years.

Its influence on recent history is second only to the United States.

Its naval tradition stretches back 700 years.

Its writers, philosophers and scientists are world-famous.

It was the first nation in history to industrialise.

Some cause to call the country Great, don't you think?





Absolute trash. Britain never existed until the Act of Union in 1707. The word Great was added to decribe a geological area i.e 'Greater Britain' - the 4 nations and islands that made up Great Britain.



Scotland was never under Roman control only small parts of it and that never lasted long hence why they built the Antonnine Wall then retreated further South to hide behind another wall Hadrians.



To the Romans, Britainia was the land below Hadrians wall, Scotland was Caledonia and Ireland Hibernia. There was no such thing as Roman Britain as Britain never existed then.



The Bretons or Brethons who were probably also the Gaels were not and never were the Britons or British that is utter nonsense.



Some of the material on here is shocking typical Brit rubbish.

Answer 8

dear ALL ,

It isn't bit cocky to call " Great Britain " because in the Roman Empire There has The little britannia

( France ) and Great Britannia . The emperor of Roman Empire has defeated the britons and has built the Adrian wall but this is an old history of the great britain . I like the word country great britain or great britannia because this is the best of the pop country per example Cold Play , Muse , Elton john Etc ........ . In Shoppingwebstore.co.uk , I found the Great Britain and America best of the pop CD with 200 best pop songs for the good night parties at home . if you are interested , I give you the code discount n° 183198 .

Answer 9

I find it really strange that so many different theories regarding the origin of the word Britain have been posted. Even stranger is the fact that so far I have seen only one post with the correct answer. There are lots of references to Brittany but the name Britain comes from way back before then when the Romans referred to England (and parts of what is now southern Scotland) as Britania. The rest of Scotland was called Caledonia and Ireland was called Hibernia.

I also find it surprising that some people here have deviated from the main discussion to talk of ENGLAND ruling the world. This is exactly the sort of ill-founded nationalist sentiment that will lead to the other nations of the UK breaking away.

By the way, I live in Greater Glasgow, in Great Britain. It’s alright I guess.

Answer 10

Not sure where you are from but if it is the UK then your question confirms the fall in educational standards.

Great Britain refers to the land mass which includes England, Scotland and Wales. Like Manchester is the City and Greater Manchester includes the urban areas, same for London.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland speaks for itself and the British Isles includes all the small islands around the shores.

If you live outside the UK not too long ago there is a good chance you may have been administered from London as the sun never set on the British Empire

Answer 11

Not at all. Great Britain is the official name given to the country.



The Island that contains England Scotland and Wales is called Great Britain.



In 1603, England and Scotland formed a political Union into a single country. This new country was called 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain'.



The 'Great Britain' means Bigger Britain, since the Island is the bigger of the 2 British Isles (Great Britain and Ireland). Hence, Great Britain is our official name, and there is nothing cocky about saying it.

Answer 12

Why don't people read this board rather than continue to make up answers?



There are two basic reasons - both are similar, historical and language related:



1. Romans used it to distingish it from Brittany , e.g. Brittany and Greater Brittany (Britannia major)



2. King James after Scotland and Britain( England and Wales) came together - called it Great Britain



Either way it is a size definition and nothing else and reflected in most languages, just that in english 'great' has more than one meaning and some people misinterpret 'great' for ' fantastic' pushed no doubt by the media for headline usage.



In German Groß Britanien , in Italian Gran Bretagna, in French Grande Bretagne: all mean Big.



So that's it:



now we can either accept it and get over it or to make this transparent change the name o either:



a. Greater Britain



b. Fantastic Britain



'a' would be transparent and a correct definition



'b' would be transparent but has this Fantasy Island thing going on.....so it starts yet another debate

Answer 13

Here's a few things i've known since i was about 6 years old:



1. Neither Britain nor Great Britain describe a country.



2. Britain is the main island i.e., England, Scotland and Wales.

Great Britain is Britain plus all it's surrounding islands i.e., Isles of Man & Wight, Shetlands, Hebrides etc.



3. Northern Ireland should never be included in the term Great Britain. Read above.

It's a part of the United Kingdom, which is the country in question.



I'm Irish

Answer 14

The reason it is called Great Briton is because the term covers the whole of the one thousand Islands that form the United Kingdom.



It is as simple as that and not just because our language is the International language of the world or because a Brit invented the Digital Mathematics of computers and went on to make the first mechanical calculator and the first electronic computer which was used to break the Enigma code in WW2. or was the First to develop the Steam engine to drive industrial machinery and also the first High Powered steam engine to become the first Railway engine, and incidentally the first petrol engine that was put into a boat on the river Thames, and developed the first practical radio followed by the British invention of Television and the first recordings in Stereophonic sound.The first hand held calculator,Electricity was also a British first, and the Laws of Physics and the discovery of the benefit of Penicillin

and fought off the Germans and the Italians for two years before Hitler's Germany declared War on America which then brought America into the European war that it tried to avoid. Plus the great Poets and Playwrights of literature, together with it's ancient History. We also developed a practical approach to a National Health Service that the United States is also attempting to do.

Answer 15

@rdenig_male



True, it is totally correct for you to say you are also referring to Ireland when you use the term British Isles. However is also correct for an Irish person to say that it is not, it is totally a matter of perception. To Irish people, Ireland (which is our land to call as we choose) is not in the British Isles. In Ireland all reference to it was removed from official documents and school curriculum’s a few years back. The fact that some Brits hold on to this term like the islands will sink if they do not is testament to the idea that some Brits cannot just give up their countries colonial past. It cannot be denied that the term is more than merely geographical, it is entirely political. If it is geographical then it is inaccurate, as again, it is a fact that Ireland is not a part of Britain. I would be interested to hear what people from outside the Atlantic Archipelago think of this, would they ever use the term British Isles and what do they understand it to mean?



As for the Great debate, to attempt to argue that it is called Great Britain because it is a great country is silly. What is the scale on which this is done? Give me an example of a “not great” country or a “kind of okay” country (I’m sure somebody will).

Answer 16

Britain is only the contiguous landmass of the single main island. When James 1 of England, V1 of Scotland unified the kingdoms into a single political entity in the early seventeenth century he wanted a name that included the Scottish Islands - just taken back from Norway, all the English Islands (I.o.W. for example) and all of Ireland and its islands. Hence they called all this greater or Great to mean something bigger than just the single main island but all the islands, big and small that made up our nation. Hence Great Britain means "all inclusive, bigger Britain including the island Britain". This has never been the legally defined name by Act of Parliament - but nor have any of the other names - but James saw the two kingdoms of which he had been crowned as combined as a unity within his person and so it was a "fait accompli".



Having said that - I think it is "Great" in every respect, nowhere is better, all the ex-pats come home in the end.

Answer 17

I think it got the name to make a difference with French Britain (Bretagne in France). There is another place in Northwestern Spain which name is Bretoña or Bretonia (either Galician or Latin language). I do not think the name is to highlight the territory as "Great", although anyone can think (as many of the opinions here) that Great Britain or UK has been and still is a great nation due to all the main reasons have been explained, for instance, by RAC250, I am not British but reckon this nation and the most of the people that both have born and live here are really great. It has always been an example of democracy, tolerance and peaceful and enjoyable live in common of people.

Answer 18

Not really but we could rename the country (or amalgam of fine countries) Big Britain if that would make you feel any better :)



The Brittany answers are correct I believe. The French "Grande Bretagne" is the origin of Great Britain.



Grande <=> BIG not great. Poor translation, a little like Elephant and Castle ish.



There have been close links between Brittany and the south west of England for a long time following a plague in Brittany the local population was devasted and immigrants from Cornwall and Devon repopulated the place. Many common links exist today including language (whatever remains today) and music like celtic type chants/songs and bagpipes.

Answer 19

As a geographical definition - troughout history - it's totally acceptable that to distinguish Britain from Britanny in France we need to call Britain "Great" and i accpet that no problem :)



However, the second person to answered this question, that is DRAC250 mentioned a 10-12 reasons why Britain should be called "Great". Reasons like stability of economy, dominance around the world over the centuries, naval tradition, famous scientists, writers etc etc



That's absolutely wrong!!!! What should the Greeks should called themselfes then? They invented Democracy and they laid the foundation for most arts, sciences and societies on which all the Western system is based! They were the first greatest thinkers of humanity thousands of years before Britain had any inhabitats. LOL! Or what about the Egyptians or the Chinese? Weren't they GREAT? If they were to adopt that egocentric attitude the should call themselves "Greatest China" or "Great Greece" which would be truly silly and arrogant.



So, hold your horses boy!

Answer 20

Well Britain is NOT a country, but a collection of 3 countries, England, Scotland and Wales. Now if you ask a person from Scotland, what is their nationality, they will say Scottish, whereas a person from England would say they are British. This shows that the GREAT Britain mentality is "cocky" and something the English say. You wouldn't here The Scots or Welsh talking about Great Britain or about being British !!!

Answer 21

I don't call my country Great Britain. That's because I'm not a Briton (or British), I'm English. I live in England , which is a distinct country in its own right. Great Britain (like the UK) is not a country, it is a political construct. Furthermore, my English identity is an ethnic one. You're not English simply because you're born here - no more than I'd be ethnically Chinese if I had been born in China. Unfortunately many are too stupid to delve back into 1600+ years of English history to discover the origins of the English and England. They'd much prefer their politically correct (though historically incorrect) civic view of English identity, where any Tom, Dick and Harry can call themselves English, whatever their race, creed or colour. Yes, all very warm and Fuzzy I'm sure, but nonsense nonetheless.



And no, I couldn't care less if ignoramuses don't agree.

Answer 22

A lot of the answers receiving multiple thumbs-up are frankly absolute rubbish!



First off - the country is not called "Great Britain". It is the name of an island.



The Romans did not call the entire island "Britain" or other such rubbish.



Britain (not Great Britain) specifically refers to an area at the south of the island. Have a look here and see exactly what Britain represents. That's where your "Britons" are.



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/RomanEmpire_117.svg

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/britain/britain.htm

Answer 23

It was not Britons that named the biggest island in the British Isles, it was the foriegners. The name Great Britain defines the the largest of the British Isles. In this matter Wales and Scotland are part of Great Britain, Any part of Ireland and all the other island of these Isles are not.

So the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island actually includes more than the name implies.

Answer 24

Great Britain, eh. Well once upon a time, maybe we could be accused of being cocky. Nowadays as we are the laughing stock of the entire world it's probably a bit of a damp squid. We often accuse each other of putting ourselves down, unfortunately most of the time we are justified. You may well argue that this statement is rubbish, but an honest pole of what the rest of the world really think of us could provide us with some shocking results. We have been deluded for far too long, we need to wake up and take note of exactly what's really going on.

Answer 25

There is really no doubting the fact that even though the "GREAT" before the country name "Britain" was not meant to be cocky in any way, Britain is indeed a GREAT Nation. It's achievements for such a small Island State are so significant, that it is impossible not to admire and understand how much of a GREAT nation Britain is. Many a time, I sit down and imagine how and what many countries in Africa (especially Nigeria, where my parents were born) would have been like, had they not fought for Independence too soon. Another One Hundred years of British rule would have most certainly made sure that Africa (and indeed Nigeria) was industrialised and a reasonable amount of the poverty and corruption experienced in Africa today was eradicated. It is indeed not cocky to believe BRITAIN is GREAT. It Truly deserves it's name and has left its great mark in so many areas!



Today Britain is a melting pot of so many ethnic groups all being treated fairly and equally - a fairness and equality that most would not even experience in their countries of origin. Despite this fairness, openness and freedom of speech, their are some that live amongst us that are eager to change our way of life, because they have been brainwashed to believe the West is bad. We all need to wake up to the realities of life and remember that whilst all human beings are equal, the collective effort of some humans have indeed made the world a much better place to live in. I am not saying GB has not made mistakes, because we all make mistakes, but generally Britain has always fought for what they believe in; and have always given everyone a right to voice their opinions!

Answer 26

The cockiness and misinformation blatant in the last reply kind of speaks for itself.



well, you're asking a question in english (the only language most English people seem to be able to manage-the most inept nation at speaking other languages),

on an internet shell designed by an englishman (it was based on Arpnet another 20 years before TBL adapted it to the www), based on technology designed by a scotsman ??? (Obvoiusly not talking about the micro chip patented by Kilby an american).

The UK was the only European power to consistently stand against Napoleon and Hitler. ahem.... ever heard of Russia??

It ruled a quarter of the world's surface and a third of its people. Its system of government is one of the most stable in the world. Based on Greek Democracyl!

Its explorers stretched the boundaries of the world as it was known. China, Persia, did the same and Spain whacked Britains *** with the Americas.

Its history as a kingdom dates back more than 1200 years. It isn't actually a real Kingdom it's a semi democracy with a Royal mascot.

Its influence on recent history is second only to the United States. Are you joking or what? Not to mention South Africa, Mandella, India-spirituality, Japan, technology, Germany Industry, Or maybe you talking about Iraq?? that kind of history we can all do without.

Its naval tradition stretches back 700 years. What countrys doesn't apart from landlocked dudes like Afghanistan?

Its writers, philosophers and scientists are world-famous. What countrys aren't?

It was the first nation in history to industrialise. Laugh hysterically!!!!

Some cause to call the country Great, don't you think?



Actually don't get me wrong I know many great and decent Britains but one of whose let downs as a people is the cockiness. I'd even like to see them do better in the world cup if we didn't have to listen to them waffle about how they will win it EVERY TIME!!

A sport Britain claims to have invented but soccer, as we know, comes from pre european America Aztecs/Mayans/Incas (no woner latin Americans are the best) the Brits just formalised the rules. A bit like saying they invented boxing because they gave it queensbury rules.

Nice people just get out of your own misinformed arses and you'll be a lot nicer!

Answer 27

Britain is the anglicized form of the Roman name Britannia used by Julius Caesar and others to describe England, Scotland and Wales. Before the Roman invasion the people were called Pritani but under the Romans were called Britones. In 1603 after the death of Elizabeth the first of England, James the Sixth of Scotland, the son of Mary Queen of Scots whom Elizabeth executed, succeeded to the crown of England and the Scottish and English Crowns became one. At this time James took the title James the first of Great Britain (more correctly Great Britain and Ireland) and this is the first official use of Great Britain, although as others have pointed out some writers had previously used Great Britain to distinguish Britain from Brittany a region of France closely allied to England. The correct use of Great Britain only applies to the island that is the combined countries of England Scotland and Wales and should not be used to describe the present country know as the United Kingdom which is shorthand for "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" the correct title of our country since 1922 when the Republic of Ireland was recognised as a seperate state.

Answer 28

GREAT BRITAIN......

I am not gonna enlist all that many facts as many people tried to do, but i will still say that BRITAIN is GREAT because ''They have done what all the world would keep struggling for till The End''.

They have done what almost all the nations can't even imagine to do and tell u the truth America CANNOT do what Britain have done.

So lemme be a bit more clear.They showed to the world since long time with almost the same resources as the then world had that to be great you have to have the FIRE in you.

They are more humanitarian to others than many of the so-called humanitarian nations.

Take any field they proved since long long time that to be GREAT you have to sacrifice and thats what they have done.

And take todays' world BRITAIN is still giving life to people who have not really known what the life is.

GREAT BRITAIN is giving to the poor world what no other country or kingdom in the world would never think of.

They sacrificed and they deserve it and they are still sacrificing for it and trying to make it GREATER.

In the end i am telling you that i am not a British but this is what i have seen and thats what i believe harded than a British.

GOD BLESS GREAT BRITAIN

AMEEN

Answer 29

Great Britain is not a country, it is the name of the island that consists of England, Wales and Scotland. The nation is called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.



King James I (James VI of Scotland) styled himself as King of Great Britain although this was not technically correct until the unification of the crown in 1707. The UK was formed with the unification of Ireland in 1801 and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was formed when Greater part of Ireland (now Eire( gained independence in 1921.



People at home and abroad refer to the nation as UK or Great Britain as a shorter form of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.



Interestingly Great Britain was referred to as Albion by Ptolemy in 150 AD possibly indicating this is what the inhabitants of the time called the island.



Just to confuse the issue more, the British Isles includes the UK, Eire, the thee Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey plus the associated six thousand islands.



So the simple answer is no.

Answer 30

Actually there is no intention to be "Cocky" GB means the island of England, Scotland and Wales.

Our previous government did make some mistakes like the iraq war and the erosion of civil liberties, and giving banks too much power. So indeed we are less "great" than before, indeed we are much diminished. However, GB is an excellent place to learn history and English and if you book a few days in advance the trains are even quite affordable. There are passenger ships every day to "Bretagne" the little Britain in France and life can be pleasant in the channel, on the ship.

Answer 31

Back in the day when Britain used to own other countries ( The monarchy anyway), we called the mother land 'Great Britian'. We have different names for our country as a whole.

Great Britain is the mother land. The UK is the united kingdom -other kingdoms that were far and wide -Australia, India etc).

It was bought to light more in the WW when we would use British propoganda to promote the idea of having our male soldiers go to war. Great Britiain was large (hence being great in size) and was the mother land, and this was also where the female personification of Britian being a woman came from.

Answer 32

Used since 1707 to denote the Union of England, Scotland and Wales. Because it was more than two countries, it was defined by the use of 'Great' Britain.



No, it is not cocky for us to call it Great Britain. Although we are no longer a super power, we do have the Commonwealth, we do support one of the largest super powers, our judicial, policing, medical, parliamentary, educational and housing systems (despite their shortcomings) are the envy of the world, and our language is spoken around the world. We are possibly the biggest whingers in the world, but at the end of the day we can STILL remember the 'Stiff Upper Lip' and be proud to be British.

Answer 33

As well as the historical influence of Brittany Great Britain is described today as the Land Mass of England Scotland and Wales. This does not include Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom but not part of Great Britain. Could it be perhaps that the collective name for the English Scottish and Welsh lands which are all British are collectively called Great Britain as a single land mass?

Wikipedia suggests:

It was created by the merger of the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England, under the Acts of Union 1707, to create a single kingdom encompassing the whole of the island of Great Britain and its minor outlying islands, excluding Ireland—which remained a separate jurisdiction under the British crown. A single parliament and government, based in Westminster, controlled the new kingdom. The kingdoms had shared the same monarch since James VI, King of Scots became King of England in 1603 following the death of Queen Elizabeth I.

The act of union was as a result of Scotland Bankrupting itself while trying to discover new lands in the Americas. Great Britian was then born out of a Scottish disaster.

Answer 34

That isn't the name of this country anyway - The correct name is "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"



Many people have stated correctly its origins related to lesser britain(brittany)/greater britain etc but the name of Great Britain refers only to the largest island of the British Isles - It does NOT and NEVER has referred to the name of the country.



Team GB is used at the olympics for political reasons (to do with the complex issues of northern ireland's inclusion/exclusion, depending on the individual)



its shocking to realise that most Brits don't even know the name of their own country. I am ashamed to be one some times : (

Answer 35

We don't appear to be so great anymore. Once we were.



We did a very good job in India and left it with good laws, civil service and a school system which

is now the envy of the world (yes I know we also made some very cruel mistakes too).



From our shores, great doctors, nurses and humanitarians, in the form of missionaries of the Christian faith brought new hope and a new work ethic to billions. Unfortunately sometimes these were soon followed by greedy opportunists, as in China for example.



Our military training was second to none and probably still is.



We invented many sports including soccer. But we are the laughing stock of the football world. Footballers have been treated like spoilt children. What excellence do you expect that would produce?



Our parliament is still known as the 'mother of parliaments' and yet we now have many politicians who disgrace the name of politics.



We have the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Europe and probably the highest rate of abortions in the world.



We were not always ruled by selfishness, but this is the main reason that we are no longer great. When we knew about prayer for our nation, it became a great nation. Unbelief and heartless self-interest has become the driving force behind the nation.



If we turned back to God, we could be a much better nation than at present. During the Christian revivals of the past, laws were changed, slavery was driven out, children were protected from exploitation by greedy bosses and bloody revolution was prevented and replaced by love and understanding.



We could become great again. Do you believe in miracles?

Answer 36

The term 'Great Britain' comes from Britain was more than just Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We also owned what is now the Irish Republic and other locations around the globe. In fact, Great Britain refers to 'The Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' today. In the past, however, there were many countries - such as Australia and New Zealand and Jamaica - which were PROUD to ne British Colonies.



This is where the term 'Great Britain' comes from, and it is one that I am personally very proud to use, although I have my doubts about the current Government.

Answer 37

The name is not Great Britain but currently, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In the Act of Uniion 1707, the name of the joint kingdom of England and Scotland was defined as The United Kingdom of Great Britain. The Great was used simply to define the fact that the new union covered a greater area than either England or Scotland individually and in part to distinguish it from areas of France. It has been referred to as Great Britain ever since simply in the same way we might refer to Greater London or Greater Manchester.

Answer 38

No it's not cocky at all. However, Great Britain is simply a geographical rather than a political term - it is simply the largest of the British Isles (Ireland the second largest, then down in size until probably Rockall. The fact that the bulk of Ireland opted for independence still does not prevent it being geographically part of the British Isles; if Lundy Island opted to become part of, let's say, Zambia, this would not stop it remaining one of the British Isles either.

The political names of the countries occupying the British Isles today are the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Answer 39

Has this question touched a raw nerve? I've just read about a million de ja vu's worth of exactly the same answer. Well it wouldn't be called Great Britain for Bloody Sunday; William Wallace; Gandhi; More Slaves through Liverpool than any other country; 1 out of 8 women in Georgian London a working prostitute; most underage pregnancies in Europe; Suers; Jews attempting to reach Palestine from Cyprus shot dead; The Potato Famine; Greed; Arrogance; The murder of Joan of Arc; The betrayal of those Britains who took part in the Atomic bomb experiments; A wartime aristocracy who were mostly Nazi sympathisers; South African concentration camps, the first of their kind; Britains held in Guantanemo Bay; The 70's National Front and 'If you want a N*gg*r for a neighbour vote Labour'; The export of football thuggery to the world; Covert support of China backed Communist countries in order to check the USSR including Pol Pots Cambodia; Bodyline Cricket; The theft of countless works of art many religious from conquered countries; An arrogant 'better than you' snobbery; Pompous Chiswick mothers; A history of haves and have nots even during times of extreme riches in the country; sinking of The General Belgrano; illegal war in Iraq amongst great support; backtracking and cowardice when things go wrong in Afghanistan. Tabloids sneering at the mentally ill and those on benefits; Victorians sneering at the Elephant Man causing his suicide; General Pinochets freedom; Anglo Saxons tricking their way in to Celtic Britain under false pretences; Tarmac roads everywhere; no wild flowers left; hardly any wildlife; hardly any forest; Industrial pollution GB known as the dirty old man of Europe; British Petroleum incompetence; Obsequious attention to what other countries think; The News of the World; A monarch who lies and manipulates public opinion; A country so pathetic to have two world wars yet a monarchy from their former rivals royal bloodline; A country that fancies itself as the New Jerusaleum yet is the Modern Babylon; Yes and there's lots more that makes this obsequious, two faced little upstart Great. In Scotland they call the English flag the Butchers Apron. In Wales they have a Dragon on their flag; They're the only thing great about this island, unfortunately due to history they've had to put up with the Bloody English!! Oh yes don't pretend you're united either cause it's all face!

Answer 40

Well Britain, Great Britain and the UK are not actually countries are they? I thought they were technically nations which isn't quite the same thing. England, Wales, Scotland are countries.... Northern Ireland is part of the UK and also Ireland. I understand that Britain is England and Wales, Great Britain consists of Britain and Scotland and the UK is Great Britain and Northern Ireland. There are islands (such as Isle of Man) which fit into the equation somewhere also.... though I'm not sure which Islands fit where to be honest.

Answer 41

The answers so far are historically accurate, but why why do we put our selves down.

Britain is GREAT, and why is it a bit cocky to say so. Britain practically invented the modern world, as the most inventive country populated by some of the most tolerant people, who love to enjoy other cultures from food to fiestas and carnivals.

The French, Australians and Americans are not shy at blowing there trumpets, so why should we?

Seriously which other country could be called Great.



Britain is Great historically and actually.



Paul

Answer 42

Great Britain is the geographic term given to the the group of countries which occupy the land mass, therefore its not one country!, a bit like Europe.

England,Scotland.Wales and Northern Ireland make up the United Kingdom which confuses some people even more.

Answer 43

The notion of britain being a country was only really possible before the saxons came over, many people say "anglo" saxons are the saxons who settles with the native Britons which to be honest is not really true. Once the saxons arrived they called the area they conquered aengland or something similar while the rest of the country (bar scotland) was called britain, however once the saxons had conquered what is now known as modern day england and united it under one kingdom it change from briton into what is now, england, wales and scotland. (remember northern island is part of the united kingdom and not britain)



Technically Britain or great britain actually refers to the island that consists of england, wales and scotland and isn't actually the name of a country.... United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the proper name to use. And even then technically the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is only what you should use in a political context. (as in we all share a government system that is either the same or linked). You should refer to each country as their in individual name... england, scotland, wales and northern island.



Personally i hate this lack of nation pride in england.... we are always told to refer ourselves as british.... the scottish are proud of being scottish, the welsh are proud to be welsh, the irish are proud to be irish... why is the government afraid of the english being proud of being english....

Answer 44

Never mind the name. The identity is the real question. Britain has an identity crisis - it's inhabitants don't know whether they are English/Scottish/Welsh one moment or British the next. They choose their 'nationality' according to political or sporting events. This is the only such farcial national identity crisis in the world. Also how many people know the difference between GB and the UK? The UK incorportates the occupied land of Northern Ireland whereas GB only refers to the island of Eng, Scot & Wales. The section of inhabitants of NI who refuse to call themselves Irish have an even more bizarre ID crisis - who 400 years after their ancesters having been planted illegally in Ireland - still want to be British?!! No wonder there is a lack of 'national' pride in Britain - the people don't know who they really are!

Answer 45

No it is not cocky to call our country Great Britain, because that is just what it is, we are always out to lend a helping hand to the suffering, and the fact that our boys are out there fighting for our Great Britain, it is well time that some of the hangers on in this country, did their share, stop this murdering and get their minds in order get to work to support the Gt Britain who supports them

Answer 46

Although the answer (about the actual origin of name) Josh gave does seem quite feasible I actually thought it was because Great Britain is the biggest island out of the group of Islands known as the British Isles ie Great Britain, Ireland, The Isle of Man, I suppose you could also include the Shetlands, The Hebrides, The Isle of White and if your really patriotic The Channels (although not really geographically correct) Kind of like Gran Canaria in the Canaries. Even if incorrect about the origin at least its a defence against people calling us cocky for calling England, Scotland and Wales Great Britain.

Answer 47

Britain isn't a country. Great Britain is actually the name of the ISLAND, upon which England, Scotland and Wales is located on. It was first used in 1136 to distinguish it from the area of France now known as Brittany. However, the term "Great Britain" was not first used officially until 1474, and then later in 1604.

Answer 48

stuart...USA did not win the war and the russians would not have won anything without the help of the allies, yeh the russians suffered massive casualties but they were well deserved, after all they did invade poland from the east while germany invaded from the west and GB and France declared war on germany in 1939 because of the invasion. Hitlers biggest mistake was operation barborosa - invasion of russia - fighting on 3 fronts was a deadly strategic error. What saved russia from total destruction was the russian winter - ask napoleon , russia,s endless steam of men to throw into the fight and the war materials sent to russia via the arctic convoys. hitler and stalin - both cruel and both living in lala land when it came to fighting wars.



Yep GB is simply to state the difference between brittany - france and greater britain as their was nothing that great about this island in comparison with other euro countries - the only thing that saved this country on numerous occasions was the english channel and being an island we had a very effective royal navy....united kingdom is a more appropriate name but even the UK will fragment in the near future....

Answer 49

We dont call it Great Britain, you and other non-brits do. Personally I am very proud of Britain, maybe Im not so proud of all the conflicts that have happened in the past, although most countries have invaded somewhere or other at some point in history. So call us cocky if you like, I dont mind a bit.

Answer 50

In 1536-43 acts were passed to unite Wales & England as Britain.

The use of Great in this context means larger, not superior. The use came about with the Union act of 1707 uniting Scotland & Britain as Great Britain.

The Act of 1801 united Ireland and GB to form the United Kingdom.

Answer 51

Its history as a kingdom dates back more than 1200 years!!



Totally incorrect - Great Britain was formed by an act of

the Scots parliament in 1707 and ratified in by the English

parliament a week later.



England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland together form Great Britain !!



Totally incorrect - When Great Britain was created by the act of union 1707.

It was between Scotland and England, wales was a conquered province of England

and was not mentioned in the act. Ireland was at that time a conquered province

of England and wasn't mentioned either. It wasn't until 1800, that it became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Answer 52

The historical reason for referring to Great Britain as such is known, but do they still deserve this title?

The world may view Britains these days as being the inbred remnants of a once proud empire, but her legacy lives on. Travel through Africa and note the marked differences in stability and transparency between the countries formerly ruled by Belgium or France and those ruled by Britain. Look at what we take for granted in industry and science; most, if not all, can claim a “British” genesis; from the computer, to the jet-engine, radar, micro-wave ovens (in a round-about way), from the railways, to modern football, and cricket.

Foster’s Bridge across the Millau Valley was, you guessed it, designed by a Brit!

The cultural influence left by Britain far exceeds that of any other nation, and here I refer to the Beetles, Shakespeare, Sir Canon Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes etc. What is the lingua franca of the international business, science, technology and aviation? It is English!

Britain may have lost her political and economic lead to the USA or China, but in my humble opinion Britain can still claim to be a Great nation, and deservedly owns the title “Great Britain”

Answer 53

Not really, as the term greater Britain was used to distinguish the island made up of England, Wales & Scotland from lesser Britain, which is present day Brittany.

Politically the name Great Britain refers to the kingdoms of England and Scotland which were joined by the Act of Union in 1707, although James the I and VI proclaimed himself King of Great Britain France and Ireland in 1604.

Answer 54

Dracoxxx has pointed out the greatness of Britain. let me add a few

Sir William Congreve Stole Indian Rockets and modified to call them his own.

Britains Royal Family is nothing but High Society Plunderers and Looters or more appropriately Thieves. For all the countries they plundered for the wealth and resources. Britain wasnt blessed with anything but such a culture.

I DONT HATE THE PEOPLE, JUST THEIR HISTORY. So, whats so great about Greta Britain Now?

Answer 55

The "Great" in Great Britain was originally to distinguish us from Brittany. But don't you think we've earned the name since? As a people our inventiveness and thirst for knowledge has gained us respect and recognition all over the world for centuries (slightly marred by the 20th century invention of the football hooligan and the holiday maker). As a place Great Britain is a fantastic country, filled with the most wonderful countryside and wildlife, architecture and art. We don't have too many hurricanes, earthquakes or dangerous animals, and most of us are pretty damned nice !!

Answer 56

No. It is a geographical term referring to the contiguous countries of England, Wales and Scotland with their several islands. The political entity of which it is a part is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.



Although it is not cockiness, therefore, to use the word "great" in this context, it would not be inaccurate to designate the UK, and in particular, the countries of Great Britain, as having been hugely significant in world history.

Answer 57

It's not cocky but the previous comment from Drac250 highlights why Britons are justified in being a little proud of their nation. Our system of government and our judicial system are far from perfect but of all the rights and privileges which they empower us with the most significant must surely be the right to complain. A privilege that is not enjoyed by the people of so many other nations unfortunately. United Kingdom subjects (or citizens if you're not a royalist like me) have the right to complain to the courts as far as the House of Lords if they consider that actions by individuals or by the state are unlawful or morally wrong. Of all the innovations that Great Britain has introduced and exported to the world this must surely rank as one if it's greatest achievements. Along with fish n chips, HP Sauce, morris dancing and umbrellas.



I seldom use the expression "Great Britain". I prefer to refer to the "United Kingdom" in order to include Northern Ireland. In the past consideration was given by the government to amending constitutional law to include Northern Ireland in Great Britain but this idea was not pursued. It's also worth noting that following the end of World War II parliament considered including Malta in the United Kingdom as recognition of the bravery and sacrifices made by the islanders in support of the allied war effort. This would have resulted in Malta having seats in parliament.

Answer 58

The term "Great Britain" came into being when England and Scotland became a single kingdom under King James VI of Scotland who also became King James I of England, after the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. It must be remembered, however, that this was not a political union but merely the union of the crowns of the two countries. Politically they were still two states, each with its own Parliament.1 Political union came about only during the reign of Queen Anne, in 1707. It was in this year that the Scottish Parliament assembled for the last time and the formal union of Parliaments was effected. It was on 1 May of that same year that the "United Kingdom of Great Britain" came into existence.



Under Edward I the conquest of Wales was completed and Wales was united to England under Henry VIII, the second monarch descended from the Welsh House of Tudor. 2 This union was ratified by two Acts of Parliament in 1536 and again in 1543.





The adjective "British"



The adjective "British" is, of course, used in relation to Great Britain but there is also a common tendency to use it when referring to issues relating to both Great Britain and the United Kingdom. This is inaccurate and from a legal point of view erroneous.



Sometimes, however, in legislation the term "British" is used to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole, especially in matters relating to the question of nationality!.

Answer 59

Well, I don't know why it's "great" as in big. Britain's only the size of my little finger on my pocket map. And what's this deal with the United Kingdom? The anthem's God Save Our Gracious Queen; it hasn't been God Save Our Gracious King since George VI popped his clogs. It should be The United Queendom.



And why were all these Frenchies called Norman? It must have been ever so confusing at roll call.



I blame the Welsh. Fancy calling yourself by the Saxon word for outsider. It shows a lack of confidence. Were the Welsh proto-Emos?



The Welsh, the Cornish and the Bretons. Residual Celts identified by the Brythonic languages.



Brythonic - Briton! There's Grand......

Answer 60

The word 'Great' is polysemantic. In the name "Great Britain" it is a reference to geographical size rather than being a reference to greatness. The pre-Roman celts were called 'Britons' who eventually ended up in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany - which was named after them. The French for GB is Grand Bretagne or "Big Brittany" as opposed to the much smaller area of Bretagne in Western France. In Irish Gaelic Wales is called Bhreathnach Beag which means "Little Britain".

Answer 61

Thank you all for your variations of why we are GREAT Britain. What a great way to start my day. I feel like shouting from the rooftops. I am a Great Briton . No we are not cocky we are just very proud of our nation, our history, our present and hopefully an even greater future

Answer 62

Andy D I do believe that the Romans had the bigger empire in history and there is nothing great about being british after what ye did to Ireland, which is my country, and the other countries ye invaded. Ye killed Irish like it were a game because we couldn't fight back and then wonder why we hate ye and why other countries hate ye. I can go anywhere in the world and will be welcomed because i am irish and we are a good race of people and you cant and yet you think ye deserve that title before your country? Gimme a break. I wouldn't insult the scots and the welsh by calling them part of Britain, even if they consider themselves part of it. So yes I think ye are cocky and the sooner your country falls the better.



This is my personal opinion

Answer 63

The name Great Britain comes from the Victorian era when We were a proud and strong nation.

We were great because we went around colonising and cilvilising the world. This is no longer the case but the name as stuck. We should now be called The once Great Britain or follow the case of Macedonia which now calls itself the former Macedonia.

Answer 64

RE: Alex and the Greeks "They were the first greatest thinkers of humanity thousands of years before Britain had any inhabitats. LOL!"



LOL indeed! Are you suggesting the Ancient Greeks were doing this in the last Ice Age?



As for goay - Yes, the British fought Hitler from September 1939-May 1945 -The Russians were forced to fight in 1941,when they were invaded. As for Napoleon,the Russians ,at one point,joined in the continental system against Britain,alongside the French.How were the Russians fighting Napoleon between 1807-1812 ? Learn some facts,mate.



Great Britain is the name of the Island containing England,Scotland,and Wales.It was ,as has been stated,used to differentiate it from lesser Britain(in size)-Brittany. It became an official term when James VI of Scotland became James I of England and ruled both kingdoms. He obviously needed a good name for his new kingdom.

Answer 65

All answers are very patriotic, some even a bit over the top. However, I was told that it has its name simply because it is the biggest of the rest of the isles around it much like Canary islands and Grand Canaria. It could be also as a result of the unification of the different nations in it, but in no way because it is superiour to the rest of the World. To all these who keep on banging about the WWII, please do not forget it is called WORLD war for a reason it was not just Britain vs Germany, as if that was the case I had to type in german now.

Answer 66

Before the Irish invaded, the island was called Little Britain. The bigger island to the east was called Great Britain. Together they were inhabited by ancient Britons.

Answer 67

Well as there is nothing Great about Britain (I have the misfortune of living here) I guess it makes sense it was called Great because of its size. cause back in the old days something so small seemed so large.



As for the person who thinks it took Pearl Harbor for the USA to get involved in WW2 they don't know their history. They were helping unofficially the entire time.



Frankly I think the new name for this country should be Yob Britain or Chav Britain! the sooner I can move from here the better!

Answer 68

I believe the answer is that in France there is a place called brittany and Britain wanted to seperate commparisons so added the 'Great' part,this may be from the citizens of Britain or indeed the establishment either way as major contributers to modern civilisation i think the place warrants the Great Britain tag.

Answer 69

I completely agree with the other comments. Great means Big. For me what "Great Britain" represent, It's the only place on earth where it has 4 countries called United Kingdom. This is perhaps they call it "Great Britain".



You cannot call USA a "Great" because this Country is 10x bigger that UK but this country has got 51 states and they are not countries.

Answer 70

Britannia was the name given by the Romans for that part of the island conquered by Rome. This meant that for some time it was the land South of Hadrian's Wall (ie what is now England and Wales) and also for a short time it was the land South of Antonine's Wall (ie Southern Scotland, England and Wales).



Soon after inheriting to the English throne King James I in 1603 (he was already King James VI of Scotland) described himself as King of Great Britain.

He wanted to stress that he was king of the larger area that had been called Britannia in Latin.



The Kingdom of Great Britain was a term formally recognised in the treaty that resulted from the political union of the Kingdom of England (which includes Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland with the Acts of Union 1707 on 1 May 1707 under Queen Anne.

Answer 71

Whatever the historic answers are, if one is proud enough of this Country of ours then the word 'Great' is an endearment and certainly indicates pride and sense of unity - clearly lacking in many other Countries in the world today. Ask our Soldiers in Afghanistan how they view the words 'Great' Britain !

I am more than just proud to be a native of "Great Britain' irrespective of our economic situation and past political idiots trying to make us poorer, to be called British and a Great Briton is not just a name, it is a privilege.

Answer 72

Great Britain isn't a country. It's an island - biggest island in Europe and 7th biggest in the world. The nation (or "country") of which it's part is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Answer 73

The "Great" refers to the country being comprised of three countries so it is like Greater London or Greater Manchester. Those countries being England, Scotland and Wales. The name of the country is actually "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", changed to Northern Ireland when the Irish Republic came into being.

Answer 74

Right - here goes ...



There is a lot of confusion, not only in the wider world but also in these islands, as to what constitutes Britain, Great Britain, England and all the other names of greater or lesser parts of our archipelago, collectively known as the British Isles.



The largest island is called Britain. On it are the major parts of England, Scotland and Wales. The Isle of Wight is not part of Britain (the island) and nor are Anglesey or Skye but they and others are part of the political entity of Great Britain.



Great Britain therefore refers to the whole of the archipelago except those parts that are Irish (pertaining to the island, not the republic, of Ireland) or Manx (to the Isle of Man).



The term "the United Kingdom" refers to the sovereign entity of Great Britain (as above) and Northern Ireland. Ireland, the second largest island is also part of the British Isles, an objective geographical term implying no ownership or possession, even though most of it is now a separate and independent nation. However, prior to Irish independence, it was indeed part of the United Kingdom.



So it has nothing to do with Brittany, although that region of modern France shares the same gallic (celtic) etymology. It is nothing to do with our overblown sense of our place in the current world order. It is simply a useful term to denote the major part of the kingdom that was formed, much as it still is, by the Act of Union in 1707, centred on the main island but extending beyond its shores to include others nearby.



My source for this is a good education. Wikipedia wrongly refers to Great Britain as the name of the island, properly and simply called Britain.

Answer 75

having read all the answers below i can only come up with one reply - as an Englishman born in this nation called Great Britain where we all have our national pride and come together in times of adversity - it is great to be part of Great Britain and if we are so bad why do so many people want to come and live here - a sense of fair play and decency are still traditional values myself and many other Great Britains still pride ourselves on and all I can say is envy is a terrible thing - as Bob Hoskins quoted in The Long Good Friday (almost exact) - I am looking for someone who can contribute something to what Britain has given to this world - sophistication, culture, class - a bit more than a hot dog

Answer 76

Ruadh is wrong

Great Britain is the geographical name for the Mainland of Britain. It includes Scotland England and Wales. It does not include Orkneys, Shetlands, Hebrides Inner, Hebrides Outer, Angelsey, Isle Of Man, Isle of Wight, Farne Islands, Scilly Islands etc



However Great Britain is sometimes used to describe Scotland England and Wales which obviously includes the islands as well.



United Kingdom describes Scotland + England and Wales + Northern Ireland you would think?



On a British Passport it says United Kingdom and Northern Ireland



does this mean S + (E+W) +NI

or does it mean (S+(E+W)) +NI



The Union Jack contains the flag of St Patrick yet United Kingdom does not include Northern Ireland



The Romans could not have described Ireland as Hibernia until much later because they labelled the tribes of "Ireland" as Scotti.



Thus those North of the Hadrians Wall were called PictII and further North CaledoniI who painted themselves blue



The ScottII were the indigenous people of the Islands of Scottia displaced later by the Beaker people and then the Celts and later still by Angles Jutes and Norse then Normans.



the Scottii ( Ulaidh Argialla and Dalriada ) educated the English after converting them to Christianity and teaching them civilisation.

They built Iona and then helped at Lindisfarne teaching them the new learning



The Scottii discovered Iceland (the vikings called them Vestmen as in Vestmanayer an island south of Rekjavik inhabited by Scottii when they arrived.The Scottii were also on Papir SE of Island by 600

The Scottii taught Leif Ericson how to find Greenland and how to find Vinland aka Nova Scottia



If you look at the mummies of Urumchi in Inner Mongolia you will see they are tall , have red beards and dressed in tartan c 4500BP suggesting they discovered and civilised China



They were astonomers navigators and mathematicians who knew the earth was round and were geologists as well.



St Gall and St Gallen reeducated Europe in Dark Ages



If any island should be called Great it should be Great Scotia and the other islands should be called lesser Scotia



While Scotia was building marvels such as Newgrange Knowth and Dowth and Lough Crew the inhabitants of Pritani were living in wattle and daub hovels.



The Scotii educated the Egyptians after building a stone circle on tropic of Cancer in Nubia at Nabta.

they also circumnavigated Africa and settled in Mesopotamia.

Answer 77

We have the history explained: accepted.



We have the negativity: 'we're not great at anything....' I just don't agree with that



I have travelled a little and really love good old GB. Wherever you live, you are only 1 hour or less from beautiful landscapes. It's great for me. Maybe we don't 'rule the waves' anymore, but that is because we tend not to oppress other nations (except if you are D Mail readers !)



For a relatively small population We achieve excellent results in competitive sports, cultural and artistic activities, sciences and education.



Can we look for the good for a change? Regarding the World Cup, yes, disappointing this time, but we have done pretty well in sporting activities in recent history haven't we?

Answer 78

No...... Britain is a group of countries, ie, Scotland, England, & Wales, all part of the island of Britain, hence the Greater country of Britain, unlike the union that we really are which is the United Kingdom of Great Britain which includes Northern Ireland. Four countries and a union that we should all be proud off, unlike some parts of England who seem to think that they are the "great" in Great Britain and think they are the united kingdom. Maybe these people should start calling themselves the united states of britain instead.

Answer 79

Even as an American, I can easily see why Great Britain is "Great".



Britain stood against imposing military forces several times, and may have been THE country that preserved independent western nations on more than one occasion.



Britain has stood at (or near) the front of science and realms of "thinking" for Hundreds of years.



Britain has secured a remarkable place in history because of the intelligence, tenacity, and sheer will of its people and its leadership.



British history is, to a great extent, the beginning of American History, as well as being important (if not critical) to the history of an impressive number of countries around the globe.



Britain may not be perfect (in fact it may have some real problems), but Britain has certainly earned the privilege of calling itself "Great".



This is, of course, only my opinion.

Answer 80

I think so even tho the empire seems to have dwindled but what are we saying? Dwindled?? They still have sovereign over other countries that still consider the Queen their monarch. The only country to stand with the United States and stand up to the United States when it didnt agree with its policies.

Yes I would say that makes them `Great` They have for centuries had the traditions that have that has shown the way forward. Its a nation where the founding fathers came from that went on to make America, during the middle ages they were the first to make a stand against Royals and their power century before America was even born. A proud people to this day that are so modest they wont even admit their accomplishments in the world today. Im an American living here in the UK. It has been my honor.

Answer 81

In addition to the answer posted by " Eric Gordon", Britain had occupied many countries over the years and the British empire extended overseas to the Indian subcontinent and many other places, all were either under the protection or fully occupied by Britain. So as to refer to such power and territories belonging to her, hence the Name "Great Britain" to refer to England, Scotland, Ireland and the British settlements all over the Globe.

Answer 82

The name 'Great Britain' was smuggled in by the British politicians with the aim of belittling France who ruled the whole of Europe between 1700s and 1800s under Napoleon The Great. It became popular when the big powers combined forces and defeated France. After the defeat of France, a meeting was held in vienna around 1814 which resolved that the spoil of Napoleonic war had to be shared to create a balance of power among those nations involved in the meeting ,and as usual, Britain took a lion share including colonies in Africa. 'Great' is a propaganda word meant to create fear and to deter any future French aggression.

Answer 83

I wonder why so many people choose to constantly remind British people of what we have done in the past, Yes I agree that we have done some terrible thing's and as a nation we have apologies time and time again for these mistake. Yet most people choose to forget some of the great things that the british people have brought to the world.

I am also sadden by the many many negative response to this question and the open racism there is. Still I guess I expect too much from people.

Answer 84

Yes there was a period long time ago where Britain or the British Empire used to rule many colonies around the world so many of them scattered as the sun wont set on such empire, that is the reason I believe for it to be called Great Britain.

Answer 85

During the eighteen century Britain was great for its banking and business excellence. It went to India with the East Indian Company and started the Indian Empire there. From there to China and the Asian Pacifies region to acquire territories and colonies.Britans is not cocky to call their country. 'Great Britain' especially before they handed over Hong Kong back to China in 1997.

Answer 86

Because it was the larger between itself and French 'Brittony' Which the Norman English came to own after various battles under Edward the Confessor in the 12th Century, e.g, Agincourt etc...



Equally, Britain at the time, and throughout the 1st Millennium, all the way up 'til 1939 was in its ascendancy- Industrialising, inventing,creating language and linguistics, battling, exploring, innovating, mapping and colonising the globe, as well as dominating the oceans- so it really did live up to its name



And unlike some of the other dweebs on this site, it wasn't called 'britain' after 'Bretagne'- the French didn't create us- the Romans named it 'Britannia' after Caesar had conquered it as the most Western Roman colony...

Answer 87

There is nothing wrong with having pride in ones country. Britain was once a great nation, but Tony Blair decided that there was no room for tradition and so history was dropped from the schools curriculum, and almost everything else that had made this country "Great". With effort we can be great again.

Answer 88

Great doesn't only mean superior. It can also mean something is large in size, this is the definition used in this sense. It was used to distinguish between Lesser Britain, which is located in modern day France, now known as Brittany. Originally the name was "Greater Britain".



Great Britain isn't a country, it's an island.

Answer 89

Most British people just call their country Britain - Grande-Bretagne in French.



However, Great Britanny is the literal translation, but Brittany must have been called Britain at some point in its history.



The British used the term Britain, like their Roman ancestors, Britannia. However, because British people emigrated to north-west France to escape the German Anglo-Saxon invasion, they named it after this country.



Basically, the British are the same people as the Bretons. The English are simply Britons/Bretons who had the Germanic language brought by the German Anglo-Saxons imposed on them.



So the language of the British, English is a result of foreign domination. The Welsh and Bretons, who stayed independent from the invaders kept our ancestral language, which developped into Welsh and Breton.



So the English are English/Anglo-Saxon by language, but are British/Breton by ancestry and identity. More Britons lived in the island of Britain so we were Great Britain. It is geographical size and population size.



The British imperialist in the 19th century like the word Great so they emphasized it in Great Britain to show their superiority to France, Spain, America, etc.

As this was wrong and racist, nobody says this today. France, Spain, America, are just as great and fantastic as Britain, many British people thinking more so.

Answer 90

Great Britain (the large island of the Britons) contains Wales, England and most of Scotland. This, together with the minor islands of these countries and the island of Ireland form the British Isles.

Answer 91

It's called Great Britain it over languages too (over here in Italy it's "Gran Bretagna"), so has nothing to do with British being "cocky"; "Great" in this context merely means "large". In other words it's a geographical expression, (like saying Greater London) and not a comment on how awesome Britain may or may not be.

Answer 92

Britain has produced an enormous number of outstanding men and women from every sphere of human endeavour - from literature, art, music, medicine, philosophy, invention and all other cultural activities. It has given the world a standard of justice and and fairness which is acknowledged worldwide. It has done more to spread emancipation, equality and Christianity than any other nation. Other nations may have done a lot (or even more) in one or two spheres but none in as many as Britain. And the British spirit is unquenchable. That is why we won both world Wars.

Answer 93

In the year 1603 James the 6th Of Scots came to the throne of England as James the 1st and wanted all his kingdoms to be amalgamated under one name. So his advisers came up with the name of Great Britain or Greater Britain to emphasise the fact that Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales had become all one country. The full name of my country is The United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland. So it gets shortened to United Kingdom(UK) of Great Britain(GB) or just simply Britain.

Answer 94

Great Britain' is not actually a real country, but exists as the collective hallucination of some non celtic inhabitants of the U.K, i.e those that would generally be against Irish home rule would believe in something called Great Britain!

Answer 95

Great Britain I think you will find is Victoria propaganda and I guess at that time it was Great, it was the riches country in the world, it had the biggest Empire in the world it was a superpower and there where many rivals in Europe so it was important to look good, at the Time Great Britain would include Ireland as it wasn’t until after the first world war the Irish grain it independent back, after the “British” ignore them during the potato famine and sent many Irishmen of to fight and die in the First world War, also there is the Boar war where we made a number of bad calls and lets not forget our part in the slave trade, that been forgotten or left out of our schools curriculum, and it also how high street bank own there origins to.

Answer 96

Because UK was First Global imperialist. Killing mostly black African and other Race around the World in order to colonize and exploit their natural resources. Germany continues to pay Billions for the mass Killing of Jews during WWII but UK is still called Great Britain on the fact that they subdue African from not claiming compensations from Slavery, Killings in the early 18th & 19th Century and wealth exploitation. One can still wonder how long or whether she will remain Great Britain to the end of this Century before she disintegrate from GB to - England - Wales -Scotland and N-Ireland.

Answer 97

We may have been historically 'Great' in the various senses of the term, but we're not anymore. We lack national cohesion and a true national identity (how much do the general public know, for instance, about our pre-Christian past?), and our recent governments have dumbed the population in general down with political correctness culture and a 'one size fits all' world view that dampens initiative and renders talent worthless. The press and media in Britain, including the Murdoch empire, promote mediocrity and sell it as genius, before destroying it in a negative campaign designed to sell copy/attract viewers. The national priority is amusement and entertainment and not serious thought and achievement. And we expect to win? Not in a million years...

Answer 98

dweels - your clearly an American, if not, then I apologise for the assumption but...most of the following is still valid...if not due to the American influence washed into your brain...



As an american, it is clear you project your own country's identity on the UK..dumbest, I think not, when some of, if not the most IMPORTANT scientific discoveries where made on British soil and / or by Britons...as for dumb, my Goodness, this coming from a (possible) american...after bastardising the English language to be different than Daddy..cause, the UK and Europe is your daddy and if you look very hard, its still very clear-but that's a whole other conversation.





As for "interfering in other peoples wars" - what the... so its wrong to try and end a war? bloody redneck pshychology astounds me, furthermore the fact that you slam the ignorant (il give you this one) Brits that make an **** out of themselves on holiday, while you echo them so well is ridiculous...by the way, I live in korea at the moment and its the American that show them selves up, as they do everywhere, ****, arrogant and acting like they own the planet.

Answer 99

Actually, Northern Ireland is not part of Great Britain. Great Britain is Scotland, Wales and England. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Northern Irish are not British.

Answer 100

Troy is the only one who has it right. Forget your froggy brettany theory kids. The Brettany theory reminds me of a friend's axiom " If Hamburg is in Germany then Cheeseburg must be in Holland." The term GB was never used untill the union of England Wales Scotland and Ireland. I quote Wikepedia "The Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the political union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland with the Acts of Union 1707 on 1 May 1707 under Queen Anne.



In 1801, under a new Act of Union, this kingdom merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After the Irish War of Independence, most of Ireland seceded from the Union. Currently the kingdom is named the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Answer 101

No. British Isles are two main islands. Mainland Britain was known as Greater Britain and Ireland was Lesser Britain. Greater Britain was shortened to Great Britain.

Answer 102

As was said before the term "great" was meant as "larger" as opposed to "lesser" Britain (which is referred to as "Brittany" in English at the present time). It is actually a very old term, used perhaps hundreds of years before the Norman conquest. Many of the Britons crossed the channel to get away from the Anglo Saxon invasion and formed "lesser Britain". King James preferred to be called the King of Great Britain, rather than the King of England, Wales, and Scotland. Parliament at the time objected to the term, but ther king overruled him. By the time the parliaments were united, the term was accepted as the name of the nation. When Ireland was fully absorbed, "Great Britain" was replaced with the United Kingdom. Should Northern Ireland choose to adopt the Euro and unite with the Republic of Ireland in the future, the country may re-adopt the name, but is more likely to simply call themselves Britain. "Great" is derived from an old English word. "Big" is from roughly 700 years ago, and is probably of uncertain Scandinavian origin. "Large" is from a Latin word. In modern English the words "big" and "large" have assumed much of the meanings of "massive in size", and "great" generally takes on the meaning of "important". But the term "Great Britain" is from the Old English period in history. However, since it's formal usage corresponded to the rise of the British empire, most people equated "Great" with "Awesome" or "Important".

Answer 103

Britain = England + Wales + Scotland

Great Britain = Britain + the islands around Britain (i.e Isle of Man, Isle of Wight etc)

United Kingdom = Great Britain + Northern Ireleland



Simples

Answer 104

States name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland..Great Britain refers to the large island on which Scotland, England and Wales are.

Answer 105

The name is an accident of History, you can attribute it to the Romans but also people who continued with the usage later. The great simply denotes a comparably larger area. Other posters have answered this better but I will answer the first part.



English people often like a joke based on double meanings, they also take great delight in something called a 'wind up'. So, you will find a lot of British people in the pub or even at a party deliberately using the wrong meaning of 'Great' to tease other people or to brag. UK advertisers also love promoting the 'Greatness'. Everyone knows its a joke, a pun, or word play but surprisingly enough this national troll still confuses a lot of people. In other words when you hear drunk Brits blah blahing about the 'great' part your being wound up.

Answer 106

Great Britain might have been the superpower of its time with the colonies and naval history. But honestly, today it's a country merely living on the financial industry after loosing all industry to other countries. Where are the futuristic britains today?

Answer 107

Britain is Made up of England and Wales.

The term "Great Britain" was adopted after the later was unified through an act of parliament to the then independent Scotland,

When a further act unified the island of Ireland it adopted the title "United Kingdoms" later bastardised too "United Kingdom" dropping the "S" and hence giving an impression of a unilateral agreement.

Answer 108

This is an ambiguous question. Great in what sense? Old english, latin or french the language of court. In geographical, political or societal terms. In Norman Davies book The Isles ( highly recommended). He goes through this minefield in the introduction to find the answer as to what we should call these Islands of ours.

Basically a scottish king in 1707 called it the United Kingdom of Great Britain and it stuck for better or worse.

Answer 109

The Romans entered countries to build the Roman Empire even larger . They named the new areas they controlled with Roman names.



When they arrived in England they called England and the surrounding lands 'Britannia' as a reference to that particular region they ruled.



Portugal and Spain was Lusitania, Baetica and Tarraconensis while France was divided into Lugdunensis, Aquitania and Narbonensis and areas of 1, 2 & 3 etc etc



London was then called Londinium.



Rule Britannia........understand now

Answer 110

Geoffrey of Monmouth first distinguishes between "Britania major" - greater or larger Britain - used to denote the British Isles, and "Britania minor" - lesser or smaller Briatain - denoting the area of France that is now Brittany. The adjective is thus purely a reference to the comparative size of the island. It is further incorect to refer to any political entity as "Great Britain", since this would exclude Northern Ireland and other dominions officially part of the United Kingdom

Answer 111

The term "Great Britain" was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between cecily the daughter of edward IV of england and james the son of james III of scotland which described it as "this Nobill Isle, callit Gret Britanee."

great britain is the largest island in europe and the ninth largest in the world

The Romans conquered most of the island up to hadrian’s wall and became ancient roman province of britannia but the Britons have always been known as welsh which survives in the names of wallace,cornwall, cumbria.

Answer 112

The name United Kingdom refers to the union of what were once four separate countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.



Great Britain comprises only England, Scotland and Wales, and is more a geographical grouping these days.

Answer 113

it is one of our traditions , not to be messed with or changed to suit someone else, probably from another country they can always have their opinion which is right in a democratic country, but they can also leave if they don't like it,a lot of british people have just about had enough of all this politically correctness rubbish, britain is a great country. ps which plank came up with this question in the first place, and whats the [ cocky to ] all about

Answer 114

No, it was the French that named Britain as Greater Brittany , next to Brittany in France and this then became Great Britain nothing to do with being cocky!

Answer 115

No. 'Great' Britain originally referred to the largest of the islands in the group that makes up the British Isles, just as there is a Great Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde distinguishing it from the even smaller Little Cumbrae.

Answer 116

Well lets see.

It is great if you are an asylum seeker as you get a free house and loads of money in the bank every week, you can also bring over your whole family and they can also do the same.



It is also great if you are a muslim as nobody will ever dare to offend you about anything atall in any way, as you can just threaten them with death in the name of allah.

You will also get all kinds of special treatments and exemptions plus plenty of government help to ensure you get a nice big mosque built near you.



Bratian is great if you are a gypsy as you can safely ignore many of the laws and rules that apply to everybody else. You can set up home anywhere you can find a field, don't worry if it beloings to somebody else as this is irellevent and once you complain a bit the council will pay for your caravans to be replaced by nice newly built houses.



Things are also pretty great if you are anything other than a white english male as you will find that some of the best jobs around specially reserve a place for you or will happily disregard other people and choose you based on the colour of your skin.



UNFORTUNATELY IF YOU ARE NONE OF THE ABOVE THEN YOU WILL HAVE TO SEARCH FAR AND WIDE TO FIND THE PARTS OF BRAIAIN THAT ARE GREAT

Answer 117

"Great" Britain is purely a geographical expression which merely means "bigger" in this context.

It refers to the largest island among the British Isles ie the island shared by England, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom includes Northern Ireland in addition to England, Scotland and Wales.

The Republic of Ireland is part of the British Isles but is neither part of Great Britain or the UK.

The same situation relates to the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

The expression "great" is neither a title or a boast.

Answer 118

I'll tell you what's cocky . . I just looked up the words of the German National Anthem the other Day and this is How it starts off : "Germany, Germany ABOVE ALL . . ABOVE EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD" I think this could be interpreted as slightly Condescending .. What say you ?



Oh yeah and I'll Go with that whole thing of "Lesser Britain .. Greater Britain" .. sounds Good.

Answer 119

hmmmm.... everyone saying it is the best country in the world, prob needs to travel a bit more. i have just got back from canada, and i can tell you it is muuuuuch better! no boy racers, no fights after nights out, everyone is slim and happy (so no fatties with an attitude), friendly people..... the list can go on. hell, even europe a few hundred miles away has healthier and friendlier residents. despite was england thinks - it is really not that great. hell even in the EU england is largely being ignored.



but in answer to your question, britain is called great, because it is the larger land mass - with lesser britain bein ireland.



oh and if people are thinking 'why don't you just move if you hate it so much?'. well, i am :-) 2013 i am off to canada! a place where the chav has yet to be invented

Answer 120

If you don't know why It's called Great Britain it may seem cocky, so let me enlighten you. The term came into use after the act of union between England and Scotland and with Wales already being a Principality of England the whole Island became an entity in itself therefore becoming more than the sum of It's parts, hence Great.

Answer 121

No, nothing cocky at all.



Great Britain is the name of the island which the nations of England, Scotland and Wales share between them. It is as simple as that. Great Britain is the largest of that collection of islands that make up the British isles.



It is not about 'greatness', it is about size. For analogous reasons, the largest island in the Balearic Islands is called Majorca, and a somewhat smaller island (though not the smallest!) is called Menorca or Minorca.



The fact that so many British people have strange ideas about this being about 'Greatness' is unfortunate. But that's where it comes from

Answer 122

The 'great' in Great Britain refers to the size of the 4 nations put together I think. 100 years ago when we had an empire and ruled the waves the 'great' also meant 'superior nation'. The same can't be said of nowadays. How can we be proud of a nation that doesn't make anything anymore, has corrupt politicians, has given away its empire and has very few great sportsman. How we can be proud of a nation that includes such countryman/woman in it such as Ashley Cole, Jordan, Kerry katona, Eamon Holmes and Chris Moyles.

Answer 123

Why not call OUR country GREAT, after all there are many migrants want to come over here because of OUR GREAT BRITAIN, and that we will almost accept them into our without too much fuss if they have a legal right to do so and no matter what creed, colour or persuasion. This is what makes OUR country GREAT BRITAIN!!!!! NOW!!!!!!

Answer 124

I fully agree with the question asked, the name Great Britain is a left over from the days of the empire, great being England, Ireland, Wales and of course Scotland. Take a look around, do these other countries, yes other countries care about us, meaning England,??? like hell they do, they would prefer to be independent if it was possible, but they are to small as countries go to survive on their own, so they are stuck with us, and so the word great still goes on.

Answer 125

It is a mere geographical description. Great Britain was in opposition to Little Britain, which is now Brittany in France. That's all. There are a lot of pairs of villages in England - Great X and Little X. It would be wrong to read any more into it.

Answer 126

All these people talking about france and stuff are wrong.



It is called Great Britain because that is what the lesser people's of the planet who were civilised by the English called it. They called it Great, because, well, because it was great.



If only the Germans and the Brits would team up, we could take this planet between our two great nations.

Answer 127

Far from it - It is not cocky at all, but it was ( please note was!)destiny, until we changed it.Great Britain was called Great because of the British ancestors who had reverence for God. It is God who made this country a great nation and still can restore the greatness into Great Britain if this nation returned to the knowledge of God. It was the Almighty God ( the God of Israel) who made the nation great and extended the territory and influence of this once prosperous nation by giving it and its leaders and people dominion over vast lands and nations so that people like myself, from the depths of Africa, could come to the knowledge of a great and living God who changes circumstances

It was when Britain began to turn church halls into markets Jeremiah 7:10-12 ( something that angered Jesus Christ in His day - Matthew 21:11-14) and started demolishing churches that stood on every corner to build pubs just to worship alcohol as is the case today, it was then that God began to withdraw His blessing of greatness.Instead of receiving healing, we have become blind and lame for not heeding to the call of God upon this nation. It was when the English were infiltrated and began to question the necessity of royalty (like why do we need a kingdom and why do we need a king and/or a queen?) and condoning homosexuality instead of treating it as an illness and sin needing treatment Romans 1:24-32 (by the blood of Jesus!), not only in their apparently "United" Kingdom but wanting to bring it into God's kingdom and approving it in the church, it was then that God withdrew the greatness! And with the world cup, can we ever win it? Yes, only if we ask God in prayer to forgive us for our late night romps in sin and darkness and stop letting the rich turn churches into malls and pubs (trying to wind God up, basically) while mosques are approved daily, being built daily, while we in dossility claim that we don't believe in God, that God does not exist. Let's accept that we are a nation that needs more than just a variety of beers and ales and as we do when our soldiers die ( and only then as a nation), let's seek God in the church and make good use of these Africans whom we (our ancestors) taught the knowledge of God when we were great once upon a time, and are being used of God to revive us ( everything has a purpose and a reason), instead of getting paranoid that they come here to take our jobs as though this was the only nation under the sun with no unemployed. Is it not funny that even Labour's immigration policy has been trying to keep the same people out of UK and has in the recent past succeeded when it is this same lot that wipe the bums and change the pampers of our old parents and grandparents and care for them. Ask any of these old folk who looks after them better! Do you think our Eurpean friends really want to do that kinda job?

Answer 128

Great is referring to the SIZE of the land. Just like Greater London. England Wales Scotland and Ireland are bigger in area to England...hence Great(er) Britain;



Also Normandy and Brittany used to belong to the King of England (1066-The Hundred Years War.1337-1453, which incidently happens to be OVER 100 years ha.) Normandy and BRITTANY were Lesser Britain and the main land was Greater Britain or just plain old Great Britain.



In mythology Sir Lancelot (one of King Arthur's Knights) came from Lesser Britain in France.

Answer 129

Dear DRAC250,



I really praise the British culture, but don't forget the slavery you've caused around the world with your famous "British Empire". European countries have always looked down on Asian, African and South American countries.



For example, in the North of Chile, the British kept people in inhuman conditions during the Nitrate Age. Bolivian miners were victims too. In India, Hinduism and even Hindi were prohibited.



Many people are tired of this vampirism from Europe and the USA, sucking all our natural resources.



So tell me how "Great" Britain is?



I'm a Chilean English teacher.

Answer 130

Great Britain is actually the name of the island on which England, Scotland and Wales reside. The "British Isles" compose many islands and only the Biggest one is called "Great" Britain.



The "United Kingdom" also included Northern Ireland.

Answer 131

It was a geographical term to distinguish it from 'lesser Britain', i.e. Brittany. Nothing to to do with being "great, smashing, super", despite what some jingoistic individuals would like to believe.



Geographically, Ireland (which the romans called Hibernia) is part of the British Isles, but not of Great Britain.

Answer 132

No, it is a highly accurate description of how we're all feeling now about this country if only the spelling was correct.



The analergy with fire Grate and Grated Cheese is more profound and relevant than a predeposition to claim it's still a Great Britain when it is only the within "husk" of its former glory.



Whilst it built this on the backs of the 3rd world it is now encumbered with that legacy and become one with it without hope of reprieve.

Answer 133

No because the meaning of "great" here was simply to distinguish it from "lesser" Britain (or Brittany). It became a good vehicle for James1 to style himself King of Great Britain when he took over the crown in 1603 the first time the title was officially used.

Answer 134

Well good point, but to answer ur real question, none of us 'Britons' call our country Great Britain



We are English, Scottish , Irish, welsh, channel islander...god i'm not going on



The point is some of the rest of the World refers to us as Great Britian (but never us), not many people from the USA who i've given up trying to explain that England is not the UK



This is fun !!!

Answer 135

Great Britain or England!!!!! Who Knows

Give it another few years and us BRITONS will be the ethnic minoritys, Reason is our Government are to soft, They should be like the OZ's Government thay state if you want to live in OZ u live by the OZZY way... you dont teach or pritch ur back ground on our....

So they come to England and take over... Yes it's call GREAT BRITAIN for them.

Sod the born n bread english they keep paying tax just to be walked over by our socalled Government.

Answer 136

Originally it was to differentiate it from "Little" Britain which is Brittany in France. Later it came to mean the largest island of the British Isles, like the biggest island in the Cayman Islands is called "Grand" Cayman for example. So not cocky really.

Answer 137

Britain is England and Wales.



Great Britain is England, Wales and Scotland brought together to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.



The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed in 1801, but when the Southern Counties chose independance it became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it comprises England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.



The British Isles consist of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, The Hebrides, The Scilly Isles, the Isle of Wight, Lundy and numerous other smaller islands.

Answer 138

No it isn't cocky at all. It is for geographic reasons. There are more than 6 thousand islands making up the 'British Isles'. 'Great' Britain is the largest of these islands. The people who occupy the British Isles are known as the British. The British Isles also includes Ireland. So - surprisingly perhaps - the Irish are equally as British as the English, Scots, or Welsh. Hope this answers your question.

Answer 139

too right...sadly there is nothing United about this Kingdom and nothing Great about Britain, the 'UK' has been divided by politics and greed, Scotland & Wales rule themselves and Cornwall want in on the act. yes i'll agree that once upon ago the country did act as one but sadly i think that those days are long gone which is a shame because as a country the UK has achieved great things for the land and it's people.

Answer 140

The question was 'is it a bit cocky' not what is the history of this term.

Yes, it is a bit cocky. Britons, have nothing to be cocky about at all. I live on the Algarve in Portugal, and every year we have thousands of holidaymakers, Portuguese from the North of the country, Germans, Dutch, French, Spanish and the British. The British are distinguished from the rest by their obesity, especially large males with t-shirts which are much too small; their loudness and 'cockiness.'; their drunkenness; their dropping of litter (which the Portuguese do not do at all, in fact recycling is a complete way of life); and their badly behaved offspring; and their complaints about anything and everything. They are so embarrassing! What is there to be cocky about? A rhetorical question of course. Give me the Germans and Portuguese any day. I think it is about time that the word Great was dropped now. There was nothing Great about living in Britain. The NHS was appalling, the political correctness was beyond a joke and just sick, the everyday violence is the norm, there is ageism, racism and sexism everywhere. Thousands of people have never been to work, but exist on benefits and cash-in-hand work as though it is their right, the levels of young pregnant single women is alarming.

Answer 141

There is no such country as "Great Britain". It is a collection of countries similar to Russia and Yugoslavia. In the future when the break up occurs it will be beautiful Scotland, hilly Wales and poor England.

Answer 142

It tends to be much more likely not to be referred to now as anything other than the 'United Kingdom' in modern terminology and online registrations etc. 'Great' it most certainly was however...and the use of merely 'Britain' or 'British' alone is now widespread.

'Used-to-be-Great-Britain' might sound ludicrous but is actually no more unlikely than the TV programme which should more correctly be titled: "I used to be a celebrity, get me back in there!"

'Holland' or 'The Netherlands' and the use of the word 'Dutch' and the 'Benelux' countries are all typical of the historical combinations possible and we simply get used to it.

it also gives lesser nations a feeling of superiority to refer to 'Great Britain' as an oxymoron!...let them do so it doesn't bother this Brit.

Answer 143

Great Britain is not a country, rather a collection of different countries. The question is therefore cocky in the extreme.

Answer 144

Is it a bit cocky to for Britons to call their country 'Great' Britain? Well it is if it's based on its people's ability to play football....

Answer 145

As others have mentioned. Many Britons (Welsh/Cornish Celts) migrated over to the continent to Gaul (modern day France). The area where they settled also became know as Britain (Prydain in Welsh).

The reference to "Great Britain" is simply one of size. Brittany in France being "Breton" and the larger island to the North becoming "Grande Breton". So the name is actually of French origin and it is just a matter of size. Great meaning larger, not something special or outstanding. Although the readers of the Daily Mail and Sun newspapers clearly do not know this.

The same rule applies to Great Yarmouth to distinguish it from Little Yarmouth in Norfolk.

Many places in England bare the Latin name "Magna" meaning greater or larger or "Parva" meaning lesser or smaller. ie. Wigston Magna and Wigston Parva. These Latin names emanate from the Normans who conquered the English.

The Welsh, who were not conquered by the Normans, thereby retaining the language and culture of Britain, use the name "Mawr or Fawr" to signify larger. ie. Brynmawr (big hill).

Hope this helps.

Answer 146

Well just in reply to below.....yes the question is being asked in English.....but English is a derivative of Latin

It did rule a 1/4 of the world's surface & a 1/3 of it's people...but under tyranny...they did first introduce the Concentration Camp to the World !!!

While they did stand up to Hitler....they did give him the idea of the Concentration Camp.....

The Government might be stable......but history shows they were involved in the cover up of appalling atrocities against innocent people..... Ireland !!!!

Shackleton & Tom Crean were Irish.......Duke of Wellington was also Irish



I love England and have a load of English friends........but certain things should not be looked at through rose tinted glasses.....!!!

Answer 147

Its made up of all the islands around Britain being called all one Great Britain

Answer 148

Well in the past Britain was a great Country, but in the last 30/40 years it has gone to the dogs, totally different Country today, for the worst, so maybe its time to think about dropping it.

Answer 149

Lets just get this straight shall we, for idiots like below.

Great Britain is an island consisting of England, Wales and Scotland.

The UK includes others, like Northern Ireland.

England is one country in the United Kingdom. It is the largest country in the island of Great Britain.

Great Britain is an island and is the biggest in the UK, hence the 'Great' preceding 'Britain'. It's the biggest island. Simple.

Britain is just another way of saying UK, which is where the confusion comes from, i suppose...

Answer 150

What's ironic is the original Britons are the Cymry (Welsh). They are also not part of the Union (never have been) which only consists of Scotland, england & Ireland later on. Brittany & the Cymry are the same bloodline. In essence there is no such place as GB because the Cymry (indigenous people) are excluded & they do NOT recognise GB/UK other than an illusion created by a power hungry régime.

Answer 151

Derivation of "Great"



After the Old English period, Britain was used as a historical term only. Geoffrey of Monmouth in his pseudohistorical Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136) refers to the island of Great Britain as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the continental region which approximates to modern Brittany. The term "Great Britain" was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Cecily the daughter of Edward IV of England, and James the son of James III of Scotland, which described it as "this Nobill Isle, callit Gret Britanee." It was used again in 1604, when King James VI and I, in a deliberate attempt to impose a term which would unite his double inheritance of the kingdoms of Scotland and England, proclaimed his assumption of the throne in the style "King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland ..."



By the way, in response to an earlier comment as to why answers are given when they are obviously wrong and so many answers are similar, the reason is that if you come here from your email address webpage you can't see earlier responses until until you click "confirm" on the web page, therefore its Yahoo's fault, not those of us who have gone to all the trouble to provide a right or even a wrong answer.

Answer 152

(The Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the political union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland with the Acts of Union 1707 on 1 May 1707 under Queen Anne.)

Others stae the same or other close reasons why it is called Great but why is it cocky to think your country is Great anyway? I also happen to think that, contrary to the perfect list in one answer that Britain had a greater influence in history than the US, depending on how recent is recent. Even then I think the US interferes with rather than influences history, and they never seem to learn from it. Myself I prefer United Kingdom, which means the Untied Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Answer 153

Great Britain is the name of the largest island in the British Isles group. It consists of England, Scotland and Wales.

Answer 154

The island that is called Great Brtain was used by sailors, hundreds of years ago, as a point that told them they were going the wrong way. When they saw the island a sailor would usually say "Awww great!!!! Britain!! Turn us round lads we're going the wrong way" and I suppose the name 'Great Brtain' has stuck since then. Along with the feeling that you are lost when you're on the island :)

Answer 155

Answer is simple as meaning of names for other countries:



JAPAN - Both Nippon and Nihon literally mean "the sun's origin" and are often translated as the Land of the Rising Sun (so only there sun is rising?-not in england or Germany or Portugal etc.;))



NORWAY - Norway (i /ˈnɔrweɪ/; Norwegian: Norge (Bokmål) or Noreg (Nynorsk)), - literally means "way to North" (so this is the only way North?-no other way)



AUSTRALIA - Pronounced [əˈstɹæɪljə, -liə] in Australian English,[17] the name Australia is derived from the Latin australis, meaning "southern land". (so there is only one southern land on the world?)



and so on...

So you can see Grat Britain was great, for many people for some time. Now Countries names do not have the same meanings, as they used to have... After all we are talking about island here.

Answer 156

there are number of diffrent reasons



1. they survived after a tons of consumption of alcohol, drugs.



2. they are not 100% britons but they are vikings . the average height for a british man before the viking invasion was 5'1" and after the invasion it went up to 5'7"



3. they are made up of england, scotland, wales and north ireland



4. they are known ed to be the most racist people in the world even though they are not racist at all.



5. they took the money from all over the world and now they are paying them back (troops in Afghanistan, navy protecting the oil in middle east and many more).



and good luck from choosing the best answer

Answer 157

Great Britain yup was in the past. Today Britain is not that great anymore. Just normal union in western EU that all.



In the Song "god save the queen" .......there is no future in England's Dreaming.....

in "Scotish Anthem" .....but we can still rise now and be the nation again....

in "Rep of IRL" Anthem ....we want our Ireland back......



im Nor Scotish nor English and Grat Britian the name will remain little longer. the name does not have anything anymore to do with Powerfull Coutry rather small still union and weak one.

you said "Britons" are you talking about Black Britons? those ones that were called njgger in england till 1990??? are you talkling about those black britons that you anglosaxons(england) were affraid to have for your neighbour? cyt .... want njgger for your neighbour vote labour..." or you talking about brown skinned people living in England till today called "Paki" ?



do you know what? NI Land should be returned back ro rep of ireland and everyone who live in NI if doesnt agree should move to england.

Scotland should be free from Englands influence.

and this place should be called "england" "Scotland" and "United Ireland"



i wasnt born in england nor scotland or ireland. I live in england for over 12 years) and want to say after all my experience if there was a war between England and Scotland I would be greatfull to give my life for Scotland.

Great Britain is no great anymore nor United.

As long as it will exist it will be controlled by England and english people.



i hate Crumpets and

God bless Scotland and Real Ireland.

Answer 158

Simply Britain is call great Britain because they only fill great of themself, Example all those country that Britain conolized the Britain did not help them up to development but make them suffer pain and they only take power for themself to left those country aside. Britain is call Great Britain because they only think of themself to be great and nothing else.

Answer 159

Its becasue Britian did quite well at football however we beat the French and Germans on our way to winning the 1432 European Championships and therefore as we had won it twice in a row we were awarded the title "Great" to be placed before Britain. Hence the term great britain.

Answer 160

The british paralment just anounced a few weeks ago, that the "Bloody Sunday" had happened in N.Ireland. It needed 38 years for that, for something the irish news had on the cover page the next monday morning. GREAT BRITAN. The one and only time the country deserves that name.

And that just for five minutes !

For any response on my comment, i don't care. I am not writing or reading more here. All the LITTLE BRITS can now pray to their old queen.

Bye Bye.

And God shave the Queen!

Answer 161

cocky? it refers to size of peniisi (plural of penis). the french were little and the brits were grande or great, this harks back to a time when peniis were the currrency of the day and economys were large or small depending on their relative sizes. America has recently become powerful as they are now full of big dicks. Britain on the whole have shrunk back to a small peniis state hoped to be led by a right royal c**t, (another determinant of relative power). Fortunately for the french they are full of c**ts so they still believe they are powerful, but they are really just a nation of cork (sic) suckers. Germany on the other hand are just big knobheads, fullstop.

Answer 162

Britain isn't a country. Scotland, England and Wales are.



The great is a translation of the French "Grand Bretagne", which is in contrast to Bretagne or Brittany, which is the "Little Britain". Brittany is so called because it was settled by natives of Britain who were chased out by the Anglo-Saxons (English) when they invaded after the Romans left.

Answer 163

I believe during the time of Queen Victoria, she had a solid strong country that she was so proud of, at her time she ordered that Britain to be called great Britain as much as it was acquiring colonies all over the world.

Answer 164

God will restore the greatness in Great Britain when we begin to make radical changes around us as individuals and as a nation, not as nannies to one another, trying to appease each other that everytime there is a problem it's the foreigners' fault. Look, now our beloved conservatives as clueless as they are, are in power all because of our dissatisfaction with Labour's immigration record. The strange thing is that Gordon Brown(the Scotsman) was the only one with a clue throughout Europe on how to fix the economies (yes, not just ours). The world cup was a flop and it can't be the players in our eyes because they are just so British, and guess what the coach isn't! That's just the problem, when the British don't know what it means to be British any longer, why their ancestors were proud to be British and why there were so many churches built around them. The reverence of God is gone, people can mock God when the bible ( the inspired Word of God) tells us that God cannot be mocked and that we reap what we sow. It says, shall a man reap where he did not sow? What do you think honestly, if you are truly British? The truth is that Greatness came about when your ancestors sowed the seed of the word of God in Africa and other places and God in turn gave them power and influence, look at the Jews, and the nation of Israel, for an e.g. And just because my friend says there is no God, then it's cool to say it and I will just say the same.Dare to be different, dare to be British like myself, even though I was born in Africa, I now consider myself to British and when we came out of the world cup, I didn't throw away my flag. I kept it waving high for God as a prayer that this nation will know God once again, even if it takes the tough times that lie ahead, the drought, the famine and economic decline and the lack of political leadership and will or failure of it, to change this nation ( Revelation 3:19). God rebukes us out of love just as the teacher puts the naughty student in the naughty corner, not just to punish, but that he/she may appreciate his/her freedoms and the perks of them. We have the power to change our destiny by putting our trust in God

Answer 165

No it's not cocky but its ok to call England cocky.Its one of the cockiest nations in the world.Thats why its hard to define Britain .The scots are more reserved as are the Welsh So its hard to define a brit. As the famous quote goes( British by birth Scottish by the grace of God)

Answer 166

Well, I thought it was because of the fact that Britain consisted of England & Wales and Great Britain consisted of England & Wales & Scotland. The United Kingdom was made up of England & wales & Scotland & Northern Ireland. So the British Isles was made up of these and all the other islands we rule around the world.



Thanks.

Answer 167

No: When James the Sixth of Scotland took over England and Wales on the death of Elizabeth the First, he called the united country "Britannia Magna" in latin, which means Great Britain. By peaceful means and with the consent of the english establishment he acheived what English kings never managed. (Your spellchecker's wrong; Great in latin is Magna, not Meagan or Manga!)

Answer 168

wow, I don't believe the number of incorrect answers, in this forum, to this question....really depressing.



"Great Britain" is the new country name given to the union of England and Scotland 300 years ago, as listed in the Act of Union document. (you may have missed the 300 year anniversary in 2007 as the Queen didn't give a **** and the Prime Minister kept his mouth shut) . Look the document up, it's right there in black and white.



Before that "Great Britain" simply didn't exist..no matter what other people say on this forum...Before that there was simply England (and Wales) and Scotland. "Britain" stems from the Roman name for this 'island', namely "Britannia".

Answer 169

'Great' Britain is a term that goes back to the days of the British Empire and when we had a large Commonwealth. In the 21st Century the term is a bit redundant, as we no longer have an Empire and the Commonwealth has been getting smaller since World War II and continues to get smaller over time. The term 'United Kingdom' is currently used but it may upset the Nationalists in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 'Great' Britain will continue to be used, as it has become part of common usage over time. Britain and British are terms that denote identity and where we belong which is is far more important. Using the term Great Britain has a romantic and historical context.

Answer 170

People forget tHAT Britain was the previous superpower. America (USA) become the most powerful country both economically and militarily after WWI because it made billions selling weapons. The British Empire at its peak owned 25% of the Earth's land surface, it was the biggest empire in the history of Earth, its language (English) is the most wide-spread and of course we still have the Commonwealth which is a group of 57 countries with their Head of State as Queen Elizabeth II.



So considering all these facts, and considering no country has come close to achieving what we have, we deserve our title Great Britain. If America didn't invent the nuclear bomb, and if we didn't fight Hitler after he invaded Poland we'd probably be the second biggest superpower after Germany right now because the USA is only rich because of the profit it made from selling weapons and armaments to countries fighting WWI and WWII.

Answer 171

Right lets nail this once and for all and teach the idiots who say britain was the greatest empire ever.Firstly USA, Canada,Aussie,NZ all had little or no people or no army to defend them secondly you have never once occupied the greatest continent on earth e.g Europe the only thing great about the empire was that you would land in country's with very few people and no army's and you wonder why you a dis pied all over the world its because some of you idiots don't take the time to read your own history and by the way hitler destroyed the british and french on mainland europe within a few months hence the evacuation of dunkirk ffs, you never stepped foot on mainland europe again until the yanks came and saved your *** just like ww1.

Answer 172

Many foreigners think it is very "cocky" to call our country 'Great' Britain. Regardless of what it really means, I think many Brits think we are great, and I was taught this at school. However I cannot see much evidence of 'greatness' today, and in the past I think we were rather more powerful than great. Let's avoid this nasty arrogance and drop the 'Great'. If ,in the future,we eventually manage to become great, it will be self evident without advertising the fact.

Answer 173

The British Isles are made up of a large one and a small one (Ireland) so England, Scotland & Wales are Greater Britain and Ireland is essentially Lesser Britain - Don't tell them!!

Answer 174

No it is not, We come from a race of people who civilised 3/4 of the modern world, and led the way in exploring the planet, and we have produced most of the great minds the world has ever seen, so I feel the country has earned the name and should be proud of it, and what the country has achieved.

Answer 175

No, it's not. This is to distinguish it from the better Britain, known as "Wee Britain". This is where all the mentally retarded Britons go, as evidenced by an episode of Arrested Development.



"Wee Britain" is also the precursor to the term "United Kingdom". Since "Wee" obviously refers to the Middle Age spelling of the plural first person pronoun. In traditional English subtleness, to refer to something very specific, the Brits try to give things generic names with a twist of sarcasm or irony, as evidenced by our tendency to call celebrities merely by their first name. For instance, they call Britney Spears "Britney" or just "the Singing Tart" for those who object to her nomenclature alluding to but ultimately being a bastardization of Brittany. In this case, "tart" is the generic term; "singing" is meant to be sarcastic. By the same token, the English thus dubbed the "Britain" part of the name as "Kingdom". However, herein lies the brilliance of the name, since it has been ruled by a Queen for quite some time. Therefore in one word, the English were able to accomplish both generality AND irony.



During the 18th century, Our Scotty Ire of England (as Wee Britain is sometimes called) had a civil war which resulted in the secessation of 13 of its most beautiful provinces on the grounds that they wrote a Declaration of Independence without using "U"s in words like "endeavour" or "colour". World-renowned for their sportsmanship and bad coaching (as evidenced in their current performance at the World Cup), they promptly staged a war in which they faked defeat in order to make the French feel better about its philosophers. This was a clever ruse to get the French government to use all their copper to build a statue that would rust immediately, but would serve its purpose in aiding the Ghostbusters in their endeavour to rid the world of ectoplasmic activity, which was the leading threat as an instigator to nuclear holocaust at the time. In this sense, the British prevented two World War IIs from happening at the same time. Incidentally, the British knew that the French were the foremost designers of weaponry combatting ectoplasmic violence, as evidenced by their building the Eiffel Tower as a gigantic trap for phastasms who are on their honeymoon terrorizing American tourists.



So contrary to popular belief, these two, United Kingdom and Great Britain, are two very difference countries.



And that is why Great Britain is named what it is today. To remind us of the world we live in, our dreams, and forever demonstrate the reasons for which we keep other names simple as opposed to mere reminders of the adventures of ectoplasmic violence.

Answer 176

I read the first page of highest-rated answers and think that they've all got it wrong, IMHO. 'Britain' serves adequately as the moniker for the island, but the fact is that the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' comprises numerous smaller islands, when you look at it, too small, it is generally thought, to govern themselves. This is why the moniker 'Communist Party of Britain,' while trying to be hip and anti-imperialist, ends up being ignorant and inaccurate.

Answer 177

It is true that when the Cornish Celts fled to France, they named the region (which was Armorica) Lesser Britain, but we did not begin (much later) to call our country Great Britain in order to distinguish it from that.

Strictly speaking, Britain is the mainland (so it includes Wales and Scotland) and Great Britain takes in also the islands.

'Great' here is certainly NOT an epithet used in its modern sense of important, powerful, better etc.(as in 'This is a great way to support your answer', for example.

Answer 178

Answer to this is simple "dont anyone learn history anymore"

Great Britain is a union of four countrys with different cultures.

They are England,Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland.

The act of union when Scotlands Monarch King James 6th.

Became King James the first of England when Elizabeth the first

of England died without a heir. Thus the throne was offered to her

Cousin James of scotland. after the act of union the prefix great was added

to britain......Becoming The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

That is why Queen Elizabeth the second our present monarch is Queen Elizabeth

the First in Scotland..

Answer 179

Because I have seen the Latin translation of "Great Britain" on the frieze of the fallen roof of the forum at the ancient Roman city of Leptis Magna I think it is safe to assume that it predates Anglo-Saxons and Normans. The Bretagne/ Brittany argument (as in Roman times) seems to hold water.

Answer 180

What has happened to GREAT Britain



Once I knew Britain as Great Britain, GB, which of course meant that in abbreviation, now GB is widely used by people as GODFORSAKEN Britain, still GB but mean has changed a lot.



Does anyone know the reason for this name change?



Of course we have LOCO Governments, one after another now, local authorities have gone down the drain pipes also, but who are to blame for that?



Rulers of this once mighty land chase dreams of direct pipeline of OIL from the Middle East, well that’s what they thought after killing Sadam, then they went to Afganistan to gain direct control over the drugs trade, instead of the drugs cartels. They want to go to Iran now and try and get OIL from there, can we know what excuses will we hear next to invade another country?



Why are our good leaders killing millions of Innocent people worldwide and making our streets unsafe for us, in the name of what and in aid of what.



Our educated local authority councilors, most of whom do not have a car, try to make pavements so wide, 2 buses next to each other can drive on those, while making our roads so narrow that we have single lane traffic buildups all the time, making driving a living hell for the drivers, not to mention the queues.



The same authorities flaunt all laws about green belt areas and give consent to big chain stores to open up their outlets anyplace they choose.



All the small towns have now become ghost towns, all the public sucked into this out of town supermarkets and shopping malls.



The general excuse is that these stores will each create about 100 new jobs, but what about the thousands of small family run businesses they are killing and making all the people jobless.



Any small shopping area that is thriving, these supermarkets quickly see that they fail by offering sweeteners to the relevant authorities, and these authorities act quickly also, by placing yellow lines, making big pavements or making bus lanes there so shoppers find it difficult to reach these shops or cant park anywhere.



How do we EDUCATE the Governments and these EDUCATED Councilors before we do indeed adopt the name GODFORSAKEN BRITAIN permanently?

Answer 181

The reason is because in France there is a region called Bretagne, and anything above it is called Gran Bretagne, and after yrs and yrs the English translated it into Great Britain.Like other things in Latin languages, like Duque, Gran-Duque and so forth. Absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Britain is great(as in wonderful, magnificent,the best, etc) it is only GEOGRAPHICAL..Sorry Brits!!!

Answer 182

The question has been answered several times over and I should think even the most racist of contributors know it by now.

The ammount of racism on here is very disturbing.

I don't think, as an Englishman, that I could shrink my mind to the level of some people British or not.

To all of the racists all I can say is 'Grow up and live your own life before commenting is such racist terms for all the world to see.

Very sad.

Answer 183

After Scotland was coerced into a Union with Britain by bribery, and, against the wishes of the ordinary people, then Britain became Great (large) Britain. So, "Great" only means large. Furthermore, the very dark blue one sees in most of the versions of the Union Flag is an insult.The colour should be sky blue.



mhic Chtuiter na Alba

Answer 184

I work for the commonwealth office in London

and here is something you all may not know,

Britain at the present moment controls 26 Countrys around the world,

12 of which are directly governed by the commonwealth office's in London.

When the empire began to break up the rest of the countrys we kept or controlled

were put into a "commomwealth" ie good for all, but this was just a premise to stop

the empire completely breaking up, if the countrys remaining in the commonwealth

were to withdraw then GB would withdraw aid and funding and basically these countrys

would collapse in chaos.

Just A bit of an insight.

PS. The salary i get dose'nt even pay for my beer and fags.

Answer 185

My answer is that it is yet another attempt by those who have reason to hate this country to further diminish its stature in the world. Great Brittain, as in the country who save Europe from German tyrrany twice! Great Brittain, without which, there would BE no France, Belgium, Italy, Holland etc.



Unfortunately, until recently we have been goverened by a party who hate anything to do with "Great" Brittain, and saw it merely as a vehicle to attain and, at any costs, retain political power. So they flooded it with illegal immigrants to whom they granted, often with the most tennuous of excuses assylum and then residence. The thinking was that people who are given freee health care, free housing, and benefits will surely vote for the party that gave them to them. Unfortunately, the Labour Part did not understand that gratitude is not in these people's vocabulary.

Then we have the EEC. Some of us remember when under Ted Heath we joined the "Common MArket." No suggestion back then about it becoming the political masters of the member states.



No, we are no longer "Great" nor do we deserve to be called "Great". We have allowed our once proud nation to be sullied and trodden under the European heel to the tune of 23million pounds a day. We cannot pay pensions, but we can pay Europe. We have allowed the filthiest, most corrupt "profession" in the world to multiply and prosper. Politics has grown more than any business you care to name. We once had one national assembly, now we have three. All of which are paid for by us. We signed Maastricht and now we are forced to cut child benefit to pay our European masters.



No, we are no longer "Great Brittain." But its ok, becuase in our lifetimes, we will cease to be a nation at all, and merely prisoner 24601 in the United Jail of Europe.

Answer 186

Well, apart from the historical basis for the name, small countries/regions do exhibit an inclination to call themselves 'great' or 'large', such as 'Great Britain', South Korea (their actual name translated directly means 'the Great Republic of Korea'), and of course the 'Grand Duchy of Luxembourg'. Of course, fairly large countries also exist with such embellishments in their names, notably the 'Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya'. Strange to think of it, but the U.S.S.R. never branded itself as the G.U.S.S.R. Hmm, I wonder why?

In any case, I have encountered people in the British Isles who seemed to have been sadly misled by the name. A few thought that England was larger in geographical area than China (PRC); seeing my instant dismissal of the idea, another duly informed me that even Hong Kong was larger than China (and she was from Hong Kong)!

Answer 187

Unfortunately there's nothing GREAT about Britain anymore. Since our land's been infiltrated & populated by BAD, RUDE, FILTHY foreigners (the Governments fault & my wife is from another country but she is not bad,rude or filthy, so don't think I'm being overly sensitive) as well as so called dumb fashion designers thinking the 80's were a great time and people think it's cool 'n' great to dress badly with no dress sense (as in the dull and boring 1980's) because they can't create their own new fashions.

Answer 188

There's nothing 'GREAT' about 'BRITAIN' now. Our politicians are corrupt,immigration is at an all time high,The Yanks are spitting bile at us because of something that really has nothing to do with the ordinary people of 'BRITAIN', laws are no longer controlled by 'BRITAIN', we don't have any industry left,yet! when the worlds in trouble,who do they call on first? 'US' that's who and our government goes running, no referendum's,no consultation with the 'BRITISH' people, true Britain's fought and died for the freedom of this once 'GREAT' country,if they could only see what has happened to all their efforts they'd be turning in their graves Shame on the 'BRITISH' government.

A REALIST

Answer 189

Great Britain refers to Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England. It is a reference to the union. Similarly Greater Manchester refers not only to Manchester but Salford, Stockport, Oldham, Ashton, and surrounding areas. Greater London is the same.

"Great" or "Greater" means larger area, not great as in fantastic.



The previous answers are wrong.

Answer 190

It's because Britain 'was' Great because everyone else has copied and stolen everything from it since. More recently however, the word 'great' may well have contributed to turning Britain into a monumental overcrowded displaced persons camp. Something you can thank the dogooder for as it is them alone who have made it a thing of fragmentation and hate.

Answer 191

There is no country called Great Britain, Great Britain is an island, made up of 3 countries, England, Scotland & Wales

Answer 192

as all the other answers stated about the size of britain this is true, but how can millions of immigrants, asylum seekers and migrant workers be wrong, britain is great and its great to be british we all take the freedom we have too much for granted, but we are only a small island and its getting a bit full now!!!

Answer 193

I'm italian, but I think that the Britons called The Britain "Great" for its/her size..

However, I LOVE GB :)

Answer 194

dear Drac250,

let me refer to a few of your statements

1 "well, you're asking a question in english" english is only the first language for less then 20% of the worlds population...by your reconing we should be refering to China as great China.

2 the internet is a wholy American creation.

3 you might have stood against Napoelean and Hitler, but wasn't it you who introduced the concept of concentration camps (during the Boer war) which Hitler copied.

4 you say ruled 1/4 of the worlds surface and 1/3 it's people I say enslave, oppress, you ruled Northern Ireland...nice mess you created there, you divided up the middle east in the Sikes/Picot agreement nice mess you left there

5 your contention that British explorers stretched the boundaries of the know world (it was know to the indiginious population of those areas, it was unknown to the british.

6 you can trace your kingdom back 1200 years...you have had german born kings, french born kings, Norman kings, danish kings, your queens have been married to dutchmen, greeks, and germans. not such a british kingdom afterall

7 naval tradition...was build on the spines of oak trees that were plundered from Ireland. your navy wouldn't have floated if it wasn't for the forests you destroyed in Ireland

8, by using the nobel prizes as a grading your writers, philospers and scientist rank 2nd (not so great) you have only 3 winners for literature even trying to claim George Bernard Shaw (born in Ireland, Irish citizen, buried in Ireland) as british, Ireland your neighbor has four (should that be great Ireland)

so I think that you can claim to be second best in the things that matter, mis-informed in some of your other claims, but the good news is that you can claim Andy Murray as British

Answer 195

Sigh, Great Britain' is a geographical term, as it is the largest island on the British archipelago.



In a similar way 'Grand Cayman' is the largest of the Cayman islands.



Brittany has nothing to do with it.

Answer 196

Doesn't matter really, they should just scrap the great altogether. Gives the english some kind of a buzz probably, when really it is a third world country now, being run by garbage, and as i do not recognise scotland as being part of britain, hopefully soon they will be their own country. Great, no matter what it means, sorry, but far far far off.

Answer 197

Apart from historical implications to the name, there's moral one. It so happens that Britain comes as perfect model of future homogeneous society with every national/whatever trait honoured. Language is perfect - as everything else is. That's the reason behind the phenomenal colonisation of Victorian era. The best looked for expansion, while the inferior saw the room for improvement, however chauvinist that sounds.

Answer 198

I alway thought it was because Brtion was never colonised and threw out history they were the power nation. So the term Great Briton sprung from that. Thats just what i think and belive partly thats one of the reasons or the main reason why.

Answer 199

Of course not. Great Britain is simply the anglicised name from the French "Grand Bretagne" meaning Greater Brittany, named as such after the Norman conquest.

Answer 200

What is so "Great" about Britain?

Most of the British Born People are living in other Countries.

Britain has gone to the "Dogs".

Answer 201

Exactly, it means Greater as in bigger.



Nothing to do with being great, which is why The Muslim Council of Britain miss the point by leaving out the word 'Great'

Answer 202

Although I love this country purely, I however have to say that it would be a bit of irony to call ourselves as "Great" nowadays anyway as we look at our current economy, domestic issues, and the most importantly our history. We call our country as " Great Britain " might be a natural for us, however it might be nothing more than arrogance and sinful for the people we conquered, destroyed, and exploited.

Answer 203

It's 'Great' meaning 'the bigger one' in the same way that the 'Great Bear' constellation is the bigger version of the 'little bear' or Ursa minor constellation. Brittany in France being the 'lesser' Britain back when the French ruled the Island after the Norman Conquest in 1066ish.

Answer 204

Great comes from the French word grande, meaning big,great, describing the union of the UK, involving England,Ireland, Scotland and Wales.Nothing to do with being cocky, better than others, etc.

Answer 205

The title 'Great Britain' originates from Norman Britain and was originally 'Grand Brittany', following Williams adventure holiday in 1066.

Answer 206

Its purely geographical - Great Britain is actually part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is the largest of the islands that make up the British Isles - hence the name Great Britain, Great as in largest nothing else. Ireland being the second largest. Therefore Great Britain is purely a geographical descriptive name and the correct name of the country of which Great Britain is a part if the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - or the United Kingdom as it is known. One casualty of this misnomer or misunderstanding of the name is that great tradition, the British Lions, who are now known as the British and Irish Lions - which is purely because of political interference as the Irish are British, geographically speaking.

Answer 207

It is called great to compensate for not being on the Mainland !

Funny, that, most locals never see it; Hawaiians, New Zealanders, and Irish people do, though.

So, funny.



General Ignorance: (Great may be because it was first used to define the difference between this country and Brittany. As this country was larger, it was called "Great".)

Answer 208

It is because the island we live on is the largest of the British Isles, ie. England Scotland and Wales.

The British Isles consists of the above, plus Ireland and the Channel Islands along with the Isle of Man.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is self explanatory.

Answer 209

Great Britain is the wrong name in 1707

Brittania (England) (Britain for short) was the name given by the Romans,to the lands south of Hadrians wall.

To the north of Hadrians wall,the lands were called Caledonia now (Scotland)

The island west of these lands ,was called Hibernia.

So Great Britain (England Scotland Wales),really means ,in modern terms, since 1707,Great England

Answer 210

We may be 'Great' Britain but we never seem to fly the union or Great British aka union jack flag. Pity, as it is one of the most attractive flags in the world but has become almost redundant these days. Lets have a national campaign to fly the union jack more!

Answer 211

It seems that most people posting replies here have not studied British History. I suggest you watch Simon Schama's program - A History Of Britain - and learn that Great Britain only came into the English language when James I was made king of England & Scotland. He was James VI of Scotland when Elizabeth I was on the throne.



Scotland and England united by the crown and that is when the first map of 'Great Britain' was made. This information comes from Simon Schama's program. He knows more than any of us about British history.

Answer 212

You need to find out what the word Britannia really means, because this land was called Britannia thousans of years before being Great Briton, the connextion with France is valid. However that has nothing to do with the name of this island. research the word Britanna, but don't listen to the rubbish we teach our childern in school etc it is ALL lies.

Answer 213

I don't know about the origins of the name, but now the term 'Great Britain' is a geopolitical one, referring to the main land mass of England, Scotland, and Wales. So the short answer is 'no' - it means great as in size, not as in, well, greatness.

Answer 214

Actually Ptolemy originally called Ireland "Scotia Major" not Hibernia, and Scotland was originally called Scotia Minor... Ireland being the "Scotian" mainland, the High King of Ireland had a kid brother who was basically like the Govenor General of the area now Scotland which we owned. The people of Ireland and Scotland were part of a population of ancient people originally called "The Pretanie" from which the name Bretagne is derived.

Answer 215

Widely misunderstood, this is simply a geographical term.

'Britain' means the main island containing England, Wales and the Scottish mainland.

'Great Britain' means Britain + the outlying islands (mostly in Scotland)

'The UK' means Great Britain + Northern Ireland as a political entity.

'The 'British Isles means the UK + Ireland ' - a geographical entity containing the 2 sovereign states of The UK and Eire.

So our ancestors were NOT big headed, they were just describing our territory accurately.

Answer 216

As some others have alluded to, but haven't given quite the correct answer, 'Great' means big. In this case, it means that it is the biggest of all the hundreds of islands that make up the British Isles. Ireland is the second biggest of the British Isles. Simple, smshshsmsh (the noise that meerkat makes).

Answer 217

'Great Britain' is the name of the island that is divided into Wales, England and Scotland.



It is common for the largest of a group of islands to be given the same name as the group. So 'Gran Canaria' is the largest of the Canary Islands. 'Great Britain' is the largest of the British Islands.

Answer 218

Re Napoleon and Hitler. The EU have taken over their policies, so we lost out in the end. Before long "Great Britain" will have become a province of France.

Answer 219

The irony is that most 'Britons' in 2010 dont refer to their country as Great Briatin anyway. We're live in either England, Wales, Scotland or Ireland.... you can also probably include people who say they live in Kernow too!

Answer 220

do`s any body know where the word briton/britain comes from.i know lets see if english ppl know,after all it is our country right, its what we should know right, give some of you guys a clue.`great` because we are sometimes...?..britons/britain is one of the most tattooed country in the world

Answer 221

This is because britain ruled many nations in the past and even the sunset can't occur in the full land -if there is sunset in the east there will be sunrise in the west , si it was called first the empire with no sunset because of this it was called Great Britain.

Answer 222

The term Great Britain was first used during the reign of King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) in 1603, to refer to the separate kingdoms of England and Scotland. on the same landmass, that were ruled over by the same monarch. Despite having the same monarch, both kingdoms kept their own parliaments.

Answer 223

No, Brittany was Lesser Britain and our islands are Great Britain meaning they are larger in size that Brittany. Rather in the same way as you say Wigston Magna and Wigston Parva, which mean Great Wigston and Lesser Wigston.

Answer 224

We used to be Great, but now we are just a washed up third world country that seems determined to throw all the good thing's we used to be known for away and self destruct.If all those people who have died over the years fighting for their country could see what the country as become they would turn in their graves. Governments past and present should hang their heads in shame

Answer 225

I agree with john P in roman and pre roman time britain was in two parts Lesser Britain and Greater Britain. Lesser Britain was part of france called Britainy today and we lost to the french.exatly when I can't say

Answer 226

Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles-that is the real reason for the name Great Britain

Answer 227

No , You should be 'cocky' your country set the standard for the world !! Simply because it is 'Great' . Origonally from Italy, in the 70's , i worked ,lived & had families, in several counties , always returning to this fantastic Island. The nature of the Great British people is fantastic, warm welcoming & so polite, You exel at all & the economy is well balanced, always. If you do not think so, go work any other country,you wish or fantasize about....... you will be back !Slightly overpopulated maybe the Uk, in the last 10 years, but where else on the planet can you buy simply anything, do anything & have it all at your finger tips . Think on ;)

Answer 228

we didnt call us great the french did" le grande bretagne"to differentiate between the UK and the english part of france like brittany bretagne oh yes another thing i dont think we have ever officially handed back sovereignity of "aquitaine" to france i really wanted our government to do that just to upset de gaulle when he was being so anti- british after the war in the early common market days -im sure if we had come up with a ceremony of handover he would have had an apoplectic fit

Answer 229

It refers to Great Britain , the largest of the British Isles which most people would refer to as main land Britain.

Answer 230

So in the past there was a reason for the name "Great Britain" So why are they still calling it? Would be more of the question!

Answer 231

yes britain was great, and everyone has very good arguments, newton, darwin, fleming etc, but greece is not called great greece, rome is not called great rome, these places were the founding fathers of britain, economics, maths etc etc etc! yes britain did rule 3rd of the world but lost it all! that's not great! even the church which caused more uproar is under threat, from catholic to church of england, all the way to the national anthem, god save the queen, now the freedom that the GREAT britons have fought for, the crusades are now on the back door! so what once was great sadly is no more!

Answer 232

In answer to your question,

I don't think it's cocky, I would instead put forward the point - "who cares",

If you think it's Great then call it Great because it is, if you call it Great for historical reasons then again do so.



Not really sure who out there would spend time thinking about whether we are being cocky or not,

Answer 233

Great Britain is and always will be the best and greatest country in the world



thumbs up GREAT BRITAIN

Answer 234

as a point of order, Wales is not a country, it's a Principality. The Union was between Scotland and England, hence the Union Flag (not Union Jack!) is made up from the Flags of St George and St Andrew.

Answer 235

The Romans gave the name Brittania Magna (Greater Britain) to the mainland of Britain.

The lesser islands were known as Brittania Parva (Lesser Britain) and the whole province was named Brittania.

Ireland, incidentally, was never part of the province and was known as Hibernia.

Answer 236

No Great Britain is the name of the the main island

Answer 237

Empirical label of countries bound by union. The union jack - the butchers apron, so much achieved through duplicity, deceit and slaughter. Great - only a gout ridden pompous Georgian oaf would have the audacity to label the union Great - a union now redundant.

Answer 238

We also call it United Kingdom and many use UK sometimes to avoid the Great in Great Britain.

Answer 239

They think they are in the top of the world. But literally speaking, they are the most dumbest people on earth. Many other nationals come to GB and perform well and work hard. Even one of my managers have admitted that the British staff is very lazy. But they talk big about their country.

Answer 240

The reason is because we are Greater Britain as opposed to Lesser Britain which is now known as Brittany (Bretagne) in North Western France.

Answer 241

As an political entity "great" britain has only existed since 1707.

The term "british" people or "british" state is a handy term to get round an awkward corner of description ,there is no more a "british" people than there ever was a Yugoslavian ,Czechslovakian or Russian people.

Incidentally the "british"parliament or union of parliaments has never been ratified by any of the constituent countries peoples.



Long past its sell by date and rotten to its core thats the UK

Answer 242

The Celts who evacuated to Gaul, not yet France were similar to the Cornish. We knew their country as Little-Britain-Over-The-Sea commonly shortened to Little Britain. So we are geographically bigger - Great Britain.

Answer 243

Great Britain refers to the island that includes England, Scotland and Wales. The word "great" in this context simply means large and in this case refers to the fact that it embodies three nations, which are governed from London in England. Its use is comparatively recent and was not intended to distinguish the country from Brittanny in France. There's nothing particularly great about Britain unless you like football hooligans, urban decay and pregnant teenagers.

Brittanny in France refers to a region settled by Brythonic Celts during the iron age, many of whom later moved on to the island of Britain. Their descendants were pushed west into Wales by subsequent viking and saxon invasions. The Welsh language is celtic in origin and shares a number of common features with Breton (spoken in Brittanny).

The United Kingdom refers to the three countries mentioned above and Northern Ireland. Britain spent several centuries unsuccessfully trying to colonise its neighbouring island, Ireland. Its continued occupation of Northern Ireland is the last vestige of this. The remaining part of Ireland won its independence from Britain in 1922 while Northern Ireland has had a measure of self government since 1998.

The union flag features the crosses of St George of England, Andrew of Scotland and David of Wales. However, neither Scottish nor Welsh use this flag as their national symbol, but the English do.

Answer 244

No. They have a right to call it so. The sun never sets over British Land world over even today. And Britannia Ruled the waves. They carried along with them civilization and the Rule of Law where ever they went.

Source :- I have been a critical student of British History and that is my source.

Answer 245

You might as well ask why there is a Greater Manchester or Greater London.... The answer is in the question. Greater implies it is the larger of two things that would otherwise be difficult to distinguish just by the name.



I think you could find bigger nits to pick with other names but you obviously already have an agenda.

Answer 246

It is a bit of an old fashioned name now I suppose - we could maybe do with a make-over and a new name - I like the sound of Zapppland! It has an exciting ring to it and we could all wear superhero costumes all day and the Queen could maybe fly about with a jetpack and wave at us. That'd spruce the place up a bit.

Answer 247

Quite simply it has nothing to do with Britain being "good or ecellent etc,etc." It is as a lot of people have stated that it is to do with the size i.e as oppose to "Lesser Britain."If you take the German translation for Great Britain;-"Gross Britania"where "gross" is a word to show size i.e "large" as kleine translates as small.Also these two German words are sometimes used to describe major and minor. Hope this helps.H

Answer 248

Sorry DRAC250, the history of Britain as a kingdom only dates back 303 years

Answer 249

i think britain comes from the latin name britannia given to the land by the Romans.the word great was added in victorian times due to enormous national pride or need of a better identity.

DRAC250 claims that the telephone was designed by a scotsman and he probably refers to alxander bell the man who stole Antonio Meucci`s invention while he left it in a safe at the endorsment office he used to work....

the whole world knows that alexander bell was nothing more then an impostor.and Meucci was awarded in th US the man who invented the telphone.

i think DRAG250 needs to check his sources before posting such garbage!

Answer 250

Having recently visited the Slavery Museum in Liverpool, I can't understand how this country can continue to use the word 'Great'. The cruelty inflicted on those captured under the "slave trade" was terrible and I bet those involved still regarded themselves as so called Christians. What an awful country this was (and still is in many ways).



Gareth B

Answer 251

In answer to Nic C, I'm Welsh born and consider myself Welsh (although I don't speak the lingo) and British, so don't mind when included in 'Great Britain'.



As for being cocky, well, it's really a historical title given to the island by the Romans and perpetuated through history so it's more tradition than being deliberately cocky, and like every country we have things to be proud of and to be ashamed of.

Answer 252

all the answers fit. whether because of the geographical reasons or the achievements of the people in the island over the years. if you study the history of this country and its contribution to the world, then without bias, you are bound to admit it deserves to be "greatest" britain not only great.

Answer 253

Just lets be glad that the football team wasnt called the Great Britain football team - you couldnt give a journo a better line to work with...

Answer 254

Given that the Jock's, the Taff's and the Paddy's all rebuke the term Great Britain and by enlarge want to dis-associate themselves from the nation, perhaps we should bin the name it and simply have Great England :-)

Answer 255

though historically greatness has departed from the Great Britain towards littleness or 'Little Britain' as depicted in the comedy itself, the title is still applicable as long as there is an effective common wealth since the member states of common wealth were historically a part of 'great'.



once the common wealth is also lost, i think, that remaining part of sense will be also lost with it.

Answer 256

I think one is the issue of two places which is located in France and Britain (small one and greater one) and second depend to the conquer of Britain in most part of the world in Asia, Africa, and Europe centuries ago

Answer 257

It's NOT about being COCKY, You got there wrong. It's same thing in Buenos Aires, there it is: City of Bs As, and to de extension of big area around Bs As it called "Gran Buenos Aires" in english means: "GREAT Bs As"

My advice read the history, but read carefully to make sure you understand what you are reading.

Sayionara! chao! Arrivederchi!

Answer 258

Also - Great Britain is not a 'country'... it's a kingdom made up of several countries and a province.

Answer 259

No, my friend, it is NOT!



It is a matter of PRIDE, - the British people had hundreds of reasons to BE proud, of their Nation. Prior to 1979, this Nation WAS a "GREAT" Nation



Then, the Conservative Party, - controlled by the likes of the "Obergruppenfuherer", - THATCHER, - and her henchmen, Kenneth "Robbin'" Clarke, and, "Tarzan" Heseltine, - LIED their way, to power, - and, "SOLD THE COUNTRY DOWN THE RIVER", by allowing our natural enemies, - like Germany and France, to take CONTROL by their usual, "back-door" methods. They, EVEN, made it possible, for US, - an "ISLAND NATION", - to be INVADED, without the NEED to deploy AIRCRAFT or BOATS.



How???



By ordering the construction of the Planet's longest "BOWLING ALLEY", - a.k.a. the "CHANNEL TUNNEL"



Only, since 1979, has the word "GREAT", been, steadily, "DROPPED", from usage, more and more

Answer 260

It is a great Britain because they are following through what their plan was and they are the country who had colonized most countries and still very much involve in the world affairs.

Answer 261

16th century up to18th england are invading or colonizing most of the country or place which is living peacefully. before its only britain then getting bigger and bigger by means of invading those weak country and then having one and one again became great and greater britain. just like spain, france and more. its very simple and you dont have to ask this

Answer 262

I am English and to be British you need an Irishman,Scotsman,and a Welshman

I use to accept the Union and the Flag but NO-LONGER

The Cross of ST GEORGE & ENGLAND is only for me and my Family

Anglo Saxon Jute Viking all descendant's of the East Side of England and due to recent research and Archaeology,We "English" were here in the Mesolithic period over 15000 years ago

So I don t do british anymore Just Good ole' ENGLAND

Answer 263

Medieval documents refer to Britain the Greater (ie Great Britain) and Britain the Lesser (ie Brittany), so its called Great Britain because it is bigger than Brittany.

Answer 264

The name Great Britain came about approx 600 years ago.... Farmers from what is now europe brought huge lumps of cheese over to be procesed into small pieces..... The itallians found this service particularly useful due to the hardness of their cheese.......

Answer 265

It may have been answered, I haven't looked back. The British Isles include Great Britain and Ireland, the 'Great' was simply used to distinguish the largest of the two.

Answer 266

In 1801 when England, Scotland and Ireland became one, (Wales was just a principality of England),

it became known as the Act of the Union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Because everywhere was independent countries/kingdoms. That is why we are called the UK and GB. The UK consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Cornwall, Shetlands, the Orkneys, Isle of man, Jersey & Guernsey and the Scilly isles. Great Britain is just the mainland.

Answer 267

Its true it used to be Great Britain in size.Britain was small but GB included Britain and its colonies (The British Empire) :USA before independence,Australia,Canada, Hong Kong and all English speaking Africa,the English Speaking Carri bean and other islands.Actually GB was almost reformed during the first and second world wars.

Answer 268

Britain has many smaller islands around it and because Britain is the biggest we call it 'Great' Britain.

Answer 269

This country once ruled the world , thats why its called Great Britain , we are proud of our country, long live our queen , ,

Answer 270

Member of the British Empire,

Order of the British Empire,

Knight of the British Empire, etc.

what british empire, this started to die after INDIA kicked your arses out of there by a little man in sandals way back in 1948

you waged war on defenceless peoples by the Gun on island Nations around the world, stole their mineral wealth for centuries created slave labour remember Africa or have you forgot already, till that wealth ran out then as a favour to them said you are free now bye bye oh by the way i have decided to drop the Empire in favour of the Commonwealth of nations a talk shop 2 thirds of which depend on charity donations from us to survive, it would be better to call it Common nations and drop the wealth, you are not cocky just very very arrogant, what not arrogant you say bring yourself more up to date how about Bloody Sunday I rest my case.

when are the brits going to get real and stop dreaming and look around your cities, towns and villages you will find that the populations are over flowing with more foreigners than LOCALS most living on benefits they are not visitors they are settling here in droves whats great about this, every true and genuine british person is under our laws entitled to their Personal opinion and this is mine.

Answer 271

Britain was the greatest until recent years when we let the europeans in the EU rule us with their laws,

no longer do we have any say in our country for the good of the british people and should be dismayed for our Great Britain going down the pipe to everybody else 's is how it should be done.

Let's get back to backing Britain for what it was GREAT!!!!

Answer 272

If you can remember, Britain was called great during the time of their forefathers serving the God almighty, when God was number one in everything they do, but the great got missing along the line when God was missing in their agenda, when churches were being turned to mosque and disco hall.

No one call them great anymore sorry.

Answer 273

Interesting question. But a load of stupid answers from anti British morons. I suggest to those people to catch the first flight out of our country. I personally always use the term the UK or united Kingdom and class myself as English. so in my opinion drop the GB tag.

Answer 274

James Vl of Scotland became James l of Britain in 1605. When shown a map of his kingdom, he said that it was great in size. So it became known as Great Britain.

Answer 275

Just to be a little bit technical Bretagne was not part of France at that time, France being quite small it was in fact I believe a Duchy and the Dukes whilst subservient to the king of France did not regard themselves as French.

Answer 276

Its called Great Britain Because Britain Is Just that wonderful and great! So i guess we call it great britain!!!!!!

<3 <3 <3

Answer 277

Professor Charles Gull in his exposition 'Are we not Great?' posed this very question to a number of modern day British icons and got some fascinating replies 'Yeah but no but' , 'No but we are ladies','Great Bitty','Computer says no', 'Eh Eh','Yeah I know','Great, Great - are you saying I'm fat or somethin.We all like a bit of cake, don't we? I know I do. I love a bit, I do. I love a bit of cake. I do. I just like cake. I'm just one of those people. I come home and all I want's a slice of cake. I just love cake. I just love cake. I just love a bit of cake. CAAAA-AAKE. I love a bit of cake. Cake. Lovely.''



In his summary the Professor concludes that Great Britian is called that because it is populated by people who write good comedy watched all over the world and to differentiate it from Little Britain which is populated with catchphrases. Germany is just called Germany.

Answer 278

Great Britian???? what was this country before it before it became this so called glory field English oriantated feel good amout themselves Rule Britania BULL!!! .pre ice age Scotland was a seperate place.Yes the Romans came as far north as Hadrians wall and we know why they never conqured any further north!!! the Celts and the Picts ,they werent British or great british.We are a country united by a government 400 years out off date and holding on to the great within Britian and that is in no particular order ,us Scots,Welsch and Irish whom are true celts and dont boast this enough.As William Wallace reminded usbefore he was murdered,You will never take away our freedom,Let scotland free from the strangle hold we are under and then we will be GREAT again and reborn Scotia forever

Answer 279

well, may be Britons like to call thier country Great Britain!! but it is all about history-Britain was great because it invaded and conqured so many lands in the East and the West of the universe,and since then stated the saying EMPIRE NEVER THE SUN SET because so huge empire!

unfortunately, Now GB is not great!! regress and shrink its role worldwide.. i guess best name for GB is united kingdom it is no longer great as it was Great Britain-Great Empire!!



EmadK-Canada

Answer 280

It's something to do with the Industrial Revolution and how Britain was 'Great' for all of the materials it produced.

Answer 281

Wales had been assimilated by England long before the Union of Scotland and England and is technically a principality, which is why the Union Flag does not include Wales.

Answer 282

wheni was a child Britain was GREAT everything is changing now but we are still a great country and should be called GREAT BRITAIN we should be pround ot be british no matter what they do to try and spoil it bring back the old laws and we will be great again

Answer 283

NO IT'S NOT COCKY TO CALL OUR COUNTRY GREAT, AND ITS NOT A SIN TO FLY OUR FLAG, SO COME ON ENGLAND FLY OUR OWN FLAG, AN BALLS TO POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, SOME ONE AS TO STAND UP FOR GREAT BRITAIN. .

the polititions of this great country are TOO SOFT, and money GRABBING *********** ( children may read this use your own words)

its now a DUMPING ground for all the trash in the world to plead ASYLUM,

the rest of europe runs this once GREAT NATION, coz our politictions av NO BALLS to stand up an defend US,

sorry about spelling errors, this is not my strong point.

Answer 284

It is because in the past, probably in the 18th centurty, Britain was colonial power and to differenciate the Island from its colony it was called "Great Britain".

Answer 285

Toponymy :



The oldest mentions of terms related to the formal name of Britain was made by Aristotle (c. 384–322 BC), in his text On the Universe, Vol. III. To quote his works, "... in the ocean however, are two islands, and those very large, called Bretannic, Albion and Ierna". The archipelago has been referred to by a single name for over 2,000 years: the term British Isles derives from terms used by classical geographers to describe this island group. Pliny the Elder (c. 23–79 AD) in his Natural History (iv.xvi.102) records of Great Britain: "It was itself named Albion, while all the islands about which we shall soon briefly speak were called the Britanniae."



The earliest known name of Great Britain is Albion (Ἀλβίων) or insula Albionum, from either the Latin albus meaning white (referring to the white cliffs of Dover, the first view of Britain from the continent) or the "island of the Albiones", first mentioned in the Massaliote Periplus and by Pytheas.



The name Britain descends from the Latin name for Britain, Brittania or Brittānia, the land of the Britons. Old French Bretaigne (whence also Modern French Bretagne) and Middle English Bretayne, авBreteyne. The French form replaced the Old English Breoton, Breoten, Bryten, Breten (also Breoton-lond, Breten-lond). Brittania was used by the Romans from the 1st century BC for the British Isles taken together. It is derived from the travel writings of the ancient Greek Pytheas around 320 BC, which described various islands in the North Atlantic as far North as Thule (probably Iceland).



The peoples of these islands of Prettanike were called the Πρεττανοι, Priteni or Pretani. Priteni is the source of the Welsh language term Prydain, Britain, which has the same source as the Goidelic term Cruithne used to refer to the early Brythonic speaking inhabitants of Ireland. The latter were later called Picts or Caledonians by the Romans.

[edit] Derivation of "Great"



After the Old English period, Britain was used as a historical term only. Geoffrey of Monmouth in his pseudohistorical Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136) refers to the island of Great Britain as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the continental region which approximates to modern Brittany. The term "Great Britain" was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Cecily the daughter of Edward IV of England, and James the son of James III of Scotland, which described it as "this Nobill Isle, callit Gret Britanee." It was used again in 1604, when King James VI and I, in a deliberate attempt to impose a term which would unite his double inheritance of the kingdoms of Scotland and England, proclaimed his assumption of the throne in the style "King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland ..."



Use of the term Great Britain:



"Great Britain" refers to the majority of the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" (UK). It refers to the largest island only, or to England, Scotland and Wales as a unit (though these three countries also include many smaller islands). It does not include Northern Ireland.



In 1975 the government affirmed that the term Britain, not Great Britain, could be used as a shortened form of the United Kingdom.British refers, however, to all citizens of the United Kingdom — including Welsh, Scottish, English, and Northern Irish.



The abbreviations GB and GBR are used in some international codes as a synonym for the United Kingdom. Examples include: Universal Postal Union, international sports teams, NATO, the International Organization for Standardization country codes ISO 3166-2 and ISO 3166-1 alpha-3, and international licence plate codes, among others.



On the Internet, .uk is used as a country code top-level domain for the United Kingdom. A .gb top-level domain was also used to a limited extent in the past, but this is now effectively obsolete because the domain name registrar will not take new registrations.

Answer 286

Britain is not a country it's a state.

Answer 287

"Troy" got it, its to do with the unification of the various kingdoms, Principalities etc. I recently saw an old lecturn version of the book of Comon Prayer and it refered to the then Monrch as being King of Great Britain, Ireland and France.

Answer 288

Tony Blair ensured that the term "Great Britain" was consigned to history. Listen to most politicians and they say Britain this, and Britain that. Britain is a laughing stock, and there's nowt Great about that.

Answer 289

If we were at all honest with ourselves, and that is a Scottish person will not call themselves a Celt or Gaelic neither would a welsh person, so an English person has to say British because of potential racist feedback. I now fill in all paperwork with English.

Our politics are haywire our industry and economy is reminiscent and we have to claw back the old Great Britain . Please, please, please, those people who made it great are greats!!! absolute legends,

R.I.P. thank you intently but your passion, AND INTENT work and motives are being questioned by people who just rely...... is not that why we are in the shambles we are in??? reliance, not forging alliances, oooops there was a couple apologies..... with the Americans and how many have died??..... WE ARE RELIANT, NAIVE, SUSCEPTIBLE, not strong and proud ...smell the coffee....

Answer 290

It's called Great Britain because of the 'great' expansion of Brittany.

Answer 291

I think the reason why Britain is called "Great Britain" is because it ruled half of the world at one time.

They were colonising the naive people who welcomed them as friends but

the British took advantage of their friendship and soon took over their lands and countries in search of

Spices and Natural Wealth.

There was a time when the Sun never set on the British Empire.

Answer 292

Great, as in 'greater London', meaning encompassing England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland!

Answer 293

Great Britain is a short version of Greater Britain.

Greater Britain in the name given to the joining of the English, Scottish, Welsh and Ulster Nations in to one United Kingdom.

Blair and Brown have done their utmost to destroy this Union but the various nations joined as 'British' seem to want to keep us joined.This always confuses the US citizen who will say stupid things such as "I love your British accent" when they actually mean I love your 'English', 'Ulster', 'Welsh' or 'Scottish' accent.

Personally, I am a Yorkshire Man first, English Second and British Third. I am sure that my Scottish, Welsh and Ulster friends have similar views. There is nothing more annoying than entering the USA where you have to put your nationality as UK. As there is no such nationality, I simply get by by saying to myself "Stupid bloody Yanks"!

Answer 294

Only if you're ignorant of it origins.

Like Manchester, London and other great cities, they and their suburbs were called Greater London, Greater Manchester etc.,to encompass, not just the city, but it's suburbs as well.

So Britiain became Great Britain,not because she is a great nation (which she undoubtably is),but to encompasss all the offshore islands)

So you show not only your ignorance by posing the question, but also your prejudice.

Answer 295

answer is , briton is the only country who ruled half a world for more the 100years , and thats why it is called great briton , because they know how to rule

Answer 296

It is not called Great Britain, it is called United Kingdom, the name was changed so UK would sit with USA and USSR in the newly formed United Nations.

Answer 297

Well, I grew up in staffordshire & that was great. Then I moved to Essex & that was even greater. Now I live in Darwen, which is not great at all but I DO work in Manchester, which is great. So obviously, if I'm average, 3 quarters of the UK is great.

Answer 298

In response to DRAC250, your answer sums up the sheer hypocrisy of British thinking in regards Imperialism.

You guys were the brave ones who stood up to Hitler and Napoleon, huh? As if to say Britain has stood against tyranny and oppression throughout the years? When you then go on to boast about Britain having ruled over a vast section of the globe. Which was achieved through tyranny and oppression.

Either depict yourselves as a moral, noble stalwart of freedom or depict yourselves as an evil, brutal and anti-democratic empire. Pick one. You can’t be both.



Patriotism is a noble trait but when it comes at the expense of the freedom of others (shall we name the countless British colonies) then it should be carefully worded for fear of seeming hurtful to the victims of an empire.

Answer 299

In response to Katie's answer, I think the question was "Great Britain" not "Great England". Can't seem to recall ever having heard the saying "Great England" before!!!!

Answer 300

Its not a country - England is a Country - Britain is not. Scotland is a Country

Answer 301

No! The 'Great' simply refers to the union in 1707 of the former Kingdom of England with the erstwhile Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain - that is, literally, the 'big' kingdom - bigger than the earlier ones from which it was formed.

Answer 302

Its Manchester that makes Great Britain great!

Answer 303

The answer is in recognition of stopping Hapsburg empire from changing the face of europe. Later, Britain stood alone against Hitler. The league of nations allowed Britain to keep the name 'Great Britain'. Also, Great Britain was the first place to have the civilian population to be directly targeted in war, with zeppelins in the first world war and carpet bombing in the second.

Answer 304

It was first used to define the difference between this country and Brittany. As this country was larger, it was called "Great". It has nothing to do with Brits being cocky.

Answer 305

This nation IS great! The problem has been the political leaders who have sold us down the swanny so many times over so many years.



It really doesn't take much research, on-line or by book, to see that the geographical title 'Great' came during the Roman occupation of Western Europe. It indicated the difference between Britain and what is now Brittany or Bretagne.

Answer 306

No. The 'Great' dates from the time of the Union of the Parliaments of England and Scotland and denotes size rather than grandeur.



Edit. To Nick C. I'm sorry, but geographically the expression 'The British Isles' does include the whole of the island of Ireland, although the Republic is clearly not a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Irish Republic is no different, in this geographical sense, from the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands neither of which are part of the UKofGB&NI (but Crown dependencies - they aren't even in the EU). For a full discussion of the confusion the nomenclature causes (even to the Library of Congress) see the Introduction to Prof. Norman Davies book 'The Islands'. Further, you go on the confuse 'the British' with 'the English'. Any Welsh or Scots person will not (should not?) object to being called British, but will, quite properly, bridle if called 'English'

Answer 307

Why ask the Question?? If people don,t like it they don,t have to stay in GREAT BRITAIN

It,s not Cocky! Myself i proud of the Welsh ,Scots,and English that have Lived and died to make us GREAT BRITAIN.

Answer 308

There is nothing "great" about them. I'm sure they felt great when they pillaged and plundered Africa , India and other parts of the world. Not to mention what they have done to Ireland throughout history. They ruled with and "Iron Hand". Should be "Shame Britain" !

Answer 309

Great Britain was once a great country. But how can you still call Britain great if the majority of the population of the once Great Britain have emigrated to other country's! We are now the side kick of America, We can't scratch are bum's without there permission!!!!!!! As for our Government we can't even vote in a new PM without everyone disagreeing. Our voting system is flawed, our hole Government is majorly flawed! Britain was once Great but i think it's a huge dishonor to our ancestor's to call our self's GREAT BRITAIN!

Answer 310

I thought it was because Britain tried to take over the World creating the British Empire which made Britain, Great Britain.... just my 2p

Answer 311

The term Britain refers to England and Wales, when unification with Scotland occurred the newly enlarged country was called Great Britain. The United Kingdom consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Answer 312

Britain (name) :





The name Britain is derived from the Latin name Britannia (earlier Brittannia), via Old French Bretaigne (whence also Modern French Bretagne) and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The French form replaced Old English Breoton, Breoten, Bryten, Breten (also Breoton-lond, Breten-lond). The Latin term derives from the Greek forms Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally referred to a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion, the oldest known name for Great Britain (see British Isles). By the 1st century BC Britannia was often used to refer to Great Britain specifically. This transference was further solidified by the Roman conquest and the subsequent establishment of the Roman province of Britannia, which eventually came to encompass the part of the island south of Caledonia (roughly, Scotland).



History :



Latin Britannia is derived from the travel writings of the ancient Greek Pytheas around 320 BC, which describe various islands in the North Atlantic as far North as Thule (possibly Iceland or the Shetland Islands). The form with single -t-, Britannia, is secondary, but can be traced to the Roman period.



Pytheas described Thule as the northernmost part of Πρεττανικη (Prettanike) or Βρεττανίαι (Brettaniai), his term for the entire group of islands in the far north-west. In his Almagest, Ptolemy used the term Μικρὰ Βρεττανία (Mikra Brettania) for Ireland, although in his later work, the Geography, he referred to Ireland as Ιουερνία (Iwernia). Diodorus in the 1st century BC introduced the form Πρεττανια Prettania, and Strabo (1.4.2) has Βρεττανία Brettania. Marcian of Heraclea in his Periplus maris exteri describes αἱ Πρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι "the Prettanic Isles". Stephanus of Byzantium glosses Ἀλβίων Albion as νῆσος Πρεττανική, Μαρκιανὸς ἐν περίπλῳ αὐτῆς. τὸ ἐθνικὸν Ἀλβιώνιος ("the Pretannic island, according to Marcian in his periplus; the Albionian people" Ethnica 69.16).



The peoples of these islands of Prettanike were called the Πρεττανοι, Priteni or Pretani.[4] These names led to the later term for peoples of southern Britain, the Britons. These names derived from a Celtic name which is likely to have reached Pytheas from the Gauls, who may have used it as their term for the inhabitants of the islands. Priteni is the source of the Welsh language term Prydain, Britain, which has the same source as the Goidelic term Cruithne used to refer to the early Brythonic-speaking inhabitants of Ireland and the north of Scotland. The latter were later called Picts or Caledonians by the Romans.



Brittia appears as a name for Great Britain in Procopius, reportedly used by the 6th-century population of the Netherlands. The Latin term (Bede has Brittania) is loaned into Old English by Alfred the Great as bryttania. The 9th-century Historia Brittonum gives an origin myth involving Brutus of Troy.

Answer 313

Two separate taps, for cold and hot water...

Stealing anything possible from Egypt, India and so on... and leaving these countries in hell state (5p a day salary)

Founding first concentration camps in the world history (South Africa)

Churchill shaking hand to the biggest beast Stalin (who killed only 45 million people)

Obesity - second place in the world (after USA)

and about 1000 things more...



But let's concentrate on separate taps... Jesus F. Christ...

LITTLE BRITAIN

Answer 314

Because it has got seven great cities, it is the first country in the world to use Jet Ladders during the second world war.



Samuel Mkandawire

Answer 315

It later became synominous with the 'Great British Empire' not that i ever got exactly what was meant to be great about it, it's probably why it wasn't dropped when we were no longer refered to as Greater Britain.

Answer 316

Its all because the name scared people when they came over, or vice versa, back in the day! Otherwise now if they saw the size of Great Britain now with Satelittes they would have destroyed us and the empire. RULE BRITANNIA, BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES!

Answer 317

No it's not cocky! It sounds right! I mean, how would it sound if you had names like Great Belgium or Great Italy? That be just silly wouldn't it?

What I do think is cocky is for a Tit to be called Great! Have you seen how big they are?

Answer 318

No "Great Britain" is the name of the island we Live on!

Answer 319

Great Briton is not a country.

England

Scotland

Wales

Northern Ireland



are in Great Briton but are are all individual countries.......

Answer 320

We were once Great Britian but EU and other countries have brough all of industries and we have none left to speak of. It is possibly the time to call us by our individual conturies, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern ireland because what id great about out little island now?

Answer 321

as a brit living in the u.s the word great britain is called because years ago great britain had a big empire most of the world and it,s got england, wales, irland, scotland, an d it,s known as united kingdom for the four country,s and it,s just great britain with no empire.hope that answer your question.

Answer 322

In response to the Cymro guy you are wrong Wales was invaded by the Normans (who were the English) you had that owen glendower guy rebelling but English forces proved to be better warriors in the end just thought id correct you.

Answer 323

for some users who think "great" is part of the history: we should call "great" some more countries: China for example, more then 10000 years history. Egypt, more then 15000. The greeks gave u the democracy more then 2000 years ago....

Answer 324

We call it the British Isles, as it should be correctly named - however there is nothing worse than calling it the ugliest name of all - the 'united kingdom'!! We hate that to the extreme and find it extremely offensive and insulting to us true Brits that are non monarchists!

British Isles it is, and because it is made up of several small and one main island is absolutely correct!

Answer 325

I'm sick of self deprecating Brits who marginalize British greatness. Why does there need to be a blog like this? Do the Chinese and Japanese call themselves "cocky"?

Answer 326

Having read the arguments in favour of adding great i am still not convinced about this. Ruling half or so of the world doesn't make you great it just shows your thirst for power and oppression. And if one produce scholars and philosophers then should other nations who produced big names add great too? To me this is a funny name for a country.

Answer 327

No, it's not cocky, because we were given the name by God through Abraham, Isaac & Jacob.



Gen 12:1-3 (KJV) Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.



The word British from the Hebrew language is Berith-ish, Berith = Covenant; Ish = man; British = Covenant Man.

Answer 328

It was Simon Shama who quoted that Mary Queen Of Scots and Elizabeth the first never met. However, they came together in death and gave birth to a baby and called it Magna Britannia.

Answer 329

It is very simply because it comrises England; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus whatever overseas colonies there are hence the name is based on the size of the country not its standing

Answer 330

The two british isles, Ireland and Britannia, This is the larger of them so it is called "great" as in Larger britain.

Answer 331

well i think now days you should call it Tiny Britain because it is really tiny the Roads are narrows and there are nothing to do after 5 pm. it is always cold also you find different race lives her but they do not like each others and they are not loyal to UK but whine you compare it with USA i think we can say grate USA because the country have big streets and big burger every thing is King size { but i think UK still have fare law which is stable and until now unchangeable so any politician can not change the law }

Answer 332

Its great due to us being great, nice, caring people, we have done bad things in the past but we've learnt by our mistakes + we have a much better outlook than other countries..



And we are by far the most inteligent people on the planet..genuinely

Answer 333

It is from when the Brittany region of France was part of the same kingdom.



Britannia Major was the British mainland, whereas Brittany was reffered to as Britannia Minor.

Answer 334

It's all down to William, Duke of Normandy, or William the Conquerer as he is better known in Britain. It distinguished us, Grande Bretagne, from his other, French province Bretagne, which was part of his Normandy Dukedom - it also got us possession of the Channel Islands as they were also part of his Normandy Dukedom. Many people in Bretagne still speak their own Bretagne dialect.

Answer 335

Where we have led , the rest of the world has followed . The Union Flag is the most recognisable Flag in the whole of history bar none and everyone's Ist or second language is English. Of course its because we are great !

Answer 336

Yes. There is nothing Great about this country anymore. Especially as there are more non-english living here than proper English people.

Answer 337

This question could only have come from an American prat who knows absolutely nothing about the history of countries outside the boundaries of the USA.

Answer 338

The answer has been eloquently answered by" Eric Gordon", however, may I point out to "Katie" that the question in hand refers to "Great" Britain and not "Great England".

Weecat

Answer 339

No not at all! of course its GREAT its great at letting every Tom Dick and Harry into the country and getting all the benefits that hard working Brits cant get. Its GREAT when you cant fly your own countries flag and not be classed as a racist for doing so, its GREAT you cant call your self English but you can be Scottish, Welsh and Irish and any other Nationality that lives here. Its GREAT that as a Christian nation we cant celibrate christmas without fearing of upsetting other religions in what is supposed to be a Christian COUNTRY!



Its GREAT that 2 generation went to 2 world wars to gives this GREAT country freedom and now what they went to fight for as all be a waste of time,GREAT men and women gave their lifes, I am sure they would turn in their graves if they were to see how this GREAT country as turned out!



Its GREAT that our brave boys are fighting in 2 countries that have not invaded us, who have not attacked us directly, have not declared war on us! yet we send our brave boys to fight someone elses problems and it cost the tax payers of this GREAT country a fortune in taxes to pay for it.



So what was once a Great country and admired by the whole world as become the dust bin and the laughing stock of the whole world, the message that everyone around the world gets about this GREAT country is go to Britain its GREAT! it as GREAT benefits, it as GREAT free housing, it as GREAT child support, it as a GREAT health system, its GREAT you can commit crimes and get of lightly and then you can sue the system afterwards, the best thing about this GREAT country is you dont have to have paid anything into the system and even better you dont even have to be born there to get the GREAT benefits.



It really is GREAT for the low lifes who wants free be's, who do not want to work, who what to have loads of kids, who wants free housing, who comes out of prison, who wants to commit crimes, who want to abuse the health system and make it hard for the hard working tax payers to get anything that they deserve.



GOOD OLD GREAT BRITAIN !!!!!!! even with all of the above I am still proud to be ENGLISH and living in GREAT BRITAIN!

Answer 340

The word "Great" comes from the Italian Grande, which actualy means big. The Romans named the larger of the two land masses Britania Grande and Britania Minor (Lesser Britain) which was Ireland.

Answer 341

So many idiots answering. IF YOU DON'T KNOW DON'T ANSWER!



Ignore who did not mention the word "Brittany" or "Bretagne" in their answer.



Greet Bretagne = Great Britain (UK)

Petite Bretagne = Little Britain (Brittany, France)



It's called Great Britain because it's bigger than Little Britain (Brittany).

Answer 342

Its historically cocky. If you took away all that Great Britain has given the world there wouldn't be much left.

Answer 343

a lot of misinformed people here Briton was NOT the only country to constantly oppose France ( Napoleon) and Spain, in fact it was Britain and Portugal ( I believe they still maintain the longest existing alliance but not sure) and no its got nothing to do with cockiness but the simple fact that it is great (I'm not British)

Answer 344

It's got nuffink to do wiv France, trust me I'm a hystorien! The 'great' bit cums from the fact they're is a great at the bottom of the pile (fire great) and we always seem to be at the bottom of the pile here in great britin. See, we know the answers here, SIMPLES!

Answer 345

We are great because although we have faults as a nation, no other country in the world can boast having shaped the modern world as much and been willing and able to defend the world against evil. We are Scots, English, Welsh and Irish, separately we are proud and passionate people, together we are great , together we are British.

Answer 346

this country build of Indian money.they ruled Indians or 200 years.they stole every thing from India like thief's, even they stole Kohinoor diamond from India after that they became a great Britain.

Answer 347

I think they are so cocky its a joke around the world they want there fingers in too many pies just leave everyone.s country and worry about your own

Answer 348

Great Britain is the name of the main island in the British Isles, isn't it?

Answer 349

the way britain is going never mind dropping the word great, we will be getting rid of the word britain just in case it offends somebody, and being re-named the great community

Answer 350

Great Britain isnt just one country smartass

Answer 351

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland together form "Great Britain. Dosen't anyone know that or is everybody so ill informed now? It has nothing to do with being great as in high and mighty or whatever else.

Answer 352

Great Britain because the rest of the world is great full that we have given just about all our knowledge, expertise,inventions and finance to them.

Though history dictates we plunders much of this in the past.

Answer 353

It's just the biggest of the British Ilses so "Great" Britain.

Answer 354

Because Britain is great and the scottish accent was voted the sexiest accent :S what's not to like

Answer 355

I really don't know the greatness. Maybe they could help me. Ofcourse they got media with they make plenty of noise. Anyway even with that it some kind of greatness. to shout for the whole to hear even if htere is no meaning in the shouting

Answer 356

You make it out as if we just suddenely one day decided to start calling the country that.It is the name of the country.FACT !!!!

It's not as if American's wanted to call their country Amazing America that the rest of the world would refer to it as that from now on.

Answer 357

this country used to be great to live and work in. there is nothing great about this country now.

crap policies crap sports teams great for scroungers great for people to come and live in this country and take but not give. England for the English sod everyone else , send them all back where they belong.

Answer 358

Hmmmm and its a Kingdom with a Queen and has an Empire without an emperor - Definitely cocky,arrogant actually.

Answer 359

Haven't read all the answers but from what I remember from my history classes it was just plain Britain before the union of Scotland, then it became Great Britain...it is what I wish to believe but I am biased ;-)

Answer 360

I think its time we were just called Britain as we have lost our great position in the world. I call myself European now because I don't feel British as our government seems to listen to leaders of other countries instead of its own people.

Answer 361

It's unrealistic to regard our country as great anymore,we cow towe to every influence wether it be to influences from America or the EU,notwithstanding all the internal rubbish that attempts to restrict the law abiding sensible citizens.There is nothing that a great proportion of the world regards us as great except as overly tolerant,generous to the point of stupid to anyone who turns up on our shores,telling us about what and what not is PC,coupled together with all the barmy Health and Safety regulations.We have a society that appears to now assume that it,s O/K to go out and carry a knife and stab someone with little or no repercussions.We also regard OAP's as lesser class citizens or idiots who in spite they have contributed to the system all their lives are rewarded with a pittance for a pension ,compared to other countries who hold the older generation in greater esteem.The banking system in spite of the enormous **** up they have made, virtually continue to enjoy life to get away scot free.How could we possibly have the audacity to call it Great Britain?

Answer 362

There is historical reasons, but what the hell, wake up it is Great Briton we should be Great full to live here. I am from overseas and grow up here and have travelled. With all its faults it is still Great Briton and a great place to live.

Answer 363

It is the name of the Island that is the largest of the group of Islands that make up the British Isles. Just the same as Gran Canaria or Gran Cayman in their respective island group.

Answer 364

well, I think it's much better fm calling us Greeks which comes fm the Turkish word "Grekos" which means sclave...



I think the Britons can call their country whatever they like 'cause they deserve it...

and imho opinion they are in front and not after US



Inp.

Answer 365

Looks like this question has been answered but I have a question...what is the difference betwen United Kingdom and Great Britain? Do we need two titles? Answers on a postcard please LOL.

Answer 366

It's in comparison with Little Britain (Brittany), and I believe this stems from Roman times.

Answer 367

well because in the history Great Englishmen did great things, like killing innocent people and invade other countries,stealing all the wealth of those countries well example the Koi noor stone one of the most expensive jewellery in the world which is on the queen's throne is stolen from india.everybody knows that.and there are much more greaaaaaaaaat things that English people did we can write a whole encyclopaedia on that I'm sure.



pat.

Answer 368

It cant be all that bad judging by the number of immigrants we have in Great Britain, even if as the Romans stated it was always raining over here!!

Answer 369

From Wikipedia:



After the Old English period, Britain was used as a historical term only. Geoffrey of Monmouth in his pseudohistorical Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136) refers to the island of Great Britain as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the continental region which approximates to modern Brittany. The term "Great Britain" was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Cecily the daughter of Edward IV of England, and James the son of James III of Scotland, which described it as "this Nobill Isle, callit Gret Britanee." It was used again in 1604, when King James VI and I, in a deliberate attempt to impose a term which would unite his double inheritance of the kingdoms of Scotland and England, proclaimed his assumption of the throne in the style "King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland ..."[26]

Answer 370

The Great was added after the inclusion of Scotland, it just means "greater" which is a geographical term, The London metropolitan area is known as "Greater London"....its not a statement of how amazing someone is.....



However I like to think it is.....I mean come on! We gave the world the English language, Industrialisation, and had the Biggest empire in the history of the world so we are pretty 'Great'.

Answer 371

Originally 'Great Britain' was great in a purely geographical sense of 'large', to distinguish it from the smaller area of what is now France, called 'Bretagne' (we say Brittany, but the word translates as 'Britain').

Answer 372

yes but it originates from the french who have a small britain and called the big (great)

Answer 373

It's like asking if 'New' Zealanders are cocky calling their country 'New' Zealand, rather than just Zealand, or if Americans are cocky calling their country 'The United States of America' rather than ' A Collective of Northern American Continent Areas of Mutual Joining' ('ACNACAMJ'), or if...ah, you get the point. It's a historic name so stop being a moron basically.

Answer 374

Is there such thing as a true brit anymore?and is the island still great??I call myself English,the reason why?because i am,the scottish have their own parliament and sheriffs who abide by their law,the welsh also have their own parliament,so whats so great about it now?answers on a postcard!!!oz

Answer 375

DRAC 250 - this is the same Great Britain who's prime minister at the time declared with Hitler "we can do business with this man"

thats not really standing against him is it??!!!

Answer 376

Great Britain, its just a name they putted that's all..

Answer 377

Your question needs to be rephrased, Great Britain comprises of FOUR countries so we do not refer to our 'country' (singular) as Great we are referring to all four countries (plural). We are proud to refer to the United Kingdom as such. Would you question other countries about their names? I doubt it.

Answer 378

everybody is right with the facts between france and england!!! we are great as a nation also, yes we were part of the slave trade in the early days but it was the black people themselves who invented slavery by selling their daughters, everybodyelse caught on and the slave trade was then born, dont blame the successful countries who exploited the slave trade, blame the source!!!! God Save England!!

Answer 379

"Great Britain" is a geographic term which refers to the largest of the british isles and is not a cultural or political entity

Answer 380

In light of the times, should it now be called 'Grate' Britain?

Answer 381

Great for 'big' :)



Interesting, how many people don't know the difference between England and GB, they call others moron and the English people dumb... if you think so, you should stop speaking English and look for another language you can use. Cheers :)

Answer 382

How can britain be great anymore,its over run by too many foreigners,its no longer, the Proud country that it once was.Its like a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean,that's taken too many on-board and its sinking fast.

Answer 383

@TylerD - New Zealand is called "New" Zealand because the original Zealand is a province of the Netherlands. It's only silly to ask why things are what they are if you lack the critical mind that dares to challenge what is assumed to be true. Good luck.

Answer 384

As one of the master nations we can afford to be a little bit cocky dont you think!

Answer 385

No its not cocky.i think we should keep it England,Ireland,Scotland,Wales-The United Kingdom because after all that's what it is.Respect always to all of the above Countries,let us not forget our identity.We need to know what country we live in otherwise whats the point in having a name for it?Regards.

Answer 386

the british are far too cocky and for hundreds of years have been causing misery to other people in india, africa, asia, the middle east, the americas and scotland and ireland. maybe if england had been invaded and the country pillaged like they did to others the country as a hole would not be so arrogant. the foreign peoples do not like the british on holiday or at international football tournaments. they conjure up the image of the british bulldog and football hooligans, british arrogance at it's worst. they can shove the'' british'' where the sun don't shine.

Answer 387

great britain IS NOT a country first off all!!!

so my answer is no, the rest of my answer is for your education speeking of eduction i first learned all of this is the boy scouts or cubs and not at school



the below knowage is required to get into the cubs or scouts in england when i was a kid



you should look at this page called terminlogy of the british isles

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



great britain is the largest island in the collection of islands known as the british isles



great britain holds the major landmasses of 3 countries england,scottland and wales (all a significant part of the united kingdom)



United kingdom is a collection of 4 countries england, scottland, wales and northern ireland and these countries flags put together make the union jack flag



each country has its own patron saint as well



England Saint George

Scottland Saint Andrew

Ireland Saint Patrick

Wales Saint David



abbreviations



The abbreviation GB is sometimes officially used for the United Kingdom, for example in the Olympics, or as the vehicle registration plate country identification code for UK-registered cars (see also British car number plates). The GB code is not always accepted, and unofficial alternatives are sometimes used for protest (such as SCO in Scotland, CYM for Wales (Cymru) NI in Northern Ireland, or ENG for England).



slang names



Citizens of the UK are called British or Britons. The term Brits may also be used, sometimes pejoratively, for example by supporters of Scottish independence when referring to supporters of the Union. Some older slang names for Britons are Tommy (for British soldiers), Anglo and Limey. Anglo properly refers only to England, but it is sometimes used as a broader reference as an element in compound adjectives: for example, "Anglo-French relations" may be used in newspaper articles when referring to relations between the political entities France and the United Kingdom. Anglo-Saxon may be used (particularly in Continental European languages) when referring to the whole English-speaking world, the Anglosphere, although ethnically very few of the world's one thousand million English-speakers are of Anglo-Saxon origin.



Floral emblems



United Kingdom

See also: County flowers of the United Kingdom



Each of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom has a traditional national floral symbol. In England this is officially the Tudor rose or unofficially the red rose; in Northern Ireland the flax, orange lily, or shamrock; in Scotland the thistle, Scottish bluebell (harebell) or heather; and in Wales the daffodil, leek or sessile oak.

Answer 388

There are so many answers on here that are identical. I can't work out why someone would read the answer and then feel the need to regurgertate what somebody else has written, in their own style of writing... Seriously, people must have better things to do with their time, surely...

Answer 389

I didn't quite understand the question or it's purpose. Is it that you want them to change what they call their country, or is it that you wanted a debate on the meaning and interpretation of the word "Great"?



I hope you got your answer!

Answer 390

'Great Britain' was named so by the Normans (Normandy is a part of France) and they are French... If the French admit we're great then bloody well must be!

Answer 391

It's simply because that's what the country is:

GB is Great Britain



Just like the USA is Un Satisfactory America

Answer 392

NO. You just have to look at our history to see why we have GREAT prefixing our country's name. It's a shame the current generation aren't taught history, then they would fully appreciate why the title is justified.

Answer 393

It is cocky!

What is actually great in UK!? These are the GREAT things:

Petrol prices!

House prices!

Taxis prices!

Drinks prices!

Tobacco prices!

Food prices!

Taxes!

Soccer players salaries!



Just to name a few...all these makes Britain "Great"

Answer 394

all i know theres a few racists on here towards the english some of you saddo's still want to blame todays english generation for the invading the english did in the past hundreds of years ago its not todays generations fault so wake up also if it wasn't for the english exploring other countries in the past the world and technology would not have progressed the way it as also wasn't it the romans who invaded england ? and alot of you bitter racists slagging the english off now i bet alot of you are yanks you want to take look at yourselves you big headed arrogant sh!ts still invading countries for oil making up lame excuses dragging other countries in it with you and when you do your invading you kill more of our lads in friendly fire you bunch of fecking sharp shooters you got taught a lesson in vietnam tho also i hear theres alot of oil in russia and china (the true super power) but we dont see you messing with them you fat headed cowards everytime theres a new president he hints at invading a country (iran) whats up there you scanned iran from satellite and found more oil ?

Answer 395

Great Britain is an Oxymoron.

Answer 396

It isn't at all cocky to call britain great, but alas this country is NO LONGER GREAT !!! it is one of the disregarded phrases that can now be associated with these isles which are no longer ours, most of it is owned by foreigners now many years ago this country was owned by BRITISH PEOPLE,who owned & run everything, that is when it was GREAT, not divided like it is now, but who owns it now ?? is more the question SPain, Germany, France United Arab Emirates, America , Russia, to name but a few countries & especially the European Union countries, so BRITAIN is no longer a GREAT Country, i rest my case

Answer 397

Two Islands - Great Britain (England, Wales, Scotland)

- Lesser Britain (Ireland and Northern Island)

Country is United Kingdom

Answer 398

I don't think we're "cocky" at all.

Not sure where the word Britain came from, we should just call it "Great"

Answer 399

i think it was because the rest of the world look up to them, now the rest of the world now realise how cocky and trickish they are, most of the other country cant even stand them anymore, and this is not to do with LABOUR,

Answer 400

England= on its own

Britain=ireland+scottland

Great Britain= norther ireland+ scottland+ indian subcontinental+ many other countries

UK= england+scottland+ norther ireland

i cant remember the years(when to when)

Answer 401

What a stupid question !!!



Time was that you would have lived in fear if you had asked such a question . . .



Stuff and nonsese.



And you think it is "cockiness" . . . How pathtic.



Perhaps you should learn more about Great Britain and The British Empire.

Answer 402

Well, I asked my mum and she said it's called Great Britain because our Mother Britain is the Greatest country there is, has ever been and there will ever be ...this is the place where the Beatles are from and nobody can take that away from us.



And she stood up and said : " God Save Our Gracious Queen " !!!

Answer 403

The person who said that the Americans won WW2 is forgetting the Russians. The Americans would not have joined the war but for Pearl harbour.The Russians were prepared to suffer massive casualties and would have won in the end without America.

Answer 404

well, you're asking a question in english, on an internet shell designed by an englishman, based on technology designed by a scotsman.



The UK was the only European power to consistently stand against Napoleon and Hitler.

Notice the word 'European'.



It ruled a quarter of the world's surface and a third of its people.

Mostly Banana Republics.



Its system of government is one of the most stable in the world.

As are those in Western Europe, North America, parts of South America, Australia,| Japan, China, India.



Its explorers stretched the boundaries of the world as it was known.



Its history as a kingdom dates back more than 1200 years.



Its influence on recent history is second only to the United States.

LOL



Its naval tradition stretches back 700 years.

Many others stretch back further.



Its writers, philosophers and scientists are world-famous.

Really? After reading several Shakespearian plays over the years, quite a few times for some, I cannot find them interesting, insightful or inspiring - no matter how hard I try. I like the Sonnets but they aren't enough to justifiy the adoration given in former British colonies to Shakespeare.



It was the first nation in history to industrialise.

Only according to English history books, according to which literally everything was invented in England except for tarmac and steam power (although steam power was in use over 100 years before Stephenson connected it from a boiling kettle).

Answer 405

@DRAC250



You say:

"well, you're asking a question in english, on an internet shell designed by an englishman, based on technology designed by a scotsman.

The UK was the only European power to consistently stand against Napoleon and Hitler.

It ruled a quarter of the world's surface and a third of its people.

Its system of government is one of the most stable in the world.

Its explorers stretched the boundaries of the world as it was known.

Its history as a kingdom dates back more than 1200 years.

Its influence on recent history is second only to the United States.

Its naval tradition stretches back 700 years.

Its writers, philosophers and scientists are world-famous.

It was the first nation in history to industrialise.

Some cause to call the country Great, don't you think?"



The only reason the UK "won" the second WW was because of America - without America, we'd all be German - and this is a widely known, but not well accepted fact.



Stable government?! Haha - don't make me laugh. The British can't figure out whether they're coming or going - let alone being responsible enough to govern a country. I'm British, but I'm tired of being cramped and having to share my nation with every other race.



Explorers - fair point. But then - other countries share this accolade, they're just not the classroom attention seeker.



Influence on recent history - I wouldn't advertise that really - not much the UK has done to promote the future or the history of the World in the last - say - 100 years.



This country is NOT Great - it's filled with sour, rotten toothed, ugly people who think that England is still a super power. News flash - it isn't anymore. England has become OLIVER - trying so hard to keep up and at the same time asking "please sir...."

Answer 406

Of course it's every bit as "Cocky" as "Cockney". BRITS ,ie That "MONGREL" race of "Anglo/Saxonic extrusion at one time fluent in some sort of "Bastardised" (Germanic/Franco/Dutch, to name but a few) Languages, but who now remain incapable of even uttering one deciperable word in "Their Kings English" that would make sense to someone else in another "Little Hamlet" beyond the Thames or the "Serpentine", if it were not for invention of T.V. "Coranation Street" &"Eastenders".

I am married to a "True Breton", who aligns her language & rightly so, in Celtic terms, as more akin to both "Welsh" & moreso to "Cornish" (I know never to call a person from Cornwall, English, they are not). We also lived for a number of years in the Isle of Anglesey (Ynys Mon) N. Wales or as it is known in French "Pays De Gaul" (the place of Gauls) In an idyllic village/town called "Beaumaris, Anglesey" which houses the last attempt of "Longshanks" to build yet another British Fortress to suppress the local Welsh.

He "Copped It" prior to it's completion.........but tell me ,why if the "English" were so in control of this "Great British" notion, did their successive Kings feel the need to build so many "Fortresses" to contain themselves within a supposedly "Great" & unified nation "Of their making"..............Wales & Cornwall have a Celtic language which to this day remains in union from a past sweep of Celtic movement, as does Irish Gaelic, originally from "Bretagne" (Britanny). For any idiot to align "Great Britain" to "Bretagne" would be as daft as calling an "Essex Gal" a "French Wench"............The "Dumb Female Essexian" might feel somewhat enamoured by the title (easily pleasd)............but I'm sure "Le Femme de Bretagne" might get really pissed off !!!!!

Anyway the only thing "Great" about "Great Britain" is that they were "WELL & TRULY STUFFED IN THE OPENING ROUNDS OF THIS WORLD CUP"..........NOT WALES, NOT IRELAND, NOT SCOTLAND...................BUT YOU "SUCKERS" WHO DECORATE YOUR FACES WITH A ....."UNION-JACK"................No Unity Jack (Great Bitains........... A-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha & Tee- hee Assholes) !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 407

Escuse I Italian, is not great Britain like the italia of great the cheese, in my cuntry we great the parmesano for pasta. In yeer cuntry you have the cheese britan, so famous you name hole cuntry after it , no ! I think the moist fantasticy name, bon provecho. Viva la cheese.

Answer 408

"Great" Britain is the Largest (or greatest in size) of the British Isles. Nothing to do with how fantastic it is (Or isn't, whichever is your opinion)

Answer 409

you are all a bunch of sad acts england is better then any other country that is why all you foreinours come over here to claim benefits that our working class pay for you ungreatful bunch of immigrants go fix your own countries before any of you try cuss GREAT BRITAIN

Answer 410

Are you people morons.



Britain and Ireland once formed one nation. To distinguish the two islands Britain was named as "Great Britain" as it was the greater (larger) island. The term "Great" remained even after the South of Ireland formed the Republic of Ireland.

Answer 411

No.



Because God graciously made it great, the Gospel light went forth from her, and was the only nation that can boast that the sun never sets in the empire.



otherwise, could hitler, Genghis Khan, Muhammad, or Alexander ever boast of a great empire that the sun never sets in their dominion?



Alas, when the people depart from their God, the judgment came (just like in the Old Testament) and the empire crumbled.

Answer 412

No it is not cocky to call Britains 'Great' it is pride. Be proud to be British.

Answer 413

in roman time after the romen ocupaed this land the gave it the name great britain becuse there is britain in france.



naser bubaker

Answer 414

What's wrong with being cocky? How about we stand up for GB once in a while?

Answer 415

How can they be great? Every country the colonised by the British are filled with troubles.

Answer 416

yeah it is a bit because we are not the best of everythink but we call are self great britain i don't know why we was called that it doesn't make sence

Answer 417

same answer as most

the real question is should we ask 4 the lesser britain part back from france?

Answer 418

Anyway it is, or it's a bit cocky as you put it.



The Queen.



Charles and Carmilla.



William and Harry.....



O.K. I'm running out of love here, but you cannot argue but our Magerstey!

Answer 419

Is it a confusion with the NHS? Great Nice Hassole

Answer 420

To say that england is "Great"? Should we change this now? no i don't think so it would be like changing who we are. Also to answer what NA had 2 say England may have ENSLAVED people during many of it early years but it was also one of the first country's 2 abolish slavery. how about the many other country's that had slaves and the wars over them. please think there is only so many time a country can say sorry for it's past.

Answer 421

Well the answer to this is easy. The reason being Britain is Great, simple!

Answer 422

No it isn't but I do think that the newts who think they own the pond should be taken down a peg or 2. They should also be painted with a union jack to remind them of where they belong, except Welsh newts, & not to be so selfish - which is what pond life is all about, ain't it? Look son, we live in a pond so lets try to be sociable.

Answer 423

It's because Great Dave lives here. Which makes the country great by default (except for the weather of course)

Answer 424

it is not wrong for Britain's to call their country great. After all we were the dominant power in the world for most of the 18th and 19th century. Also it is part of the english culture calling our country great. it comes with patriotism

Britannia rules the waves

Answer 425

You might as well ask why do we call Greater Mongolia,Greater Mongolia or Asia minor, minor. Geographically areas of the world far greater in size than the UK. The word greater is used to depict the difference between two geographically placed areas, Brittany and greater Brittany and has nothing to do with the feeling of grandeur that the populace of greater Brittany may have. As regards being a United Kingdom, that has always caused some debate about the interpretation of "United". just a curio-some the United Kingdom of Denmark is fare greater in area the the UK.

Answer 426

If the Britons still want to attach importance to themselves by referring to their country as Great Britain don't they think the Americans should opt for an addendum to their name? Something like the United States of Colossal America for their contributions to the growth of the contemporary world and their uunparallelled advancement in technology et al? They should stop resting on their laurels based on past glories like naval power, the all powerful monarchy and their Napoleonic resistance.

Answer 427

LOL.



It probably is cockiness. "Oh wow, the England squad is going to make it to the top!"



-2 weeks later-, 4-1 loss.

Answer 428

Great Britain..???

I don’t really know about the word "Great".

But I am sure it might be in the past, may be far past in the history, and surely not as on today.



As on today the other countries on eastern side is becoming more powerful.



I am living in UK for nearly 8 yrs and have seen many parts of the UK.

More of the people are stressed, they can’t socialise, they need freedom, (there goes the binge drinking).. gloomy weather...

The govt and its laws micro monitor the civilian in all forms, from camera to its religion and use it in variety of ways against them...

Scandals and corruption is one of high level but people deny because they still live in the historical world of dominating others...

Rest of the world changed but majority of UK still orthodox...

Sexually obsessed kept the names Sussex, Essex, Middlesex... and who knows what...

The selfishness govt would use and abuse the people..

when they need them, they call people from all over the world, once their needs fulfilled, kicked them off...proof from WWII and even recent ones of Gurkhas incident..

English language??? there might be some good proper English spoken in the past but now..?? all over everywhere, slang english... the other part of world speaks better clear english then ENGLISH people...

Yes, "Great Britain" has the "Great Debt" in the world compared to other countries as per GDP, population...

Every other corner, youngsters think they are bloody gangsters, instead of helping local community they behave rowdy... yes - GREAT BRITAIN...

"Great Britain", racism on the nerve, hidden agenda, on all the application forms they mention which nationality r u from, what religion r u from, if it was not racist they don’t need to ask for that, simply fill in the details without nationality & religion... what a "Great"...

My arguments are not just based on my beliefs but all this is proven by news till this time...

“Great Britain” of course it was “Great Past”...

Answer 429

briton is far from great possibly the worst country's in the world definitely worst in europe ps i also think the same as everyone below cos im clever too

Answer 430

It is because the French province Brittany, the French for Brittany is Bretagne and when the Normans invaded they found it was like the Province of Brittany, so it became Grande Bretagne and we sort of translated it into Britain and then Great Britain.

Answer 431

It was called Great Britain when England, Wales, and Scotland all united into one country. I don't know if it is cocky or not, and I don't really care. I see no reason to change now.

Answer 432

Where is the Greenwich meridian line the zero line of latitude measured from the royal observatory in Greenwich need I say any more:-)

Answer 433

James 6th had the name thought up along with the Union Jack after the 1707 Union. FACT. Is is great now? probably more so than it was back then.

Answer 434

No because Great Britain clearly is a 'great' empire. It includes more than one country making it great!

Answer 435

Yes Britain IS Great; in fact it's the greatest country on earth. If you, like I had travelled to places like the Philippines, Brazil and China, then you would understand what is truly Great about our beloved land. If you are British, then be proud of your country. If you the sort of person that likes to find fault then find something else to moan about, because is is we Anglo Saxon British that put the Great into Great Britain.



Dr. Mike G. Beech

Answer 436

This tedious old chestnut! It's "great", as in big or large, as in it's bigger than Britanny. Folk should not listen to jingoistic politicians and the pub bore.

Answer 437

little britain would be right now.

britains is finnished and the population now looks like a tube of smarties with violence to match

Answer 438

Actually in very old sailing terms, the word "Great" meant West. You can work the rest out.

Answer 439

wanted for treason blair prestcot brown straw flint reid hewitt collaborators and there enforcers the price is working stubbing out blairs legacy and labours war of mass destruction imposed on liberty respect tolerance equality identity compassion democracy integrity united kingdom who gave who the right to impose persecution bullying abuse and the deaths of innocent people under their controlled democracy are traitors have no elusions they are accountable for this so this is your better united kingdom as in war you pay the price for liberty its not what we want its what thay gave in memory of anthony mcdermott who was bullied and persecuted into suicide and hanged himself and all others so this is your new healthy united kingdom to all parties protect demands liberty and movments reinstated no liberty no peace lest they forgot no compromise this is an afront to our forfathers from protect health before wealth

Answer 440

no we are gr8 will always be gr8 just look at what we done over the yrs gone bye and think what we will achive in the future one of the smallest nations in the world yet one of the most powerfull our royal family is the most respected pople in the world

Answer 441

Couldnt have said it better myself drac. Noone has done more the world than Britain (science, technology, spread of justice, democracy, english language etc.). We have saved the world from countless tyrants, when other nations have stood by and watched. 'Britain is great, was great, and forever will be GREAT!'

Answer 442

The word 'great' used to mean something different, 'united' or 'all-of-piece'.



As in Greater London, or the Great Barrier Reef. (When Cooke discovered it, he thought it was all one reef for thousand of miles. Isn't, but the name stuck.)



So Great Britain used to mean, the single country or Kingdom of Britain.



But, slowly the use of the word changed, and in the days of Empire, glorious or inglorious, the new meaning of 'something wonderful' suited the Empire Builders, so they stuck to the name.



Galling, if you are an American?

Answer 443

@DRAC250. You are nothing but a nasty little racist. And for your information, Britain has the best oral health in the world as measured by the World Health Organisation. Only American's keep up that rediculous myth. Probably makes them feel a little better about themselves.

Answer 444

It is a geographic term meaning the larger island of the British Isles.

Answer 445

It was actually Queen Victoria who called Britain, Great Britain because we have the Bible

Answer 446

No its called Grate Briton because grate means big I think its to distinguish it from Brittany.

Answer 447

It's Great to people who come here and sponge off the state

Answer 448

Is Grate Brittan still called Grate Brittan because of our world famous love of irony?

Answer 449

Well, it used to be 'Great' but since we have allowed the world's dregs to live in our country it no longer is.



Too many lazy, thieving, scrounging immigrants and politicians that haven't got the guts to do anything about it.

Answer 450

Lots of countries and nationalities in the world have their own proud and achievments, but don't call themselves "GREAT".

DRAC250, for your info there are countries that brought civilisation to the man kind, kingdom for over 3000 years, etc, but don't call themselves "GREAT".

I think it is purely Cockiness.

Answer 451

FYI not many of us still call it "Great Britain" since we were sold off by our own government and joined the United States of Europe without us being asked if we wanted to.

Answer 452

its called "Great Britain" as in "Great Grandfather" means Big or Large.

Answer 453

The main answer is in the history book, when British Empire captured, subdued and conquered many land Kings and countries by tricks or treats,

Answer 454

Only English conceit and imperialism could come up with the Great, in Great Britain.

Answer 455

DRAC250 has got it right we have every right to call ourselves Great, always were and still are. I don't think we say it loud and proud enough these days. France wishes they were ever as Great as us ... never have been and never will be.

Answer 456

Oh everyone shut the **** up, the guy just asked a question, he didnt want you all to BULSHIT how GOOD Britian is, we ALL know that Britian is what it is now by PROPEGANDA ! You all know the truth but you wouldnt want to tell the truth. STOP SAYING BRITIAN WAS GREATEST, BLA BLA BLA, WHEN PERSIA, EGYPT WHERE CIVILISED RACES YOU ALL WERE STILL CAVEMEN, SERIOUSLEY GIVE IT A REST GUYS.

Peace out

Answer 457

No, it's not cocky.

It's factually correct.

We are great at everything, following exceptions apply

Football,

Cricket

Football

Running

Football

Politics

& Football



In essence our army is better, therefore we're GREAT.



Oh and something about Brittany in France too,

Answer 458

when we look at history, uk found herself to be engaged in many battles in the world, most of them

she won. it was also the only country that had many colonies in the world. we shouldnt forget that

its the same state that had put much effort to stop slave drade. it also has a better economy when we compare with many states in the world. hence it can call itself great, wat do u think?

Answer 459

What about Great Yarmouth ?



Cocky Ba****ds LOL

Answer 460

And Greater Manchester is called Greater Manchester because it's Great!!!!!!

Answer 461

Because it,s A Great Cuntry

Answer 462

It's because 'Awesome' Britain just never really caught on.

Answer 463

Yes. Great does not mean exalted. It means conjoint.

Following the accession of James I.

Answer 464

I think it's because we did own alot of the world years ago and we always seem tospread our influence around this planet. Aside from that I think it's because we care for our country and are proud to be in it's shoe's.

Answer 465

'The UK was the only European power to consistently stand against Napoleon and Hitler.

It ruled a quarter of the world's surface and a third of its people.

Its system of government is one of the most stable in the world.

Its explorers stretched the boundaries of the world as it was known.

Its history as a kingdom dates back more than 1200 years.

Its influence on recent history is second only to the United States.

Its naval tradition stretches back 700 years.

Its writers, philosophers and scientists are world-famous.

It was the first nation in history to industrialise.'



We gave the world the agincourt V-sign!!!, even the salute copied by every nations military came from us, more recently we gave you Led Zeppelin, Motorhead and Black Sabbath, and most importantly there's more websites offering a free iphone ending with .co.uk than any other.

No wonder we think everybody owes us a living!

Answer 466

The term Great is a corruption of Greet which is the old Nordic word for welcome. When the Vikings first came they were surprised at the hospitality and welcome of the local Britons who gave them food, drink and shelter. Then, as now, women of the Eastern communities were free with their 'favours' and there was much interbreeding. Contrary to popular belief the Vikings did not rape and pillage but just integrated into the Eastern coastline communities. The country was named Greet Briton as a result.

Answer 467

No its nothing to do with ego. The name is geological in origin. Even if a country was named great for egotistical reasons it was named so long ago that no one would likely share the same sentiments. An example of a place named "great" is a place in England called Great Malvern.... its not great its a crap hole.

Answer 468

Hardly makes any difference if its GREAT or SOMETHING ELSE, AS ITS JUST A NOUN AND THAT TO ABSTRACT ONE. its 21st century and no one can actually be GREAT without thinking great and doing great things.

Answer 469

its called great britain coz it takes in all the countries in it

Answer 470

In answer to a few of the slavery comments, yes we had slaves!!! wrong i agree. Just ask some of the african tribes whence these slaves came and whom captured and traded them at the source!!!!!!!

Everything is not so clear cut when you delve deeper, as ever.

Answer 471

During the dark-ages, a lot of Southerners emigrated to Brittany (because of famine/oncoming Saxons). Brittany became known as "Little Britain", and mainland became known as "Great Britain".



However, the modern "Great Britain" is as a direct consequence of the 1700s Act Of Union between England and Scotland, which created "The United Kingdom Of Great Britain" - and yeah, they called it "Great Britain" not to differentiate it from Brittany (which is called... Brittany.. now). No, they called it Great Britain to big it up. Yeah, it's totally cocky.

Answer 472

it was once now it should be just called england

its that great the scots,welsh and irish don't want to

be part of us england got no go now let everyone tell them what to do

not great any more

Answer 473

fear dubh got it right. its to do with the bretagne and the distinction between the two areas. just look at the french spelling of great britain - grande bretagne.

Answer 474

we are great we have the best army, marines, the royal navy, r.a.f. who can stand up to hitler a little country yet we showed him who's boss, we stopped napoleon at waterloo with help but we were fighting him in egypt, portugal, spain, and france just us, so we are great.

Answer 475

Nope, no less or more cocky than 'Little Engerlanders.!!



Another 'non story' by the press, a slow news day is it??

Answer 476

No it isnt cocky they are cocks, the countires are called England, Scotland and Wales

Answer 477

Duuude your questions on yahoo news lol!!!! awesomeness

And er the answer to your question is most probably because we ruled 2/3 of the world

Answer 478

Not at all, it is a GRATE country and it deserves to be called Grate Britain.

Answer 479

I much prefer the United Kingdom myself.

Answer 480

WELL IF YOU LOOK AT THE WAY OUR COUNTRY IS ,,AND I WAS ASKED THE QUESTION WHEN WOULD YOU LIKED TO HAVE LIVED IN THIS COUNTRY,,IT WOULD OF BEEN THE 19-40'S AS THE WAY I SEE THIS COUNTRY NOW THERE IS NOTHING GREAT ABOUT IT,,AS YOU WORK ALL WEEK TO HAVE LOADS OF YOUR MONEY TAKEN IN TAXES AND N.I THEN YOU STILL HAVE OTHER ,,TAXES TO PAY COMMUNITY CHARGE AND WELL IT GOES ON..THERE IS NOTHING GREAT ABOUT THIS COUNTRY,,NOTHING....OUR ARMY IS FIGHTING IN A COUNTRY THEY DONT BELONG IN ,,,WHEN WE SHOULD SHORE UP OUR OWN BORDERS AND KEEP PEOPLE OUT,,OUR OWN ARMY FOR OUR OWN COUNTRY,,,THERE IS NO CLEAR ENEMY TO FIGHT AS THEY ARE AMONG US IN OUR OWN COUNTRY ALSO WAITING ,,,AND WELL AS YOU CAN SEE WHAT IS GREAT ABOUT THAT,,IS SEE NO GREAT COUNTRY OR GREAT BRITAIN,,,OR GREAT LEADERSHIP AND NOW WITH WHAT WE HAVE LEADING US,,,IT'S ABOUT TO GET A WHOLE LOT WORSE...

Answer 481

Why do some fools keep saying Ireland is part of the British islands - it aint, and you might get a sore eye trying to spout that rubbish in a place like, say.......South Armagh for example



Great Britain = shud be called NotgreatanymoreBritain

Answer 482

it is called Great Britain because any **** can come and live over here and get free handouts

Answer 483

yes,I've met loads of people who think its a daft word to use ..if you don't want to be thought of as arrogant but keep the historical angle why not call it LARGE BRITAIN

Answer 484

yip yous are full of shite and they think they rule the world thats why every country hates britain haha

Answer 485

'The Isles' by Norman Davies is the book to answer this question.



As for the peculiar assertion by yes2faith, the less said the better.

Answer 486

There is nothing "great" about Britain these days.

Answer 487

'GREAT BRITAIN' SOUNDS A LITTLE BETTER AND MORE APPROPRIATE THAN 'UNITED KINGDOM'. WHY ARE WE STILL CALLING OUR BELOVED BUT A LITTLE MISUNDERSTOOD COUNTRY 'UNITED'? I THINK WE WOULD FAIR MUCH BETTER ON AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL IF EVERYONE COULD PUT THEIR DIFFERENCES TO ONE SIDE AND ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, WALES AND ALL OF IRELAND COULD GET TOGETHER AS ONE REAL 'UNITED' KINGDOM. OK, SO WE COULD DROP THE KINGDOM BIT AND CALL OUR NATION UNITED BRITAIN! SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. NOW THAT REALLY WOULD BE GREAT!!! [:o)

Answer 488

well is it something to do with the english having to be conscripted to fight for there own country. while the northern irish volunteerd then it became great britain

Answer 489

Great Britain means 'Great' as in 'large'. It harks back to a time when not only was Britain the result of the union of England, Scotland & Wales but it also had growing colonies around the world.



The yahoo user above who mentioned that the Romans named Ireland as 'Lesser Britain' is absolutely incorrect. The Romans named northwest France as 'Lesser Britain', which corresponds to modern day Brittany. 'Great Britain' was used to distinguish Britain from Brittany. The Romans named Ireland 'Hibernia'.

Answer 490

It must be pretty darn good or ir would'nt be full of foreiners nicking our Jobs,Housing & Benefits,so they probably think it's Grrrrreeeaaate so i don't think there is anything 'great' about that.

Answer 491

No its the name of the country, if someone say's they come from "Great Falls" is it wrong?

If someone comes from Great Dane doe's it make them arrogant in the dog world.

This is either a question to emote a debate about Britian or getting people to say they come from England, Wales or any where else.

Answer 492

no it,s how we r. its not a lie we r great. we know how 2 say think you we know how 2 say sorry and we think about things b4 saying anything and when we r put dnow we just get up and get on. black or white... we r GREAT BRITAIN! MR.X.

Answer 493

Of course it's great. Why do you think all the the asylum seekers want to come here.

Answer 494

should be known as the great rip-off briton.

Answer 495

I think it is not cocky even if Scotland and Wales have become more independent thanks to devolution. It just means that you talk of England, Wales, Scotland and Northen Ireland at the same time.

Answer 496

Its coz Dizee Rascal calls it great

Answer 497

the wording comes from greater Brittaney as opposed to lesser brittany which is in north west france

Answer 498

britian is great though really. we have the best football leagues, the best bands and the best birds.



**** weather but i dont give a **** i can go to shagamuf for 120 quid

Answer 499

It's not about Great Britain, it's about great butter.

Answer 500

All that and The English are so arrogant that they don't accept sterling currency from a country joined to them by land.



So why is it caleed UNITED KINGDOM then?

Answer 501

Yes. They're so great, Planting their people in our country, ruining our language and culture, killing our citizens for hundreds of years, great country, they fight for what is right!!

Answer 502

the sun would not set on its land, it was great and is still,some are born great, some achieve greatness and on some greatness is thrust upon, briton was born great and she achieved further greatness.I am proud of it.An immigrant

mn

Answer 503

I will only answer the question if it is posed in proper English with correct spellings and grammatical context.

Answer 504

Once we were and Empire led by an Empress, now we are just a group of countries led by ....

Answer 505

...nothing against those GREAT arguments, however, GB was not the only nation able to stand up against Napoleon and Hitler...you have forgotten Russians... Nice day

Answer 506

'Great' is actually derived from the latin word 'gratium' which literally translated means '**** at football'



Added comment: it's amazing how they can't stop child porn or piracy on the internet but add in a mild swear-word which start with 'sh' and end in 'it' and they're onto you in a flash.

Answer 507

Great Yarmouth? So that means there's a Yarmouth in Brittany too?



- And don't call me cocky, call me Great c...

Answer 508

No its not and it would be even greater if the blood sucking foreigners all went to THEIR own countries. My country and my fellow countrymen suffer daily because of the influx of immigrants, legal or otherwise. I LOVE MY COUNTRY AND WOULD DIE FOR MY QUEEN.

Answer 509

It was "Great" in the time of the British Empire. Unfortunately, though, our politicians appear to think it's still "Great" instead of the tiny island it actually is. That's why they sent our young men to die in Iraq and Afghanistan which, let's face it, are nothing to do with us and never have been; why Robin Cook sent our military to train that of Sierra Leone and why Gordon Brown gave millions of our taxpayers' money to China - the 3rd largest Economy in the World, from whom we are BORROWING money and buying loads of junk, despite us being in the EU and supposed to trade mostly within it.

Answer 510

Not at all. If we consider that they were/are great in:

piracy ie stealing from others.

imperialism ie occupying land that does not belong to them.

conspiracy in order to pursuit their interests.

exploitation for enrichment.

etc etc etc

Answer 511

Some fantastic answers here- THAT'S

what makes Britain Great, Karlos. Wit,

intelligence & above all a desire to rule

the world. Which we did. For a bit. Then

we gave 'em it all back, cos the running

costs were too much.

Answer 512

no because were great to be honest...we are a superpower and so we have earnt our right to call ourselfs great britain because we dont lose wars

Answer 513

it's a great question and there are some very interesting replies... but what concerns me most is should I go for the Texas BBQ or the Hawiian Pizza from Dominos!!!? mmmmm

Answer 514

As people said, there were two parts of Britain.



"Greater" or "Great" Britain which is Britain now and "Lesser" or "Smaller" Britain which is now known as Bretagne (french) or Brittany (english) in France.



They've just kept the great throughout the years. It refers to size and isn't a comment on the state of the country. It simply meant that Great Britain is bigger than the now-French province of Brittany.

Answer 515

Never knew the meaning of it, every day's a school day. There was me thinking that this was just another expression of their ego.

Answer 516

because its simply great,history tells how she defeated the tyrants napoleon,hitlers,and the

wiemar republic,/usa,australia,new zealand,canada came from her shores, common wealth countries give tribute to her with the rich heritage they share.

Answer 517

whats so great about britain then?

Answer 518

I ve always called it the united kingdom and I come from the UK

Answer 519

Yes it is. It should read, Great taxable Britain!

Answer 520

"Great" or "Greater" is a geographical term meaning a group of islands, ie. the British Isles.

Answer 521

I know, i think we are being cocky calling it great, we should tone it down to "MORE AWESOME THAN YOUR COUNTRY Britain" ;)

its like everybody is saying, Ireland and Britain, Lesser and Greater Britain

Answer 522

whats great about it! the only people who find it great are the imigrants who come in this country of ours and sponge off it mind you its hardly their fault its the pathetic brainless people who run this once great country of ours

Answer 523

Never!! I think they should call it Stupendous Britain.

Answer 524

because we robbed many countries in history so we r called great britonsss

Answer 525

just as new york is named twice cos its great to be there ,its call great britain cos it is great,we all want to wake up in a great party britain that never sleeps,cos is wat puts the great in great and britain is just like new york new york,i want it to be called greta britain great britain cos it never sleeps and is like new york and we all want it to be great new york britain ,lets have it now ,but we need big cars and a big airoprt so that we can twin wiv new york and then we can bothn be great yehhhh can just see it new great britain it gon a be called we now got a mayor and a supreme court just like new york we now need sidewalks trash cans and them flash traffic lites that say walk dont walk ,then new grat britain will come home to be new yorks twin yehhhhhh

Answer 526

"Great Britian" isn't a country.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland make up GB but it is not a country as they all have their own national identity.

Answer 527

It means great as in the german word grosse, ie larger. Britain means "painted people" in latin. Great Britain therefore means "larger land of the painted people" Thanks to the Romans!!

Answer 528

It was because of the war i think world war 1 when Britain won and it became Great Britain.

Answer 529

Im English not British. Its too easy for a foreigner to come into my Country and say that they are British. So if they are British, then I don't want to be.It was Great until we opened the flood gates to the world. Now its a rotten corpse of a once great Nation, raped by Eastern filth!

Answer 530

Because the country is Great

Answer 531

It's a bit of a silly question really. It's like asking if 'New' Zealanders are cocky calling their country 'New' Zealand, rather than just Zealand, or if Americans are cocky calling their country 'The United States of America' rather than ' A Collective of Northern American Continent Areas of Mutual Joining' ('ACNACAMJ'), or if...ah, you get the point. It's a historic name so stop being a moron basically.

Answer 532

How can it be " great " britain, when it supposedly includes the jockstrap scots and the feeble leak head welsh......., those ' countries' are inferior and irrelevent !!!!!!!!

Answer 533

Illusions of grandure..!!...its not great..its made up of 4 separate countries with their own identity..independence for them all away from UK..!!

Answer 534

No, because its a great country :D

Answer 535

well said drac 250, and for anyone who doesn't know the answer to that question, ask your grandma and grandad about when they used to look at the old world atlas, how much of it was coloured red,representing british ownwership.......answer two thirds of the world, yes we were once the greatest nation in the world, now we are just a european colony

Answer 536

no somebody has got to say something this country is being overrun by imigrints and any eu un dont wonts this country woz woz great to my mind it still is that is why all immigrants head for the uk or is it the bennefit system

Answer 537

of course it's not, we're a great country with great people, we should actually be called amazing britain.

Answer 538

this name back to 1800 because that time England had to many land around the world that time England big empire from far east to west(news land, Australia, Japan,...)from north to south(Greece, Cyprus, Egypt,half Africa, south Africa....)west (Canada,us,..) for this matter said never sun set in great Britain.you want find more looking England colony thank for attention above .

Answer 539

It comes from the Norman invasion, ie; Bittany was small brittain and the British Isle was Grand Brittain Small and Large.

Answer 540

because this country stole all its resources from Africa and Asia and used its newly acquired wealth to dominate the world.

Answer 541

Brtiain IS Great. Ask Nelson Mandela and one or two people should get their facts straight.



Am heartened by loads and loads of sensible patriotic answers.

Answer 542

Ive no idea why thsi country is a called 'Great' Briatain...theres nothing great about it anymore!!

Answer 543

All well and good to the answers that followed the question ,

But one answer doted on calling a scotsman british or english , So why have ENGLISH when all the forms that i fill in just say nationality ( BRITISH ) when I know for a fact that i am ENGLISH or to be correct BRITISH / ENGLISH. Just for arguments sake why do you have BRITISH / ASIAN, BRITISH / PAKISTANI but not allowed to have BRITISH / ENGLISH?

Answer 544

Actually it refers to it's size - But I do think we do have a right to call ourselves great seeing as we've had the largest empire the world has ever seen and we exported our technology, political systems and law to the rest of our empire and created the modern world.

Answer 545

its because of the greater loudish londoners who stem from the overall great english ****,and whorehens al from greater london

Answer 546

Because of the general smugness

Answer 547

John Lennon & The Beatles made it even GREATER, The GREATEST.



Norton Almeida.

Answer 548

we were once Great when it was the British Empire and every nation wanted a part to play, but then we let Parliament and MPs ruin sorry run our country rather than the Monarchy

Answer 549

The truth is, theres nothing great about britain anymore. As soon as i retire im off.

Answer 550

@ DRAC250: Because of the most arguments that you have listed, I AM PROUD NOT TO BE A "GREAT" BRITAIN CITIZEN or to have english origin!...And the other small part of Your arguments are controversially enough not to discuss them at all. I think You could be so proud of UK as the north americans with their genocide over the america's natives, with hiroshima and nagasaki, WWII, korea, vietnam, kuba, south america, iran, iraq and all that what they have done the world back to their ancestors...



...

Answer 551

britain is a dump,thats great

Answer 552

yes it is cocky *** its not GREAT BRITAIN and im ashamed to say im british

Answer 553

And it is a bloody good country as well btw

Answer 554

Yes its cocky and yes we are great.

Answer 555

offcourse not But its Not so Great At The Moment?? More Like The GREAT SKINTO'S

Answer 556

well we were once agreat natoin we looked after our selves and did"t take crap from any one but know we do what we are told to do from out side of our once great nation shame;

Answer 557

we must be because so many want to come and live in GREAT BRITAIN WHY ???

Answer 558

no, we had an empire, what other countrys can say that, we have a rich history, great military and were the dominant language on the planet.

Answer 559

there is nothing great about them because they are living on parental stolen properties from the world over, they should be called great robbers

Answer 560

NO IT'S NOT COCKY IT MEANS GREATER BRITAIN AS IN GREATER MANCHESTER.



Aussies are COCKY !!!

Answer 561

Yes ask any asylum seeker or illegal immigrant GREAT britain.

Answer 562

there is nothing great about england should i say. they are the dumbest people they inter fear in other countrys wars.thay stil go on like thay own ireland and scotland.thay make a show of them selfs when thay go on holiday.

Answer 563

yes it was once a GREAT BRITAIN , that ended when it was flooded by asians and every other leech who bleeds this once great country dry, we never have a goverment with any balls to end it all.

Answer 564

Britain isn't great at anything anymore.

Answer 565

KarlosCharlos just got owned by citizens of Great Britain :(

Answer 566

Because they are great in football.

Answer 567

i believe that if wasn't for the illegals,scottish,irish and welsh it would be called Excellent Britain !!!!!!!

Answer 568

YES with our football team

Answer 569

i am english so i call it england it is wrong to call england briton

Answer 570

back to Drac250 that uk was the only country who stood up against Hiitler and Napeleon is one big lie

Answer 571

Great Britain! Don't make me laugh I live here and It sucks, Full of corruption and unelected leaders....

Answer 572

its because we are great - unlike our cousins across the pond, the people of Rubbush America :D

Answer 573

They colonised the world

Answer 574

Its the same as Italian and there cars. A compensation

Answer 575

It is in fulfilment of Bible Prophecy:



Genesis 12:1 Now the "I AM" had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:

12:2 And I will make from thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy (seed's) NAME "Great"; and thou shalt be a blessing:

12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee (and thy seed) shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Answer 576

Not at all, it's a 'Great' Britain.. why would so many foreigners keep turning up............

Answer 577

no not realy for a small island we have managed to repel a lot of invaisions which is great cos we are now a great place to live

Answer 578

Ha Ha Ha Whats great about us?

Answer 579

Don't think Britain will be "Great" once the Con-Dem party has finished with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 580

we have always been great in the past, we had great leaders,the last one being churchill,the only thing great about us now, is our armed forces.

Answer 581

Because it's great.

Answer 582

yes it is,broke britain because of all the immigrants?????????????do what the yanks do,no benefits until you have paid into the system for ten years,watch them go,out of the country??????????yep e

Answer 583

Well, you are obviously not british...that construction is not good...LOL

It's what it was...Great!!!!

Pitty it's been going to the dogs lately...

...but i guess we must hold on to something that reminds us of what we once were...GREAT!!!

Answer 584

BECAUSE IT IS BETTER THAN 'LITTLE BRITAIN' WHEN BRITONS WERE WARRIORS AND NOT ALL GAY HA HAHAHA.

Answer 585

Does it not say United Kingdom on our passports, driving licence?

Answer 586

It is great because we created the COMMONWEALTH with a billion individuals under 25, therefore most of these people will run their countries in the future. You can't create greatness like that overnight, we'll never fall below great because through our conquests we provide opportunity on a wider scale than any other country in the history of the world.

Answer 587

there is nothing great about britain

Answer 588

Not at all...too many immigrants are in our country and not a thing we can do about it...

Answer 589

yes it IS cocky because we are SCOTLAND and england **** al this united kingdom crap we are NOT united in anything

Answer 590

Should be called shite britain nowadays!

Answer 591

Because it's the land of Cadbury...yum!

Answer 592

Great actually means big!

Answer 593

Well there was a time when Britain was GREAT, but alas no more!!!

Answer 594

i think most people call it the united kingdom , the uk or england , personally i call it a shithole . i always thought we were called british too not britons !!!!!!!!!!

Answer 595

speaking as half English part Sottish I always understood greater Britain ???????????????

Answer 596

yes they are many people died at there hands from slavery to killing locals off countrys they conquered **** there culture

Answer 597

Because we're great. Simple.

Answer 598

We (Belgians) don't have to put "Great" in front of our country. Everybody knows we are... :-D

Answer 599

Maybe its because the people who call it "great" are self delusional?

Answer 600

In one word YES

Answer 601

No , keep pride in 'our' country where you can move around ,speak and live as you chose.

Answer 602

yep used to be great britain but theres nothing great about it now.

Answer 603

it was once we lead the world with our in ventures our steel and wool and the power of steam now all gone very sad as we have not a lot of industry now

Answer 604

Because we are simple the Great, we ruled on most of the world in old time

Answer 605

In no way shape or form is it being cocky its another name for britain like united kingdom.

Answer 606

It can't be that "Un-great" as the world and his wife all seem to want to lve here!

Answer 607

Tell ya what fella.....ask the question again in a language tha isn't English.



I'm sure you get my point ;-)

Answer 608

there maybe a lot of answers to this but it comes down to the fact that this island is great, i wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Answer 609

no it is not because we are so great and everyone else is a lower form of life ha ha ha!!!

Answer 610

We usually just call it Britain or UK - rarely do Brits say they are from 'Great Britain.'



My passport says "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" a phrase I never use if asked where I'm from - nor, I suspect, do other Brits.



It seems to be foreigners that refer to Britain/UK as 'Great Britain' rather than we British ourselves.

Answer 611

Drac25 You say you stood up to Hitler and Napolean. If only someone had stood up to "Great" Britain whilst it invaded, murdered and raped your way through history. This is why British people always recieve a warm welcome on their travels. It is called Great Britain beacuse of the land mass you got to keep after your years upon years of invasion

Answer 612

its Great to be a big fuzzy bunny

Answer 613

i am not a briton i was born in england therefore im english its as simple as that

Answer 614

why do people keep answering a question that's been answered already?

especially those who answer it incorrectly when the incorrect answer has been shown to be so.



It was the Romans.



What else did they do for us though?

Answer 615

it is not so great now is it ,its more like rip us brits off ,,your home is your castle so they say ,,yet you cannot defend it,we need a 2010 robin hood

Answer 616

It was great, now its not

Answer 617

cause its great. thats why everyone comes here. great benefits great housing great everything. unless you work for a living. :)

Answer 618

A Fkin joke? we never were great and look at us now, anyway im a scot never a brit.

Answer 619

It's because Tony the tiger say's so ! We're GGGGRRREEEEEEAT!

Answer 620

Because it is bigger than the other 'Brittany' in France

Answer 621

its like we have greater london , greater manchester, greater sydney , and greater china , to include hong kong , mainland, taiwan, blah ..

Answer 622

yes

Answer 623

yes how can they be great, they own nothing , got kicked out from every where and are bankcropt.

Answer 624

Why can't we call it GREAT BRITAIN?



It must be GREAT....................because it seems like everybody wants to live here! lol

Answer 625

1st of all people should know the full name of Great Britain. (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is the Full name.



Britain's story: Great Britain was the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century and played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science.

At its peak, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy.



The timeline of Britain

Neolithic, Bronze & Iron Ages: 8300 BC – 42 AD

‘Britain’ itself did not exist until around 6500 BC, when the English Channel formed separating Britain from the rest of Europe. The first settlers here were hunter-gatherers, who spent much of their lives travelling in search of food. Around 750 BC iron was introduced into Britain, which led the way for the production of sophisticated and durable tools and weapons.



Romano Britain: 43 – 1065 AD

In 43 AD the Roman army crossed the Channel and quickly defeated any resistance from local tribes. The Romans founded Londinium (London) and built military roads throughout the country. Within ten years, Roman rule had reached far into the territories of England and Wales. The Roman way of life continued in Britain until the 5th century, after which Britons were left more or less to fend for themselves.



Anglo-Normans & Middle Ages: 1066 –1347

In 1066 Duke William of Normandy invaded Britain and famously defeated King Harold of England, who legend has it was shot with an arrow through the eye during the Battle of Hastings. William of Normandy went on to rule England and Scotland, radically changing the class system and changing the official language to French. In 1216, Henry III was crowned king, but was unpopular throughout his rule.



Late Medieval: 1348 – 1484

The bubonic plague – or Black Death – reached England in 1348 and quickly spread to Wales and Scotland, killing up to a third of the population by the end of 1350. The plague persistently re-emerged in Britain until the 17th century, severely affecting the country's economic balance. In order to combat the devastating effects of the plague, the ruling classes attempted to restore economic stability through parliamentary legislation.



Tudors Stuarts: 1485 – 1713

In 1485, Henry Tudor invaded England and defeated Richard III to assume sovereignty. He went on to marry Elizabeth of York – daughter of Edward IV. In 1603 Elizabeth I – the Virgin Queen – died. With Elizabeth leaving no successor, James VI, King of Scots (son of Mary, Queen of Scots), succeeded as James I, King of England, effectively making him the first King of Great Britain.



Georgians: 1714 - 1836

After the death of Queen Anne, George I became king, whose reign saw the development of the function of prime minister. Although the term ‘prime minister’ was not used at the time, Sir Robert Walpole assumed the role typical of a prime minister thanks to his successes in developing economic growth for the country.



Victorians: 1837 - 1900

Victoria – the longest reigning British monarch – became Queen in 1837, aged just eighteen. During her reign, she introduced a number of constitutional changes and the spirit of these changes led to the publishing of the people's charter, which laid out six demands including universal manhood suffrage and annual parliamentary elections. The charter was continually rejected in parliament, but today five out of the six original demands are firm parts of the British constitution.



Early 20th Century: 1901 - 1944

The early twentieth century saw advances in science and technology that were unimaginable in previous eras. Among the ground-breaking achievements of this period were: the invention of the television by the EMI-Marconi Corporation; and subsequent founding of the British Broadcasting Company (BBC); the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming; and insights into the structure of the atom, which led to the development of nuclear weapons and energy.



BRITAIN

FACTS

- Population

61.4 million

- Main airport

London Heathrow

- Currency

Pound sterling

- Language

English, Welsh, Gaelic, Scots

- Main towns / cities

London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast

Answer 626

The way things are changing it shoud be "STATE BRITAIN".

Answer 627

because we are great, brilliant we owned half the world. the sun never used to set upon the great British empire. this is the best country in the world. dont knock it because all u haters live in a shitty place. this is all. kthnksbye :D

Answer 628

It was until we opened all the doors

Answer 629

Yes because there is nothing GREAT about it!

Answer 630

Because british are egoistic (take it in positive manner) and they have maintained their existance separately in european union, they did not accept euro as a currency. :)

Answer 631

Because we are Great! End of....:-)

Answer 632

its not great britian any more because there is to many foriegners here

Answer 633

Its called "Great Britain" because we hand out benefits to all the spongers, so its great as far as they are concerned!

Answer 634

Grate Britain Morelike...........................

Answer 635

It's not so great now :)

Answer 636

because someone thought it was a (great) island.

Answer 637

WE GOT THE NAME COS WE INVENTED FOOTBALL. YEAH, THAT'S WHY. WANNA ARGUE ABOUT IT?



B. Bacon

Answer 638

No - for all the reasons others have listed here, and many many others. Where are you from anyway?

Answer 639

The reason for this is because Britain is ******* Great.

Answer 640

well gabe your wrong if great is to do with size was alfred the great or alexander the great twice the size of other people

Answer 641

There's a thing called "google", try it...

Answer 642

Great at Bullshitting and following America around! : ) LMAO

Answer 643

cos all the driftwood and crud from other countries think its a GREAT place to come and sponge benefits!!!!!!!

Answer 644

dare i mention greater london ?

Answer 645

yes

Answer 646

Because Greatness require no proof?????????

Answer 647

obviously because this is where the Beatles came from :O)

yeah, yeah,yeah

Answer 648

I'd have to agree, but then I'm Irish and the British put us through hell. In history they have swept their way around the world, killing indigenous peoples and colonizing lands that weren't theirs. However, they are one of the most prominent nations and help out in combat alot. I'm not sure how the Scottish and Welsh feel though when they are included in the Great Britain name. And if they refer to themselves as The British Isles they seem to think this encompasses Ireland which DOES NOT belong to them.



P.S. I have alot of English friends, and English brother-in-law and English sister-in-law so individual common people are great. Its their superior peers that are the problem.

Answer 649

The answer to your question Karlos is "NO"

Answer 650

Just add an 'ish'

Answer 651

Hahaha i know its not so great is it.

Answer 652

2 world wars and one world cup do da do da. good enough answer?

Answer 653

Is it just for the sake of Irony ?

Answer 654

Yes, Britain is crap now. "Broken" Britain is a more apt. name....

Answer 655

It's because we are greater than all you foreign dogs out there so shutup and stop whining!



muhahahahaha!

Answer 656

Actually it refers to the fact that many British people are morbidly obese.

Answer 657

JUST BECAUSE WE ARE THE GREATEST COUNTRY ON EARTH.



ANDY SOUTHAMPTON

Answer 658

Why call it old blighty.

Answer 659

mmm mmmmm good question i think it's because it's joined on to super scotland

Answer 660

Because it is F**king Great .... Where else would you want to live ??????? Anyone who answers , do yourself a favour and get your sorry *** over there ....

Answer 661

the same reason that everyone wants to live here. its history and reputation.

Answer 662

We dont really call it that any more.

Answer 663

We dont anymore.



Multiculturism and inner destruction of our government from European influences (human rights etc) have destroyed our once proud and 'Great' nation.

Answer 664

was it not the fact that we ruled over 2/3 rds of the world at one time The British Empire

and it was that that made us Great

Answer 665

i think it is stens the war

Answer 666

its not cocky its more embarrassing than anything, england english, scotland scottish so on and so forth

Answer 667

Ni!

Answer 668

f**k britain



Scotland for the Scots



Saor Alba

Answer 669

hahahaha classic answer by DRAC250....

Answer 670

Because we are Great, great people, great country, great City of London, great History, great traditions, great influence!



We are the best Country in the world. Of course we are great!

Answer 671

because it's great in every respect!

Answer 672

not sure. but its not great anymore.

Answer 673

Well to be honest, we had a massive empire upon a time and i think these foreigners forget that.

Answer 674

you cannot be english to ask such a stupid question

Answer 675

it used to be 'the land of hope and glory'...now its 'the land of glory and hope'.....

Answer 676

No, we're ******* awesome

Answer 677

Not if you're delusional.

Answer 678

ha ha ha nice oranges

Answer 679

no, NO, but it will soon go ,it nearly has already..

Answer 680

it is historical

Answer 681

who cares?

Answer 682

erm im sorry i know britain isnt the best country in the world, but neither is whichever one that your from so MERRHHHH

Answer 683

No because if you consider their once huge empire, its not really that cocky. Maybe today you could consider it to have somewhat fallen from its former "greatness."

Answer 684

I do not know.

Answer 685

Actually it stems from the fact that many Britons moved to and area of France during the Anglo-saxon settlers in Britain. This area was referred too as lesser Britain or (lol) little Britain while the main island is Greater Britain. This later was dropped and became Great Britain while the other became Brittiny currently a province in France.



In terms of History Great Britain was kept as a name probably because of the Importance of Britain in world affairs between 1707 and today most notable between 1815 and 1914.

Answer 686

Brits are narcissistic...

Answer 687

it is because I live here and we bake great cakes here

Answer 688

Everybody seems to have missed the point that the 'Great' part is simply to distinguish it (originally from a French point of view) from Brittany. Bretagne - Grande Bretagne. It has nothing whatsoever to do with seeing ourselves as 'great'.

Answer 689

because we are

Answer 690

theres nothing great about it, its turned into a right **** hole

Answer 691

who gives a crap!!! ENGLAND will do lol

Answer 692

YES

Answer 693

Because we're **** awesome!!!

Answer 694

Yeah, and what's with those 'Great Crested Newts'? Arrogant little amphibian sods, think they own the pond.

Answer 695

For such a small dot on the map v it's power, great isn't a big enough word.

Answer 696

no

Answer 697

YES

Answer 698

When the Romans settled The British Isles they called Britain Greater Britain and Ireland Lesser Britain. The name has stuck so we aren't being cocky as you so charmingly put it.

Answer 699

Yeah they should just call it Okay Britain

Answer 700

No.

Answer 701

No.

Answer 702

Great.............Land of dope and Glory....................



The yanks nasty pet dog is what we are............

Answer 703

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND THEN YOU GOT GORDON BROWN!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHO FUCKED THE UK IN ITS RING PIECE!!!! ROBBED ALLMOST ALL THE TAX PAYERS!!! CREATED NEW STEALTH TAXES & CRIED WOLF....WANKER..............

Answer 704

the Greatest empire the world has ever seen.

Answer 705

I dont know ..

Answer 706

babe, totally

Answer 707

'Cause it is

Answer 708

nope other countys gave us that name

Answer 709

NO

Answer 710

if its not a brit....its sh it

Answer 711

no, because "great" represents the size

Answer 712

NO???

Answer 713

not at all, its pretty sweet over there

Answer 714

obvious troll, but who cares.



well, you're asking a question in english, on an internet shell designed by an englishman, based on technology designed by a scotsman.

The UK was the only European power to consistently stand against Napoleon and Hitler.

It ruled a quarter of the world's surface and a third of its people.

Its system of government is one of the most stable in the world.

Its explorers stretched the boundaries of the world as it was known.

Its history as a kingdom dates back more than 1200 years.

Its influence on recent history is second only to the United States.

Its naval tradition stretches back 700 years.

Its writers, philosophers and scientists are world-famous.

It was the first nation in history to industrialise.

Some cause to call the country Great, don't you think?

Answer 715

No - just ironic