Albanian scholars and philologists alike contend that the meaning of the Illyrian name is understood in the Albanian interpretation of the Illyrians, "Iliret."
The root in "Iliret" is "i lir" which simply means, "free." Thus, the meaning of "Iliret" is "freemen" and the meaning of Illyria (long before
America came into existence) is
"land of the free."
To the Albanians, the latter makes complete sense as to the meaning of "Illyria" or "Illyrian," but for scholars the former cannot be ignored either.
This all came from this site if you would like to read more:
http://theillyrians.homestead.com/etymology.html
CIARDA