Comments (Meaning / History Only)
Isla isn't just a variant of Islay; there are two rivers in Scotland called Isla. Both Islay and Isla are anglicised spellings of their Gaelic name Ile.
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Islay (or Isla) (A) is pronounced Eye-la. Ideas differ about the derivation of the name Islay. Various possibilities have been put forward, including "island divided in two" and "the law island", while it also has been suggested that the name derives from a Pictish princess called Ile, who lived around 650-700 AD. Otherwise the name seems to have emerged around that time with no obvious reason for it.
According to Domhnall Maceacharna, the earliest known reference to the island comes in Adamnan's biography of the Irish saint, Columba, written in about 720 AD. St Columba visited Islay on his way north, prior to setting up the famous monastery on the island of Iona, off the south-west tip of Mull. Adamnan wrote it is 'Ilea', describing it as an inhabited island, "Ilea insula habitabat", and also as 'green, grassy Islay', a phrase which is still used in the Gaelic, "Ile Ghorm an Fheoir".
In a text in 740, it is spelt 'Ili', while by 1095 it had become Yle. From then on, it is commonly Ila, Yla and Ilay. The present spelling was not widely adopted until about 1800. It is as if more modern writers were unhappy with Yla or Ilay and added an 's' to make it look more like the word 'island'. It should be noted that Islay is the anglicised spelling; in Gaelic the island is still spelt Ile.
Peggy Earl's favourite theory, however, concerned a Danish Princess called Iula, or Yula, who left Denmark with an apron full of stones of different sizes. As she proceeded on her journey some of the stones fell out, one becoming Ireland, another Rathlin and a third Texa. The remainder of the stones fell out and became the string of islands from Ardbeg to Kildalton. She perished in the soft sands off that coast and was taken to Seonais Hill above Loch Cnoc and buried there. What was described in the Statistical Account of 1794 as the grave of "a daughter of one of the Kings of Denmark" is marked by two small standing stones about 10 m apart, though there is, sadly, no good evidence to support this tradition. Islay is said to have got its name from this lady, or perhaps she may have taken her name from Islay.
From www.islayinfo.com
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According to Domhnall Maceacharna, the earliest known reference to the island comes in Adamnan's biography of the Irish saint, Columba, written in about 720 AD. St Columba visited Islay on his way north, prior to setting up the famous monastery on the island of Iona, off the south-west tip of Mull. Adamnan wrote it is 'Ilea', describing it as an inhabited island, "Ilea insula habitabat", and also as 'green, grassy Islay', a phrase which is still used in the Gaelic, "Ile Ghorm an Fheoir".
In a text in 740, it is spelt 'Ili', while by 1095 it had become Yle. From then on, it is commonly Ila, Yla and Ilay. The present spelling was not widely adopted until about 1800. It is as if more modern writers were unhappy with Yla or Ilay and added an 's' to make it look more like the word 'island'. It should be noted that Islay is the anglicised spelling; in Gaelic the island is still spelt Ile.
Peggy Earl's favourite theory, however, concerned a Danish Princess called Iula, or Yula, who left Denmark with an apron full of stones of different sizes. As she proceeded on her journey some of the stones fell out, one becoming Ireland, another Rathlin and a third Texa. The remainder of the stones fell out and became the string of islands from Ardbeg to Kildalton. She perished in the soft sands off that coast and was taken to Seonais Hill above Loch Cnoc and buried there. What was described in the Statistical Account of 1794 as the grave of "a daughter of one of the Kings of Denmark" is marked by two small standing stones about 10 m apart, though there is, sadly, no good evidence to support this tradition. Islay is said to have got its name from this lady, or perhaps she may have taken her name from Islay.
From www.islayinfo.com
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I read it came from the Gaelic word "Aileach" which means "rocky place".
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آیلا.