origin of the name canada
A map of North America ca. 1566, one of the first to include the name Canada (top right). The name Canada is now generally accepted as originating from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata or canada, meaning village or settlement.Related translations include land or town, with subsequent terminologies meaning cluster of dwellings or collection of huts.ater the area became two British colonies, called Upper Canada and Lower Canada until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, the name Canada was officially adopted for the new Dominion, which was commonly referred to as the Dominion of Canada until after World War II.