The root is not Gaelic and is of unknown origin.

In 17th-century maps, the spelling appears as "Yla" or "Ila", a form still used in the name of the whisky Caol Ila. In poetic language, Islay is known as Banrìgh Innse Gall, or Banrìgh nan Eilean usually translated as "Queen of the Hebrides" and Eilean uaine Ìle - the "green isle of Islay" A native of Islay is called an Ìleach, pronounced .

The obliteration of pre-Norse names is almost total, and placenames on the island are a mixture of Norse

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