How did New Zealand gets its name?

Answer 1

New Zealand was discovered by a Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman, in 1642.

At first, Abel thought he had ended up on an island near Chile, so he named it "Staten Landt" on his maps. He quickly realised his mistake, however, and renamed the land "Nieuw Zeeland". Which is named after the providence "Zeeland", in Holland. From Dutch to English translations, Zeeland means Sea-Land.

Later, the English explorer, Captain James Cook, ordered that his maps of the known world be updated. His map-makers actually, accidentally, misspelt the country's name on their maps, labelling it "New Zealand" instead of "New Zeeland".

The name, New Zealand, has stuck ever since.

Abel Tasman also discovered an island off Australia which he named Van Diemen's Land, but was later given the more appropriate name of Tasmania.

Answer 2

New Zealand was named after Zealand, a province in The Netherlands, by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman.