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I know that 'Jutland', a part of Denmark, comes from the Danish 'Jylland', which describes the same region. But was that name just invented at random, or does it come from the verb 'jut', as the land juts out into the ocean?

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Possibly, it was named that because at one time the Jutes lived there. From etymonline:

Jute: O.E. Eotas, one of the ancient Gmc. inhabitants of Jutland in Denmark; traditionally, during the 5c. invasion of England, they were said to have settled in Kent and Hampshire. The name is related to O.N. Iotar.

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  • There's still considerable debate about whether the people named by Bede as the Jutes genuinely originated from Jutland. Bede, in 731, names the Jutes only once in a text he actually pilfered from Gildas Sapiens (De Excidio Britanniae - 540s) and a more logical origin is that of the "Saxones Eucii" - who lived just "in front" of Kent where they landed.
    – Alain Pannetier Φ
    Commented Jul 10, 2011 at 18:08
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    It would never have occured to me Jutland could be named after anything but the Jutes.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jul 10, 2011 at 20:54
  • Coming to that, it seems that the Jutes were called Jutes because they lived in Denmark!!
    – Thursagen
    Commented Jul 10, 2011 at 22:37
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    The word jut comes from French (related to jeter, to throw), and it seems pretty clear that the word Jutland comes from a Germanic language. So the similarity seems likely to be a complete coincidence.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Jul 10, 2011 at 23:20
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It may be related to the Swedish Göteland as the Swedish "G" is pronounced like a "J" and Jutland seems to have been settled in the 8th century, possibly by Goths. Bede's statement that the three principal tribes of England were the Angles, Saxons and Goths (rather than Jutes) would then make sense, particularly if he lumped the Jutes and the Goths from East Göteland in East Anglia together.

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  • Hello John Alexander, welcome to ELU. We strive to provide objective answers here. Therefore it would be great if you could find some resources supporting your assumptions. You can also have a look at the help center to find out more about answering on ELU.SE.
    – Helmar
    Commented Aug 14, 2016 at 19:32

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