Leif Erikson traditionally gave the name Vinland to the land he explored in North America.
Vinland is the name recorded in the Icelandic sagas for a region visited by Norse explorers around the year 1000. The sagas describe Leif Erikson sailing west from Greenland after hearing reports of lands sighted by Bjarni Herjólfsson. Leif and his crew encountered areas with forests, open grassland and grapes or berries, leading to the name Vinland.
The precise meaning of Vinland has been debated. It may mean “Wineland,” referring to grapes, or it may be interpreted as “meadow land” in some linguistic discussions. The archaeological site at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland provides firm evidence of a Norse settlement in North America, although scholars continue to debate how widely Vinland extended.
Vinland is not another name for Greenland or Iceland. Greenland was settled by Norse communities under Erik the Red, while Iceland had been settled earlier. Norse journeys to North America predated Columbus’s 1492 voyage by centuries, but the settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows appears to have been temporary.