England, so named from the ancient inhabitants called Albiones. The usual etymology of albus (white), said to have been given by Julius Cæsar in allusion to the “white cliffs,” is quite untenable, as an old Greek treatise, the De Mundo, formely ascribed to Aristotle, mentions the islands of Albion and Ierne three hundred years before the invasion of Cæsar. Probably “Albion” or Albany was the Celtic name of all Great Britain, subsequently restricted to Scotland, and then to the Highlands of Scotland. Certainly the inhabitants
of the whole island are implied in the word Albiones in Festus Avienus's account of the voyage of Hamilcar in the fifth century B.C. (See Albin.)
“Beyond the Pillars of Hercules is the ocean which flows round the earth, and in it are 2 very large islands called Britannia, viz., Albion and Ierne.” —De Mundo, Sec. iii.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894