British or Ukonian : Who are we

Q. Ukonian

A. A term suggested by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright to describe the inhabitants of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: that's you an me (unless, of course, you're not). Amazingly, there's no strictly accurate generic name for us.

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Q. What about 'British'

A. If you hold a British passport you will see that you are officially called a 'British citizen', and it's better than 'English' - as many careless English people and foreigners insist on calling the whole lot of us - and less awful-sounding than 'Britisher', as some Americans like to use, but still not a technically correct term as it doesn't include Northern Ireland.

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Q. So, what is Great Britain

A. Great Britain was first used formally as the name of the country in 1604, when James VI of Scotland also became James I of England and therefore the whole island of Britain. It was adopted as the official name of the country on the union of England and Scotland in 1707.

Many people still mistakenly think the 'Great' bit is to do with the period when this country had its turn as the world superpower, but the name actually derives from the geographical term Britannia major, the name given to Britain in the 5th century to distinguish it from Britannia minor, Armorica or Brittany in France.

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Strictly Great Britain refers only to the main island, comprising the kingdoms of Scotland and England and the principality of Wales, but the designation also includes the Scilly Isles, the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland. However, neither the Isle of Man nor the Channel Islands - Jersey, Guernsey, Sark, Alderney - are, and for historical reasons these are not even part of the UK, being regarded as possessions of the Crown rather than integral parts of the country. If you want to refer to the whole island group you should call it the British Isles.

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Q. What about the United Kingdom

A. When Ireland became part of the Union in 1801 the nation began to be called The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, but was changed again to its present form on the partition of the island of Ireland in 1922.

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Q. What should we call ourselves

A. British is still your best bet, though you'll find that in some parts of the world if you say anything other than English you'll get a puzzled look. However, if you're from Northern Ireland, you may find it less than satisfactory.

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Q. What about Ulster

A. Though it is commonly done, the name Ulster should not strictly be used as a synonym for the political division called Northern Ireland, as the latter includes only 6 of the 9 counties which formed the ancient Irish province of that name, the remaining three having opted to join the Republic of Ireland.

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Q. Something of an identity crisis

A. You're not wrong. All sensible suggestions for a new and genuinely inclusive name welcome here.

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For more on Phrases & Sayings click here

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By Simon Smith