How did Britain get its name?

Answer:

The earliest known names for the islands that make up present day Britain come from Greek and Roman writings. These classical writers referred to the inhabitants as the Priteni or Pretani, which is most likely from a Celtic language term that means "the people of the forms" and Pretannia as a place name was Diodorus's (a famous Greek historian who wrote extensively in the 1st century BC)rendering in Greek of this self description by the native people. "The people of the forms" is believed to be a reference to the practice by the inhabitants of painting or tattooing their skin. From this name a collective term for the islands was derived, appearing as Pretanic Islands and Brittanic Isles. Variations of all these terms are still used. Caesar introduced the term Britannia following his invasion of the Isles in 55 BC.