# Orkney

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈɔɹkne/ · frequency rank #29,021

## Definitions
1. Ellipsis of Orkney Islands.
2. A historical county of Scotland, United Kingdom.

## Etymology
From Old Norse Orkneyjar (“seal islands”), from Old Norse ørkn (“seal”) + ey (“island”). The modern form is singular. Ninth-century Norwegian settlers reinterpreted the Pictish/Proto-Brythonic name for the islands, recorded as Ancient Greek Όρκάδες (Órkádes), which was derived from Proto-Celtic *ɸorkos (“young pig”).

## Easily confused with
- **okey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/okey-vs-orkney)
- **Olney** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/olney-vs-orkney)
- **Oakley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/oakley-vs-orkney)

## Common misspellings (9)
`okrney`, `orkeny`, `orkkney`, `orkneyy`, `orknney`, `orknye`, `ornkey`, `orrkney`, `rokney`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/orkney