The title De optimo rei publicae statu deque nova insula Utopia literally translates, "Of a republic's best state and of the new island Utopia".
It is variously rendered as any of the following:
- On the Best State of a Republic and on the New Island of Utopia
- Concerning the Highest State of the Republic and the New Island Utopia
- On the Best State of a Commonwealth and on the New Island of Utopia
- Concerning the Best Condition of the Commonwealth and the New Island of Utopia
- On the Best Kind of a Republic and About the New Island of Utopia
- About the Best State of a Commonwealth and the New Island of Utopia
The first created original name was even longer: Libellus vere aureus, nec minus salutaris quam festivus, de optimo rei publicae statu deque nova insula Utopia. That translates, "A truly golden little book, no less beneficial than entertaining, of a republic's best state and of the new island Utopia".
Utopia is derived from the Greek prefix "ou-" (οὔ), meaning "not", and topos (τόπος), "place", with the suffix -iā (-ίᾱ) that is typical of toponyms; the name literally means "nowhere", emphasizing its fictionality. In early modern English, Utopia was spelled "Utopie", which is today rendered Utopy in some editions.[3]
In fact, More's very first name for the island was Nusquama, the Latin equivalent of "no-place", but he eventually opted for the Greek-influenced name.[4]
In English, Utopia is pronounced the same as Eutopia (the latter word, in Greek Εὐτοπία [Eutopiā], meaning "good place," contains the prefix εὐ- [eu-], "good", with which the οὔ of Utopia has come to be confused in the English pronunciation).[5] That is something that More himself addresses in an addendum to his book: Wherfore not Utopie, but rather rightely my name is Eutopie, a place of felicitie.[a][7]