Origins of the word Hyrule and the name Hylia

Okay, this has been a long time coming, and it’s going to be weird and rambly and make very little sense, but here it is.

So I ran through and sorta approximated what words in Proto-Hylian would be like, given the Ballad of the Goddess in Skyward Sword. So, Proto-Hylian leaves a lot up to interpretation, and much of its meaning is implied. Its sound structure and words are also more complex than that of more modern High Hylian, since a common trend among languages is that they begin with complexity and then simplify over time.

So, first, the word for Hylia. The name would most likely be derived from Hylia’s sphere of influence, which has been heavily implied to be time, and many of Hylia’s relics act as bridges between different periods of time – namely, the time when Hylia was at power, and the present. Additionally, she has acted as a bridge between the surface and the sky. So, a big part of her is that she is a bridge. Now, I don’t think she originally had a name in the sense that people have names; I think she had a title which was later shortened into a name. But I’ll get to that later. I think the part of her title that remained was the part that meant Bright Bridge, which in Proto-Hylian would be Brelhae’an (breda bright, lhae’an bridge). During the Chaos Era, the Era of Prosperity, and the beginning of the Force Era, her name would be rendered Helhae, as it would be during Minish Cap, and by the time of Four Swords, the name would be Hylia.

Given the Ballad of the Goddess, we can sorta interpret that the Proto-Hylian word for land or earth is sale (sale̞). By the time Skyward Sword rolls around, the word would have gone through the changes salell, sorell, and eventually be orell. Once the surface was reclaimed in the name of Skyloft and in the name of Hylia, now reborn as Zelda, the surface would be renamed to include Hylian in the name. Thus the name would change to be Brelhae’orell, which could be interpreted as Hylia’s World or as The Bright Bridge to the World. In pre-OoT times (Minish Cap and early Four Swords, so after the Chaos Era but during the Era of Prosperity and the beginning of the Force Era), this would evolve into Helhaesorul, still meaning Hylia’s World, and then to Hejorul, now meaning Bright World. Note that this is also around the time that Hylia is forgotten as a goddess. Finally, during Ocarina of Time and onward, the kingdom would be rendered Hyrule, now a false cognate to Bright Field, but actually derived from Bright World.

In sum, Hylia’s name would go through the evolution Brelhae’an → Helhae → Hylia, and Hyrule’s name would go through Orell → Brelhae’orell → Helhaesorul → Hejorul → Hyrule.