Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Greland 1086 DB

• Greteland(e) 13 YDvi 1307 WCR 1368 MinAcct 1408 Arm 1518 FF

• Gretland 1277 WCR 1297 LS 1383 MinAcct 1567 DodsN 1675 Og

• Greetland 1589 WillY 1592 FF

Etymology

'Gravelly or rocky stretch of land', v. grēot , grjót , land . The name probably refers to the steep rocky hillside overlooking the Calder, and the first el. may therefore rather be ON  grjót , which was used of 'boulders, stones, rocks', rather than OE  grēot which meant 'gravel'. A similar name is Gretlandis 12 Whitby in Ayton YN.