The trees are generally called linden in North America, and lime in Britain. Both names are from the Germanic root "lind". The modern forms in English went from "linde" or "linne" in Anglo Saxon and old Norse, and in Britain the word transformed more recently to the modern British form "lime". In the United States, the modern German name "Linde", from the same root, became more common, partly to avoid confusion with any other uses of the name.