Isle of Wight The oldest records that give a name for the Isle of Wight are from the Roman Empire: it was then called "Vectis" or "Vecta" in Latin, "Iktis" or "Ouiktis" in Greek. From the Anglo-Saxon period Latin "Vecta", Old English "Wiht" and Old Welsh forms "Gueid" and "Guith" are recorded. In Domesday Book it is "Wit"; the modern Welsh name is "Ynys Wyth" ("ynys" = island). These are all variant forms of the same name, possibly Celtic in origin. It may mean "place of the division", because the island divides the two arms of the Solent. The Isle of Wight is
Politics of the Isle of Wight Politics of the Isle of Wight As a geographical entity distinct from the mainland, the Isle of Wight has always fought to have this identity recognised. The Isle of Wight is currently a ceremonial and Non-metropolitan county and as it has no district councils (only the county council) it is effectively a unitary county. The island is also the highest populated Westminster constituency in the country. Historically, the island was part of the historic county of Hampshire, previously called Southamptonshire. The island's most ancient borough was Newtown on the large natural harbour on the island's north-western coast. A French raid