Haswell-Smith (2004) suggests that "Rum" is "probably" pre-Celtic, but may be Old Norse "rõm-øy" for "wide island" or Gaelic "ì-dhruim" () meaning "isle of the ridge". Ross (2007) notes that there is a written record of "Ruim" from 677 and suggests "spacious island" from the Gaelic "rùm". Mac an Tàilleir (2003) is unequivocal that Rùm is "a pre-Gaelic name and unclear". In light of this, Richard Coates has suggested that it may be worth looking for a Proto-Semitic source for the name. This is because the British Isles were likely repopulated from the Iberian Peninsula following the last Ice Age. He proposes a name based on the Proto-Semitic root "*rwm", a 'height-word' as seen in Ramat Gan in Israel and Ramallah, Palestine. Rum would therefore mean something like ‘(island of) height' or 'high island'.