What was Brazil's original name?

Answer 1

Pedro Álvares Cabral (1467-1520) was a Portuguese nobleman, explorer, and navigator who was the first European to see Brazil (on April 22, 1500).Cabral's patron was King Manuel I of Portugal, who sent him on an expedition to India. Cabral's 13 ships left on March 9, 1500, following the route of Vasco DA Gama. On April 22, 1500, he sighted land (Brazil), claiming it for Portugal and naming it the "Island of the True Cross." King Manuel renamed this land Holy Cross; it was later renamed once again, to Brazil, after a kind of dyewood found there, called pau-brasil.

Answer 2

From a tree that was very common when Brazil was colonized by Portugal in 1500: Pau Brasil, that means Brazil Wood, literally translating.