The original name for Canada, dreamed up by a parliamentary committee in London, was “Cold North Dominion,” but that was too long, so they abbreviated it to C.N.D. The King’s Royal Governor presented the new name to the inhabitants, but they didn’t say a word. “Well, what do you think?” asked the Royal Governor? “C, eh?” said the first fellow, and just looked at the Governor. “N, eh?” says the second guy. “D, eh?” says a third one. Then silence. “Hey,” says the Governor. “I like that. It’s a helluva lot easier to pronounce when you spell it that way.” And that’s how Canada got its name.
(original source unknown, but I’ve seen it posted around the net over the years).