Q: Where did the name "Ostgardr" come from?

A: Well, in the earliest days of the East Kingdom, NYC and environs were the East Kingdom. As the Kingdom grew (with groups springing up in places like Philadelphia, Boston, and Connecticut), the folks in NYC dubbed their territory the Capital Province. People in other groups, however, jokingly called it the Nameless Province, and the locals decided that it was time for their fair province to have a true name. Sir Garanhir of Ness coined the name "Estgard"--"Eastern City"--analogous to Miklegard (sp?) ("Big City"), which is what the Norse called Constantinople. Another early member, Sir Eiolf Eriksson, convinced the populace that a more accurate Old Norse rendering of the name would be "Ostgardr." And it stuck.

Another answer...

The East Kingdom was founded in NYC around April, 1968, and it spread from there. NYC was referred to as the Capital Province until March, 1972, when it was briefly called Two Rivers (which bounced). By Royal Edict, we became the Nameless Province in November, 1972, to encourage getting a real name. That was Ostgardr, around June, 1973. Besides the current cantons, there were: Madnan (Nassau), St Pyr's Well (Staten Island), and Iron Forest (Sloatsburg). There were also colleges briefly at some of the local universities: the Dark Canton (CCNY), King's Heights (Columbia), Black Ford (Fordham), St Dunstan's (NYU), and Walking Dunes (Southhampton).