Why is it called Antarctica?

Antarctica got its name from the Greek words "anti" and "arktikos", which mean "opposite" and "Arctic", respectively. The term "Antarctica" therefore literally means "Opposite the Arctic". This is because Antarctica is located at the opposite end of the Earth from the Arctic, or directly across from it. The name was first proposed in 1820 by a Russian explorer named Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, who suggested the name "Antarktike". This proposal was later modified to Antarctica in 1890 and then officially adopted by various countries in the 19th and early 20th centuries.