The island's name is a corruption of the Norsehafgröney,[1]gröney meaning "green island", and "ha(a)f" being an old word (still in some use in Shetland), meaning deep open water, especially that used for fishing. "Haaf" is added to distinguish it from other islands, such as Sound Gruney nearby.
A voyage to Karmøy
On August 4, 1745, two girls from Uyea rowed here to milk some of the cows grazing here. Unfortunately, their return was marred by a strong storm, and eventually they found their tiny boat blown to Karmøy in south west Norway. The Uyea girls ended up marrying Karmøy men, and their descendants still live there.[1][2]
Literary References
Haaf Gruney is used as a setting in the 2014 novel The Sixteen Trees of the Somme (Svøm med dem som drunker) by Norwegian author Lars Mytting.