A shortened form of 'Northerland', referring simply to the northern lands of Middle-earth. In his Song of Eärendil at Rivendell, Bilbo tells of Eärendil flying over the grey waters of Norland as he passes back from the West into Middle-earth, and there the name is used as a more specific reference to lost Beleriand in the far northwest which, by Bilbo's time, had long ago been drowned beneath the Sea. There were many rivers in this wide land that could be the grey waters referred to in Bilbo's song, notably the great rivers Sirion and Gelion, or the grey waters may be those of the Great Sea that lapped Beleriand's shores.

The name 'Norland' is only ever used of the old landscape of Beleriand, but in its longer form 'Northerland', it had various different uses. In that form, it simply meant the 'lands in the north', and so its usage could vary depending on the speaker of the word. In Gondor and Rohan, 'Northerland' referred to those lands northward of the Gap of Rohan, including Eriador and the old North-kingdom of the Dúnedain. For those who dwelt further north than Rohan, 'Northerland' had a more distinct meaning, referring to the icy northern wastes otherwise known as Forodwaith.