From the Greek ou, meaning not, and topos, meaning place, and translating literally as no place.The word was first used by Sir Thomas More (1516) in his book Utopia as the name of an imaginary island that was the home of a perfect political and social system. In contemporary usage, utopia refers to an ideal place, state of being, or situation. (Note: Utopia sounds like no place I've ever been. If there were such a place, someone surely would foul it up. If not it would get so crowded that nobody would go there any more.)