Upper Saxony
It was particularly to distinguish the lands from 'Lower Saxony', a concept which arose later in popular usage (though never enforced) as a term for the original Saxon lands in north and west Germany (where Low German dialects had spread), in what is now the state of Lower Saxony, as well as the adjacent Westphalian region, Holstein and the western part of today's Saxony-Anhalt north of the Harz range (Eastphalia).
Saxe-Lauenburg
From the 14th century, Saxe-Lauenburg termed itself as "Lower Saxony" (). However, "Saxony" as a naming for the area comprising the older "Duchy of Saxony" in its borders before 1180 still prevailed. So, when in 1500 the "Holy Roman Empire" established the Imperial Circles as tax levying and army recruitment districts, the circle comprising Saxe-Lauenburg and all its neighbours became designated as Saxon Circle, while the Wettin-ruled Saxon electorate and duchies at that time formed the Upper Saxon Circle. The naming of "Lower Saxony" became more colloquial and the "Saxon Circle" was later renamed into "Lower Saxon Circle". In 1659, Duke Julius Henry decreed in his "general disposition" (guidelines for his government) "to also esteem the woodlands as heart and dwell [of revenues] of the Principality of Lower Saxony."