Etymology | Countries With Sanskrit Names

Sanskrit is well-known to have had a significant impact on Asia, and it still lives on in the form of countries’ names. Here’s a brief list:

China

cīnah

China went by many names (which depended on the dynasty) but ‘Zhongguo’ was one of the names that lasted beyond dynasties. The Sanskrit name for China, Cīna, stems from the ‘Qin’ dynasty. The Persian word for China, Cin, is based on this Sanskrit word and it was the Persian form that was popularised by Europeans.

Singapore

siṃha + pūra

Siṃha, or Singha, is the Sanskrit word for “lion” while Pura is the word for “city”. Singapore was formerly known as Temasek. Malay Annals state that while on an expedition, the Palembang Prince Sri Tri Buana (also known as Sang Nila Utama) saw an animal that seemed to resemble a lion and hence named the place the ‘lion city’.

Cambodia

kāmboja

The English name Cambodia is an anglicisation of the French Cambodge – which is a transliteration of the native name Kampuchea. Kampuchea is derived from the ancient Khmer kingdom of Kambuja, which is the Sanskrit name for the Kambojas, an old North Indian tribe mentioned in Hindu scriptures.

Burma

Brahmadesh

Although ‘Myanmar’ is now used, the colloquial name Burma, derived from Bama, is derived from Sanskrit. Although historians hold that the origin is unclear, they agree that Burma is derived from Brahmadesh, which means the “land of Brahma”.

Siam

suvaṇṇabhūmi

Although ‘Thailand’ is now used, the former name Siam is derived from Sanskrit. Siam is said to have originated from either the word suvaṇṇabhūmi (meaning “land of gold”) or the world śyāma (meaning “dark”, “black” or “blue”). Both words are of Sanskrit origin.

Bhutan

Bhoṭa-anta or Bhu + uttan

The term ‘Bhutan’ is traditionally accepted as the transliteration of the Sanskrit word Bhotant, meaning “the end of Tibet” or of Bhu-uttan, meaning “high land”.

Afghanistan

Aśvakan-sthan

Although it is disputed, many scholars have noted that the word ‘Afghan’ is derived from the Sanskrit word Aśvakan, meaning “horsemen” (since the region was known for its fine breed of horses). The second half of the name ‘-stan’ is Persian, and it is derived from the Sanskrit word sthan, meaning “place”. Some have also suggested that the name Afghanistan comes from “Upa-Gana-Stan” which means “land of allied tribes” in Sanskrit.

Sri Lanka

śrī laṅkā

The name śrī laṅkā is Sanskrit for “venerable island”.

Maldives

mālā + dvīpa

The name of the country is derived from the Sanskrit words mālā (“garland”) and dvīpa (“island”), meaning “a garland of islands”.