Sri Lanka – Taprobanē

In antiquity, Sri Lanka was known to travellers by a variety of names. According to the Mahavamsa, the legendary Prince Vijaya named the land Tambapanni (‘copper-red hands’ or ‘copper-red earth’), because his followers’ hands were reddened by the red soil of the area.^[22][23] In Hindu mythology, such as the Ramayana, the island was referred to as Lankā (‘Island’). The Tamil term Eelam (Tamil: ஈழம், romanized: īḻam), was used to designate the whole island in Sangam literature.^[24][25] The island was known under Chola rule as Mummudi Cholamandalam (‘realm of the three crowned Cholas’).^[26]

Ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobanā (Ancient Greek: Ταπροβανᾶ) or Taprobanē (Ταπροβανῆ)^[27] from the word Tambapanni. The Persians and Arabs referred to it as Sarandīb (the origin of the word “serendipity“) from Sanskrit Siṃhaladvīpaḥ.^[28][29] Ceilão, the name given to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese Empire when it arrived in 1505,^[30] was transliterated into English as Ceylon.^[31] As a British crown colony, the island was known as Ceylon; it achieved independence as Ceylon in 1948.

The country is now known in Sinhala as Śrī Laṃkā (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා) and in Tamil as Ilaṅkai (Tamil: இலங்கை, IPA: [iˈlaŋɡai]). In 1972, its formal name was changed to “Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka”. Later, in 1978, it was changed to the “Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka”.^[32] As the name Ceylon still appears in the names of a number of organisations, the Sri Lankan government announced in 2011 a plan to rename all those over which it has authority.^[33]