List of Indian state and union territory name

etymologies
The Republic of India was constituted in 1947 as a union of states. After the States Reorganisation Act of
1956, there was a rearrangement of state boundaries along linguistic lines, and many states were given
names in their own languages. Many states are named due to their geographical characteristics, peculiar
history or populations and colonial influences.

States
State name Name in state's official
Meaning Notes
(# on map) language
"Āndhra" is the name of a dynasty mentioned in
ancient Sanskrit literature, later used as a synonym
for Telugu people. Ancient sources that mention the
Andhra kingdom include the edicts of Asoka and
ఆంధప Megasthenes's Indica (c. 300 BCE).[1] The earliest
Andhra State of extant text to mention the word Andhra is Aitareya
Pradesh (1) (Telugu) Andhras Brahmana dated between the 8th and 6th centuries
BCE.[2] According to the text (7.18), when
Vishwamitra's elder sons refused to accept his
adoption of Shunahshepa, he cursed their
descendants to be exiled from Aryavarta; the
Andhras were one of these descendant groups.[3][4]
In Sanskrit, aruṇa means "dawn-lit" and achala
Land of the
Arunachal Arunachal Pradesh "mountains". The state is located in the
dawn-lit
Pradesh (2) (English) easternmost part of India and gets first sunrise in
mountains
the country.[5]
Most scholars believe that Assam is derived from
the Ahoms, who ruled Assam for six centuries. The
word Ahom itself may be derived from Shan (śyām
"Uneven" or in Assamese) or from the Sanskrit word "asama"
Assam (3) অসম (Assamese)
from "Ahom"
(uneven, in the sense of "unequal" or "peerless"),[6]
referring to its geology which is an equal mix of
river valleys and hills.[7] See Etymology of Assam.
From Sanskrit vihāra ("Buddhist monastery").
Foreign invaders often used abandoned viharas as
बहार (Hindi) military cantonments; the word Bihar may have
Bihar (4) Monastery
come from the large number of viharas thus used in
the area. Pronunciation the name with 'B' instead of
'V' is an East Indian tradition.
Chhattisgarh translates to "thirty-six forts" in Hindi.
There are several theories about what the term
"thirty-six forts" refers to; see
Chhattisgarh#Etymology. According to the various
Chhattisgarh Thirty-six
छ ीसगढ़ (Hindi) theories, the term may refer to the 36 pillars of a
(5) forts
temple, 36 former feudal territories or 36 houses.
Another theory says that the term is actually a
corruption of the word "chedisgarh" that refers to
the Chedi Kingdom.
The name Goa came to European languages via
Portuguese, but its precise origin is unclear. A
number of theories about its origin are centered
Uncertain, around the Sanskrit word go (cow).[8] For example,
probably the legend of Krishna names a mountain where he
Goa (6) ग य (Konkani) saved the cow; the mountain was named
related to
"cow" "gomāntaka", which later became Goa. Also, a port
city named Gopākapattanam till the 14th century
which in Konkani was called Goākaottana and
thereby, from it Goa might have derived. For other
theories, see Goa#Etymology.

Land of The Gurjars, who ruled the area around the 8th
Gujarat (7) ગુજરાત (Gujarati)
Gurjars century.[9][10]
One theory is that the name derives from the
Abode of Sanskrit words hari (a name of Vishnu) and āyana
God or
Haryana (8) ह रयाणा (Hindi) (home), meaning "the Abode of God".[11] Another
Green
theory traces the name to the words harita (green)
Forest
and araṇya (forest).[12]
Himachal हमाचल दे श (Hindi) Land of the In Sanskrit, hima means "snow" and achala means
Pradesh (9) snow-clad "mountain".
mountains
Jharkhand झारख ड (Hindi) jhara means "dense forest" and khaṇḍa means
Forest Land
(10) "land" in Sanskrit.
From Kannada, karu (great/lofty) + nāḍu
(land/country) = karunāḍu, which means "lofty
land", referring to the Deccan plateau. karṇāṭaka is
the Sanskritised adjectival form of karunāḍu, and
Lofty Land
Karnataka ಕ ಾ ಟಕ (Kannada) means "of karunāḍu". In 1947, this state was
or Land of
(11) formed from the princely state of Mysore. In 1956,
Kannadigas
the Kannada-speaking regions of neighboring states
were added to Mysore state. The name was
changed to Karnataka in 1973. See Etymology of
Karnataka for more details.
There are three main theories about the derivation
of "kērala". (1) According to Hindu mythology, parts
of Kerala were created by Lord Parashurama, who
reclaimed the land from the sea. Hence the name is
derived from Malayalam words, cērnna ("added")
and ālam ("land"), hence the Sanskrit keralam, "the
Land added
land added on". (2) The Chera Kingdom, which
on or Land
ruled most of Kerala from the 1st to the 5th
of Cheras or
Kerala (12) േകരളം (Malayalam) centuries AD, gave its name to the region; chēra
Land of
ālam later became Keralam. This is often disputed
coconut
in academic circles because the word Kerala
trees
existed even before the rule of Cheras. One of
Ashoka's inscriptions describes "Keralaputra" as a
land on the Mauryan border. (3) From the word
'Kere' which means coconut. Kerala is a land
(Alam) with extreme abundance of coconut trees
and hence the name Kerela/Kerala.
Prior to independence, the majority of this area was
administered by the British as the Central
Provinces and the Central Indian States. At
Madhya
म य दे श (Hindi) Central independence, several of these districts were joined
Pradesh
Lands together as the Central Provinces and Berar. In
(13)
1950, these two regions were merged with Malwa
and Chhattisgarh and the term "Central Provinces"
was translated to Hindi as Madhya Pradesh.
The most widely accepted theory among scholars
is that the words Maratha and Maharashtra
ultimately derive from a compound of mahā
Uncertain, (Sanskrit for "great") and rāṣṭrika.[13] The word
possibly rāṣṭrika is a Sanskritized form of Ratta, the name
"mahā" of a tribe or dynasty of petty chiefs ruling in the
Maharashtra महारा (Marathi) (Great) + Deccan region.[14] Yet another theory is that the
(14) Sanskritized term is derived from mahā ("great") and rathī or
form of ratha ("charioteer").[14] Another theory states that
"Ratta the term derives from the words mahā ("great") and
dynasty" rāṣṭra ("nation"). However, this theory has not found
acceptance among modern scholars who believe it
to be the Sanskritized interpretation of later
writers.[13]
From Sanskrit, maṇi ("jewel") + pura ("city"). It
Jewelled
Manipur (15) ꯃꯅꯤꯄꯨꯔ (Meitei) seems that naming the said name in account of the
Land
past prosperity of land.[15]
Meghalaya Meghalaya (English) Abode of the From Sanskrit, megha ("cloud") and ālaya
(16) clouds ("abode"). The state of Meghalaya has reputation of
having highest rainfall as compared to other states
of country. The wettest place in the world
 Mawsynram, is located in Meghalaya; said feature
of the land is reflected in its name.[16]
Mi means "people", zo means "hill" and ram means
"country". The states of Mizoram, Nagaland,
Mizoram Land of the Tripura and Punjab are exceptions where Sanskrit
Mizoram (Mizo)
(17) Highlanders words are not used in the state name. Mizoram was
named after the Mizo tribal dialect and refers to
their land.[17]
Naga is an exonym used to describe several tribes
in the region. The origin of the word "naga" is
uncertain, but one theory states that it originated
from the Burmese word naka, meaning people with
earrings or pierced noses.[18] The British explorers
which comes into contact with Myanmar in 1795
Nagaland Land of
Nagaland (English) and with Nagas since 1832, heard about Na-Ka
(18) Nagas
group and anglicised it as Naga, as found in British
anthropological and official records. Another theory
points to the usage by people of Assam where
Naga meaning 'naked', is used for 'primitive man
living in natural surroundings in uncorrupted
form'.[19]
The name of the state is derived from the Sanskrit
odra viṣaya or odra deśa that referred to the Odra
ଓଡ଼ିଶା (Odia) Land of
Odisha (19) people who inhabited the central part of the region.
Odias
Sanskrit and Pali literatures mention the Odra
people as odraḥ and oddaka.
A combination of the Persian words panj ("five")
Land of five
Punjab (20) ਪੰਜਾਬ (Punjabi) and āb ("water"). The five rivers are the Beas,
rivers
Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum.

Rajasthan Land of From rājā ("king") and sthāna ("land or abode") in

राज ान (Hindi)
(21) Kings Sanskrit.[20][21]
The most widely accepted origin of the name
Sikkim is that it is a combination of two words in
स कम (Nepali) Limbu: su ("new") and khyim ("palace" or "house"),
Sikkim (22) New Palace
in reference to the palace built by the state's first
ruler, Phuntsog Namgyal. The Tibetan name for
Sikkim is Denjong, which means "valley of rice".
Nāḍu in the Tamil language means "homeland" or
"nation" hence Tamil Nadu means "homeland of
Tamil Nadu Homeland of
தமி நா (Tamil) Tamils". The origin of the world "tamil" itself is
(23) Tamils
uncertain: theories range from "self-speech" to
"sweet sound" (see Tamil language#Etymology).
Telangana లం ణ (Telugu) Land of A popular etymology derives the word "Telangana"
(24) Trilingas from Trilinga Kshetras ("land of three lingas"), a
(Three Holy region so called because three important Shaivite
ShivaLingas) shrines were located here: Kaleshwaram, Srisailam
and Draksharama.[22] Other theories also exists:
see Telangana#Etymology.

Scholars believe that Telangana derives

its name from the word Telinga that refers
to the Telugu people. The origins are
derived from Gond lands near the Tel river
valley area. Angu refers to plural forms in
Gondi and Kui languages.
Telangu/Telungu has since stayed as the
name of the people who migrated from this
 valley to the south of Godavari river and
populated the large swathes of land
around them.

From Kokborok (twi, "water" + bupra, "near") where,

Land near water refers to the Bay of Bengal as Tripura's
Tripura (25) Twipra (Kokborok)
water boundary used to be Bay of Bengal in the South in
past.[23]
Prior to independence, the majority of the territory
now comprising Uttar Pradesh was administered by
the British under various names—the United
Uttar Provinces of Agra and Oudh, the United Provinces
Northern
Pradesh उ र दे श (Hindi) of British India, and simply United Provinces. The
Province
(26) latter name was retained at independence. In 1950,
the commonly used initials U.P. were preserved by
adoption of the name Uttar Pradesh, meaning
"Northern Province" in Hindi.
Uttarakhand उ राख ड (Hindi) Northern
From Sanskrit, uttara ("north") and khaṇḍa ("land").
(27) Land
The term West Bengal originated after the partition
of Bengal province in 1905 by the colonial
administration where East Bengal referred to
present-day Bangladesh. The origin of the word
"Bengal" itself is uncertain (see Etymology of
Bengal). Possible origins include the name of a
Uncertain,
tribe that settled in the area around 1000 BCE and
West possibly
পি মব (Bengali) the Austric word for the sun god. Another theory
Bengal (28) from
states that the word "Bengal" is derived from the
"Bonga"
words "Bonga" (a deity in Sarnaism, worshipped by
the Santals) + āla (device used in Agriculture). The
English word "Bengal" is anglicised form of the
Persian word "Bangala" which was in turn derived
from the Sanskrit word "Vanga". The roots of the
word Sanskrit "Vanga" is subjected to debate.

Union territories
Andaman and Nicobar Islands (A):
Andaman: Italian traveler Niccolò de' Conti (c. 1440) mentioned the word Andaman
meant "Island of Gold". A theory that became prevalent in the late 19th century and has
since gained momentum is that the name of the islands derives from Sanskrit via the
Malay handuman, named for the Hindu deity Hanuman.[24]
Nicobar: The name "Nicobar" is probably derived from the Chola dynasty name for the
islands, nakkavaram (literally, "naked man" in Tamil) which is inscribed on a Tanjore
inscription of 1050 CE.[25][26]
Chandigarh (B): "Chandi's fort" in Hindi. Although, no actual fort ever existed but according
to legends, a large Chandi temple protected the locals, hence the name. The goddess
Chandi appears as a form of the goddess Kali or Parvati.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (C): From the towns of Dadra, Nagar Haveli,
Daman and Diu.
Jammu and Kashmir (D):

Jammu: From the name of King Jambu Lochan.[27]

Kashmir: After Vedic sage Kashyapa.
 Ladakh (E): Ladakh ("la-
dvags") means "land of high
passes" in Tibetan. Ladak is
its pronunciation in several
Tibetan dialects, and Ladakh
is a transliteration of the
Persian spelling.
Lakshadweep (F): "Hundred
Thousand Islands". In
Sanskrit, lakṣa means "a
hundred thousand" and dvīpa
means "island".
National Capital Territory of
Delhi (G): The etymology of
"Delhi" is uncertain. The very
common view is that its
eponym is Dhillu or Dilu, a
king of the Mauryan dynasty,
who built the city in 50 BC and
named it after
himself.[28][29][30] The
Hindi/Prakrit word ḍhīlī
("loose") was used by the
Tomaras to refer to the city
because the Iron Pillar built by
Raja Dhava had a weak
foundation and was A clickable map of the 28 states and 8 union territories of India
replaced.[30] Coins in
circulation in the region under
the Tomaras were called dehlīwāl.[31] Some other historians believe that the name is derived
from Dillī, a corruption of dehlīz (Persian: ‫ )دﻫﻠﻴﺰ‬or dehalī (Sanskrit: दे ह ली). Both terms mean
"threshold" or "gateway" and are symbolic of the city as a gateway to the Gangetic
Plain.[32][33] Another theory suggests that the city's original name was Dhillika.[34]

Puducherry (H): From Puducheri in Tamil; pudu ("new") + ceri ("settlement" or "camp").[35]

References
1. https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.534087/2015.534087.some-early_djvu.txt
2. E.J. Rapson (1989). Catalogue of the Coins of the Andhra Dynasty, the Western Ksatrapas,
the Traikutaka Dynasty and the "Bodhi" Dynasty (https://books.google.com/books?id=hGAH
mIW04noC&pg=PA250). Asian Educational Services. pp. 250–. ISBN 978-81-206-0522-0.
3. Arthur Berriedale Keith (1920). Rigveda Brahmanas: The Aitareya and Kausitaki
Brahmanas of the Rigveda (https://archive.org/stream/rigvedabrahmana00keitgoog#page/n3
23/mode/2up). Harvard University Press. p. 307. ISBN 978-81-208-1359-5.
4. Arthur Berriedale Keith (1995). Vedic Index of Names and Subjects (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=t6TVLlPvuMAC&pg=PA23). Motilal Banarsidass. p. 23–. ISBN 978-81-208-
1332-8.
5. G. K. Ghosh, Shukla Ghosh (1995), Indian Textiles: Past and Present, p.229 Arunachal
Pradesh may be termed as the land of rising sun since it in this part of the country that Sun
ray first kisses Indian soil. In other words Sun rises first in Arunachal Pradesh before rest of
the country.
 6. Suresh Kant Sharma, ed. (2015). Discovery of North-East India. 3. Mittal. p. 1. ISBN 978-81-
8324-037-6.
7. "Assam Etymology" (http://www.indiatravelogue.com/dest/nest/nest.html).
indiatravelogue.com. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
8. Teotonio R. De Souza (1990). Goa Through the Ages: An economic history. Concept
Publishing Company. p. 5. ISBN 978-81-7022-259-0.
9. Gujarat Government. "Gujarat state official site" (http://www.gujaratindia.com/about-gujarat/hi
story-1.htm). "The State took its name from the "gujara", the land of the "gurjara", who ruled
the area during the 700's and 800's."
10. Ramesh Chandra Majumdar; Bhāratīya Itihāsa Samiti (1954). The History and Culture of the
Indian People: The classical age (https://books.google.com/books?id=8QhuAAAAMAAJ&q=
gujar+khan+#search_anchor). G. Allen & Unwin. p. 64.
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ISBN 978-81-7024-643-5.
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AAAYAAJ). Directorate of Government Print., Stationery and Publications. 1967. p. 208.
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14. K. Balasubramanyam (1965). the mysore (https://books.google.com/books?id=w9jbqGLH7io
C&pg=PA174). Mittal Publications. p. 174. GGKEY:HRFC6GWCY6D. Retrieved 30 March
2013.
15. Mee, Foley, Erin B.,Helene P. (2011), Antigone on the Contemporary World Stage, Oxford
University Press, p. 111
16. "Meghalaya Etymology" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120109073209/http://nenanews.co
m/meghalya.htm). nenanews.com. Archived from the original (http://www.nenanews.com/me
ghalya.htm) on 9 January 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
17. "Mizoram Etymology" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043420/http://en.nlup.mizoram.
gov.in/?phek=bawm&bid=25). en.nlup.mizoram.gov.in. Archived from the original (http://en.nl
up.mizoram.gov.in/?phek=bawm&bid=25) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
18. Inato Yekheto Shikhu (2007). A re-discovery and re-building of Naga cultural values. Daya
Books. p. 4. ISBN 978-81-89233-55-6.
19. A. S. Atai Shimray (2005), Let Freedom Ring?: Story of Naga Nationalism, p.29
20. Tara Boland-Crewe, David Lea, The Territories and States of India, p. 208.
21. Charles Rockwell Lanman, A Sanskrit Reader: Text and Vocabulary and Notes, Harvard
University Press, 1884, pp. 229 and 273, ISBN 81-208-1363-4.
22. Phillip B. Wagoner (1986). Mode and meaning in the architecture of early medieval
Telangana (C. 1000-1300) (https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3wKAQAAMAAJ).
University of Wisconsin-Madison.
23. Acharjya, Phanibhushan (1979). Tripura
(https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.489119). Publications Division, Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 1. ASIN B0006E4EQ6 (https://www.a
mazon.com/dp/B0006E4EQ6).
24. William Wolfson Hunter; James Sutherland Cotton; Richard Burn; William Stevenson Meyer
(1908). "Imperial Gazetteer of India" (https://books.google.com/?id=TgC2AAAAIAAJ). Great
Britain India Office, Clarendon Press. "... The name has always been in historical times
some form of Andaman, which more than probably represents Handuman, the Malay from
Hanuman, treating the islands as the abode of the Hindu mythological monkey people or
savage aboriginal ..."
25. John Keay (2001). India: A History (https://books.google.com/?id=ibLUu6RlvqwC). Grove
Press. ISBN 978-0-8021-3797-5. "... and 'Nakkavaram' certainly represents the Nicobar
islands ..."
26. The New Encyclopædia Britannica (https://books.google.com/?id=abRYAAAAMAAJ).
Encyclopædia Britannica. 1998. ISBN 978-0-85229-633-2. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
"... The name Nicobar probably is derived from Nakkavaram ("Land of the Naked") ..."
27. Excelsior, Daily (31 July 2016). "Priya Sethi lays foundation stone of statue of Jambu
Lochan" (https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/priya-sethi-lays-foundation-stone-of-statue-of-jamb
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28. "Chapter 1: Introduction" (https://web.archive.org/web/20161113174155/http://delhiplanning.
nic.in/Economic%20Survey/ES%202005-06/Chpt/1.pdf) (PDF). Economic Survey of Delhi,
2005–2006. Planning Department, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi. pp. 1–
7. Archived from the original (http://delhiplanning.nic.in/Economic%20Survey/ES%202005-0
6/Chpt/1.pdf) (PDF) on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2006.
29. Bakshi, S.R. (1995) [2002]. Delhi Through Ages. Anmol Publications PVT. LTD. p. 2.
ISBN 81-7488-138-7.
30. Smith, George (1882). The Geography of British India, Political & Physical (https://archive.or
g/details/bub_gb_C20DAAAAQAAJ). J. Murray. pp. 216 (https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_
C20DAAAAQAAJ/page/n258)–217. Retrieved 1 November 2008. "raja delhi BC."
31. "Our Pasts II, History Textbook for Class VII" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070623140748/
http://www.ncert.nic.in/textbooks/testing/Index.htm). NCERT. Archived from the original (htt
p://ncert.nic.in/textbooks/testing/Index.htm) on 23 June 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
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c/getobject.pl?c.4:1:2294.platts)
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Journal of the American Oriental Society. 109 (4): 513–519. doi:10.2307/604073 (https://doi.
org/10.2307%2F604073). JSTOR 604073 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/604073).
34. Austin, Ian; Thhakur Nahar Singh Jasol. "Chauhans (Cahamanas, Cauhans)" (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20061114120751/http://mewarindia.com/ency/chat.html). The Mewar
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