How the Indian States and Union Territories got their names?

India is a multilingual country with a unique blend of modernity and tradition. Harboring over a billion people, India unites people hailing from different backgrounds, religions, beliefs and is indeed a 'potpourri' of cultures, which is clearly visible in the name of its states and union territories. But have you ever wondered how these states and union territories got their names? The Republic of India was constituted in 1947 as a union of states but the state boundaries were rearranged along the linguistic lines after the States Reorganisation Act of 1956. Many states were given names in their own native languages and many states were named due to their geographical characteristics, peculiar history or populations, and colonial influences. Here is how the name of states and union territories were originated.

States:

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra is the name of a tribe mentioned in ancient Sanskrit literature, later used as a synonym for Telugu people. The Sanskrit meaning of "Andhra" is "South" and "Pradesh" means "Province".

Arunachal Pradesh

The name Arunachal Pradesh has been originated from Sanskrit words Aruna and Achal.The Sanskrit meaning of "Aruna" is "Dawn-lit" and "Achal" is "Mountains".

Assam

Assam is named after the Ahoms who ruled over Assam. The word "Ahom" has been derived from "Shan" (syam in Assamese) or from the Sanskrit word "Asama"

Bihar

The name Bihar has been derived from the word "Vihara" which is a Pali word and means "Abode". Bihar was earlier the Adobe of Buddhist monks.

Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh translates to "Thirty-six forts" in Hindi. According to several theories the term "Thirty-six forts" may refer to the 36 pillars of a temple, 36 former feudal territories or 36 houses.

Goa

The name Goa has been originated from the Sanskrit word "Go" which means "Cow".

Gujarat

The name Gujarat has been originated from the "Gurjars", who ruled the area around the 8th century.

Haryana

The name Haryana means abode of Gods and has been derived from the Sanskrit words "Hari" means "God Vishnu" and "Ayana" means "Home".

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal means the home of snowy mountains. The name has a Sanskrit origin where "Hima" means "Snow’ and "Achal" means "Mountains".

Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu has been named after the King "Jambu Lochan". And Kashmir means land desiccated from the water. The name has been derived from the Sanskrit words "Ka" means "Water" and "Shimira" means "To desiccate".

Jharkhand

The name Jharkhand has been originated from the Sanskrit words Jhari and Khand.The Sanskrit meaning of "Jhari" is "Dense forest" and "Khand" is "Land".

Karnataka

The name Karnataka has been derived from the words "Karu" which means "Lofty" and "Naad" which means "Land", referring to the Deccan plateau.

Kerala

Kerala originated as an addition of land mass by the sea. Lord Parasurama reclaimed the land from the sea. The name has been derived from "Chernna" means "Added" and "Alam" means "Land". The Chera dynasty, which ruled most of Kerala from the 1st to the 5th centuries AD, gave its name to the region; chera alam later became Keralam. The Sanskrit word "Keralam" means "The land added on".

Madhya Pradesh

The name Madhya Pradesh has been derived from the Hindi words "Madhya" means "Central" and "Pradesh" means "Province".

Maharashtra

Maharashtra means a great nation and has originated from the clan known as Rashtrika. The name Maharashtra has been derived from a compound of Sanskrit word "Maha" means "Great" and the word rashtrika.The word rashtrika is a Sanskritized form of Ratta, the name of a tribe or dynasty of petty chiefs ruling in the Deccan region.

Manipur

The name Manipur has been derived from the words "Mani" which means "Jewel" and "Pur" which means "City".

Meghalaya

The name Meghalaya means abode of clouds and has been derived from the Sanskrit words "Megha" means "Clouds" and "Alaya" means "Abode".

Mizoram

The name Mizoram has been derived from the words "Mi" means the "People", "Zo" means "Highlander" and "Ram" means "Land"

Nagaland

Naga is an exonym used to describe several tribes in the region. The origin of the word "Naga" is the Burmese word "Naka", meaning people with earrings or pierced noses.

Odisha

The name Odisha has been derived from the Sanskrit word "Odra Vishaya" or "Odra Desa", referring to the Odra people who inhabited the central part of the region.

Punjab

The name Punjab has been originated from the Persian words "Punj" means "Five" and Ab means "Water", referring to the five rivers Beas, Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum.

Rajasthan

The name Rajasthan has been derived from the Sanskrit word "Raja" means "King. During British rule, this area was known as Rajputana, "Land of the Rajputs".

Sikkim

The name Sikkim has been originated from the combination of two words in Limbu, "Su" means "new" and "Khyim" means "Palace" or "House", referring to the palace built by the state's first ruler, Phuntsog Namgyal. The Tibetan name for Sikkim is Denjong, which means "Valley of Rice".

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu means homeland of Tamils. The name has been derived from the Tamil word "Nadu" means "Homeland" or "Nation".

Telangana

The name Telangana has been derived from the word "Trilinga", as in the "Trilinga desha", which translates to "the country of the three Lingas", referring to the descended in the lingam form by Lord Shiva on the three mountains, Kaleshwaram, Srisailam and Draksharam, which marked the boundaries of the Trilingadesha.

Tripura

The name Tripura has been derived from the Kokborok words "Tui" means "Water" and "Pra" means "near" and Sanskrit words "Tri" means "Three" and "Pura" means "city", referring to the presiding deity of the Tripura Sundari Temple at Udaipur, one of the 51 Shakti Peethas and to the legendary tyrant king Tripur, who reigned in the region.

Uttar Pradesh

The name Uttar Pradesh has been derived from the Hindi words "Uttar" means "Northern" and "Pradesh" means "Province".

Uttarakhand

The name Uttarakhand has been derived from the words "Utta" means "North" and "Khand" means "Land".

West Bengal

The name Bengal has been derived from the words "Bonga" means "God of the Santals" and "Aal" means "device used in Agriculture referring to the tribe that settled in the area around 12th century and the Austric word for the sun god.

Union Territories

Andaman and Nicobar Island

The name of the Andaman islands has been derived from Sanskrit via the Malay Handuman, named for the deity Hanuman. An Italian traveler Niccolò de' Conti mentioned the word Andaman meant "Island of Gold". The name Nicobar has been derived from the Chola dynasty name for the islands, referring to Tamil word "Nakkavaram" means "Naked man" inscribed on a Tanjore inscription of 11th century.

Chandigarh

This city beautiful got its name from a large Chandi temple that protected the locals.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Dadra and Nagar Haveli got its name from the towns of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Daman and Diu

Daman and Diu got its name from the towns of Daman and Diu.

Delhi

Delhi's eponym is Dhillu or Dilu, referring to a king of the Mauryan dynasty, who built the city in the 1st century and named it after himself. The name has been originated from Hindi/Prakrit word "Dhili" means "Loose", used by the Tomaras to refer to the city because the Iron Pillar built by Raja Dhava had a weak foundation and was replaced. Delhi's original name was Dhilika and was derived from the word "Dilli" means " Threshold" or "Gateway", referring to the corruption of dehleez or dehali.

Lakshadweep

The name Lakshadweep has been derived from Sanskrit words "Laksha" means "A hundred thousand" and "Dweep" means "Island".

Pondicherry

Pondicherry was formerly known as Puducherry, this name has been derived from Tamil words "Pudu" means "New" and "Cheri" means "Settlement"