States
| State name (on map) | In State Language | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh (1) | ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశ్ (Telugu) | Andhra denotes "south" in Sanskrit. Satavahanas were Maurya officials titled Andhra-Bhrutya (Officers of South). The early Indian people in area bore the name Andhra from the Satavahanas. At independence, the territory now comprising Andhra Pradesh formed parts of Hyderabad State and Madras State. In 1953, Madras State was partitioned to create Andhra Rashtram. In 1956, the Telangana region of Hyderabad State was merged along with Andhra Rashtram (another Telugu State which existed from 1-10-1953 to 31-10-1956) to form Andhra Pradesh(1-11-1956).... | |
| Arunachal Pradesh (2) | अरुणाचल प्रदेश (Hindi) | Land of the dawn-lit mountains. | In Sanskrit, aruna means "dawn-lit" and achal "mountains". |
| Assam (3) | অসম (Assamese) | "Uneven" or from "Ahom" | Indo-Aryan word Asama means "uneven". Most scholars believe that the word Assam is derived from the Ahoms, who ruled Assam for six centuries. The word Ahom itself may be derived from Shan (Syam in Assamese) or from the Indo-Aryan word "Asama" (uneven, in the sense of "unequal" or "peerless"). See Etymology of Assam. |
| Bihar (4) | बिहार (Hindi) | From vihara ("Buddhist monastery") | Foreign invaders often used abandoned viharas as military cantonments; the word Bihar may have come from the large number of viharas thus employed in the area that later became Bihar. Originally Bihar was name of a town, which was headquarter of the Muslim invaders in the Magadha region in the medieval period. The town still exists and is called Bihar or Bihar Sharif (Nalanda District). Later on the headquarter was shifted from Bihar to Patana (current Patna) by Sher Shah Suri and the whole Magadha region was called Bihar. |
| Chhattisgarh (5) | छत्तीसगढ (Hindi) | Thirty-six forts | Built to resist to invading armies. sambhalpur area next to it was called Attarahgarh or 18 forts. |
| Goa (6) | गोंय (Konkani) | The name Goa came to European languages from the Portuguese, but its precise origin is unclear. A number of theories about its origin are centered around the Sanskrit word go (cow). For example, the legend of Krishna names a mountain where he saved the cow; the mountain was named "Gomantak", which later became Goa. For other theories, see Goa#Etymology. | |
| Gujarat (7) | ગુજરાત (Gujarati) | Land of the "Gurjars" | The Gujjars were rulers of ancient Gujarat. |
| Haryana (8) | हरियाणा (Hindi) | "Abode of God" or "Green forest" | Hari refers to the Hindu deity Vishnu or Krishna, ana means "to come". It potentially refers to the incoming of Krishna during Mahabharata war. Another theory traces the name to the words "Hari" (green) and "Aranya" (forest). |
| Himachal Pradesh (9) | हिमाचल प्रदेश (Hindi) | Land of the snow clad mountains | In Sanskrit, hima means "snow" and achal "mountain". |
| Jammu and Kashmir (10) | جموں و کشمی (Kashmiri) | Jammu: Possibly named after Raja Jambu Lochan. Kashmir: Land desiccated by water or Valley of Kashyapa | From Sanskrit Ka(water) and shimeera(to desiccate). Also known as Valley of Rishi Kashyapa hence Kashmir. |
| Jharkhand (11) | झारखंड (Hindi) | Land of jhari or low forest | Jhari means dense forest in Sanskrit. "Khand" means "land." Another term for this area is "Vananchal." |
| Karnataka (12) | ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ (Kannada) | Lofty Land | From Karu + Naad = Karnaad, which means "lofty + land". "Karnatik" is the adjectival form of "Karnaad", means "of Karnaad". Refers to the Deccan plateau. In 1947, this state was formed from the princely state of Mysore. In 1956, the Kannada-speaking regions of neighboring states were added to Mysore State. The name was changed to Karnataka in 1973. |
| Kerala (13) | കേരളം (Malayalam) | Land of the Coconuts or Land Added on or Land of Cheras | The most common idea of the name is that it derives from Malayalam word 'Kerai' which means Coconut and 'alam' which means land, i.e., literally "Land of the coconut trees".The Cheras and their descendants ruled over the areas comprising Kerala for most of its history. It may also be that 'chera alam' later became Keralam. May also derive from Sanskrit keralam, meaning "the land added on" (refers to the legend that Lord Parasurama regained this land from the sea). At independence, this territory was divided among several jurisdictions, primarily the territories of Travancore and Cochin. In 1949, the state of Travancore-Cochin was created. In 1956, this area, with further boundary changes, was renamed Kerala. |
| Madhya Pradesh (14) | मध्य प्रदेश (Hindi) | Middle Province | Prior to independence, the majority of this area was administered by the British as the Central Provinces and the Central Indian States. At independence, several of these jurisdictions were joined together as the Central Provinces and Berar. In 1950, the Central Provinces and Berar was merged with Makrai and Chhatisgarh and the term "Central Provinces" was translated to Hindi as "Madhya Pradesh" ("Middle Province"). |
| Maharashtra (15) | महाराष्ट्र (Marathi) | "Great Nation", "Great Rashtrika (clan"), "Great Rashtrakuta", "The Place Is Equal As Nation". | The various theories about the origin of the word "Maharashtra" include:
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| Manipur (16) | মণিপুর (Manipuri) | Jewelled Land | |
| Meghalaya (17) | Megahalaya (Khasi) | The abode of clouds | From Sanskrit, Megha (clouds) and alaya(abode). |
| Mizoram (18) | Mizoram (Mizo) | Land of the highlanders | Mi means people and zo means highlander |
| Nagaland (19) | Nagaland (English) | Land of the Nagas | |
| Odisha (20) | ଓଡ଼ିଶା (Oriya) | Land of the Oriyas | The name of the state is derived from the Sanskrit Odra Vishaya or Odra Desa that referred to the Odra people who inhabited the central part of the region. Sanskrit and Pali literatures mention the Odra people as Odrah and Oddaka. |
| West Bengal (28) | পশ্চিমবঙ্গ (Bengali) | West of Bengal | The word Bengal derives ultimately from Sanskrit Vanga, an area that currently falls largely in eastern India and Bangladesh. Persian, Hindi, and Bengali derived Bangâlah, Bangâl and Bânglâ, respectively, from the Sanskrit original. The term West Bengal originated after the Partition of Bengal province in 1905, when the colonial administration set up the two separate provinces of West and East Bengal.Though the Partition was annulled in 1911, Bengal was again partitioned in 1947 along religious lines. The Western part of the province became a state of India known as West Bengal while East Bengal became a part of the new nation of Pakistan and was renamed East Pakistan in 1955. It attained independence from Pakistan as the new nation of Bangladesh in 1971. In 1999, the West Bengal legislative assembly voted to change the name of the state to "Bangala Rastra,"বাঙালা রাষ্ট্র (Bengali) but this change has not been approved by the central government. |
| Punjab (21) | ਪੰਜਾਬ (Punjabi/Gurmukhi) | Land of five rivers. | A combination of the Indo-Iranian words Punj (five) and āb (water). The five rivers are the Beas, Sutlej, Ravi River, Chenab River and Jhelum River. |
| Rajasthan (22) | राजस्थान (Hindi) | Land of Kings | Raja means King in Sanskrit. During British rule, this area was known as Rajputana, "land of the Rajputs" and prior to that it was known as Gurjaratra, Country ruled or protected by the Gurjars. |
| Sikkim (23) | सिक्किम (Limbu) | New Palace | The most widely accepted origin of the name Sikkim is that it is a combination of two words in the Limbu: Su, which means "new", and Khyim, which means "palace" or house, in reference to the palace built by the state's first ruler, Phuntsog Namgyal. The Tibetan name for Sikkim is Denjong, which means the "valley of rice" |
| Tamil Nadu (24) | தமிழ்நாடு (Tamil) | Tamil country | Nadu in the Tamil language means "homeland" or "nation" hence Tamil Nadu means "homeland of Tamils". The word Tamil itself means "sweet nectar". |
| Tripura (25) | ত্রিপুরা (Bengali) | Several theories exist pertaining to the origin of Tripura's name. See main article on the state of Tripura for details. | |
| Uttar Pradesh (26) | उत्तर प्रदेश (Hindi) | Northern Province | Prior to independence, the majority of the territory now comprising Uttar Pradesh was administered by the British under various names—the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, the United Provinces of British India, and simple the United Provinces—the last of which was retained at independence. In 1950, the commonly used initials U.P. were preserved by adoption of the name "Uttar Pradesh" or "Northern Province." |
| Uttarakhand (27) | उत्तराखण्ड (Hindi) | North Section Country | In 2000, the new state of Uttaranchal ("northern mountains") was split from Uttar Pradesh. In 2007, the name was changed to Uttarakhand ("northland"). |
Read more about this topic: List Of Indian States And Union Territories By The Etymology Of Their Name
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—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)