Why is Georgia called Georgia, and what do Georgians call their country?
Sakartvelo, Kartvelians and where the Russian and English names come from.
Short answer
Georgians call their country Sakartvelo (საქართველო), 'the land of the Kartvelians', and themselves Kartvelebi. The Russian name Gruzia goes back to the Persian word for Georgians, gurj, and the English Georgia is widely thought to share the same root, although it is often linked to St George too. In Russian, Tbilisi was officially called Tiflis until 1936.
Why
- Kartli, the central historical region, gave its name to the whole people.
- In Georgian, the prefix sa- and ending -o form the name of the place where a people lives.
- Some countries have recently switched to Sakartvelo in their own languages.
Details
The name Tbilisi comes from the word tbili, warm, because of the sulfur springs. In English the country is Georgia, the capital Tbilisi and the coastal city Batumi.
People also ask
- What do Georgians call their country?
Name origins follow the most widely accepted historians' explanations.
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How big is Georgia, and which is larger: Georgia, Armenia or Azerbaijan?
Georgia covers about 69,700 square kilometres.
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