Names of Cambodia

The name of Cambodia in Khmer is កម្ពុជា (: Kâmpŭchéa, ALA-: Kambujā [kampuciə]), officially ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា (UNGEGN: Preăhréachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchéa, ALA-LC: Braḥrājāṇācakr Kambujā [preahriəciənaːcak kampuciə]; lit. 'Kingdom of Cambodia'). This term derives from Sanskrit कम्बोजदेश (IAST: Kambojadeśa), which means the "land of Kamboja".

The same name (i.e. Kamboj/Kambuja) is also found in Burmese and Thai chronicles referring to regions within those kingdoms. An origin-myth recorded in the Baksei Chamkrong inscription, dated AD 947, derives Kambuja from Svayambhuva Kamboj, a legendary Indian sage under whose gotra later, the merchant Kaundinya I reached the Indochinese peninsula and married a Nāga princess named Soma, thus uniting the Indian and local Southeast Asian Funanese cultures. In this story Kambuja derives from Kambu+ja, and means "descendants of Kambu".

Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchéa means "Kingdom of Cambodia". Etymologically, its components are: preăh ("sacred"); réach- ("king, royal, realm", from Sanskrit); -éana- (from Pāli āṇā, "authority, command, power"); -châkr (from Sanskrit chakra, meaning "wheel", a symbol of power and rule).

The name used on formal occasions, such as political speeches and news programs, is ប្រទេសកម្ពុជា Prâtés Kâmpŭchéa [prɑteːh kampuciə], translated to "the Country of Cambodia". The colloquial name most used by Cambodians is ស្រុកខ្មែរ Srŏk Khmêr [srok kʰmae], translated to "Land of the Khmers" or "Khmer’s Land". srŏk is a Mon-Khmer word roughly equal to the Sanskritic Prâtés, but less formal.