Sri Lanka was formerly called Ceylon before adopting its present name in 1972.
The island lies in the Indian Ocean southeast of India and has a recorded history stretching back more than two thousand years. European powers used forms of the name Ceylon during the colonial period, including under Portuguese, Dutch, and British rule.
Ceylon became independent from Britain in 1948 while retaining that name. A new republican constitution adopted in 1972 changed the country’s official name to the Republic of Sri Lanka. The word Lanka has deep roots in South Asian literature and history, while Sri is an honorific meaning “resplendent” or “venerable.”
The country’s official name is the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Ceylon survives in names such as Ceylon tea, a globally recognized export. A common confusion is with Sinhala, which is the language and ethnic identity associated with much of the island’s population, not the modern country’s former official name.