Ceylon to Sri Lanka
Greeks called the island Taprobane, Arabs Serendib and European mapmakers Ceylon, the name it kept through British rule and at independence in 1948. On 22 May 1972 a new constitution made it a republic and gave it back the name its own kings had used: Sri Lanka.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 28 September 2026Suggest a correction
- CeylonEuropean name; official through British rule and until 1972
- Sri Lanka1972–
Many names for one island
Outsiders have had many names for the island. The ancient Greeks called it Taprobane, the Arabs Serendib, and later European mapmakers Ceylon.[1] Sri Lanka, or an older form of it, had been the name used under the island’s own Sinhalese kings, before foreign powers took over after 1505.[2]
The Portuguese came first, then the Dutch, and in 1796 the British, who ruled Ceylon as a crown colony for about 150 years. It became independent on 4 February 1948, still as Ceylon.[2][1]
A republic and a name
A constituent assembly began work on a new constitution in 1970, and it was adopted on 22 May 1972. It declared the country a free, sovereign and independent republic, replaced the British governor-general with a president, and changed the name from Ceylon to Sri Lanka.[3][1]
Ceylon has not disappeared: it is still used occasionally for trade purposes.[1]
“the name of Ceylon was changed to Sri Lanka by this constitution”[3]
Timeline
Sources
- [1]Sri Lanka · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- [2]Sri Lanka becomes a Republic · The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) · 17 May 2020
- [3]Becoming a republic · Department of National Archives, Sri Lanka
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.