Name Names of Sri Lanka In ancient times, Sri Lanka was known by a variety of names: ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobane and Arabs referred to it as Serendib. Ceilão was the name given to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese when they arrived on the island in 1505, which was transliterated into English as Ceylon. In 1972, the official name of the country was changed to "Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka" (in Sinhala śrī laṃkā, whereas the island itself is referred to as laṃkāva, in Tamil ilaṅkai, iˈlaŋgai). In 1978 it was changed to "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka".The current name is derived from Sanskrit word laṃkā, meaning "resplendent land", which was also the name of the island as described in the ancient Indian epics Mahabharata and the Ramayana.