Keralam: Kerala’s name change rooted in history and language

The Union Cabinet’s approval to rename Kerala as Keralam reflects the State’s linguistic and historical identity. Rooted in Dravidian tradition and ancient records, the move aligns the official name with local usage and long-standing constitutional demands

Thiruvananthapuram: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approving Kerala government‘s proposal to rename the State as “Keralam”, draws directly from the region’s ancient linguistic and historical roots dating back several centuries.

The decision marks the culmination of a long process through which Kerala sought to align its official name with how the state has always been known in its own language.

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In Malayalam, the State is called “Keralam”, a form rooted in Dravidian linguistic tradition, ancient political history and early historical records, including the inscriptions of Mauryan emperor Ashoka.

Kerala Legislative Assembly had twice, in August 2023 and June 2024, unanimously adopted resolutions urging the Centre to amend the First Schedule of the Constitution and rename the State as Keralam in all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule.

The resolutions were moved by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and were supported without dissent by both the ruling LDF and the Congress-led UDF opposition. Speaker A N Shamseer had declared the resolutions adopted after a show of hands.

The House passed the resolution for a second time after the Union Home Ministry suggested technical changes to the first proposal.

The State government maintained that the demand was not symbolic but a correction of how the State’s name was officially recorded in constitutional documents.

The linguistic argument behind the demand has been central to the State’s case.

In Malayalam and other Dravidian languages, place names typically carry the suffix “am”. Words such as Malayalam and Tamilakam follow this structure.

Linguists say that “Keralam” is the grammatically complete form in Malayalam, while “Kerala” is an adaptation used in English and several other languages.

Scholars explain that Sanskrit and Dravidian words ending with “am” often lose the final consonant when adopted into English.

They argue that Ramam becomes Rama and Krishnam becomes Krishna. In the same way, Keralam gradually came to be used as Kerala in English usage, even though the Malayalam form remained unchanged.

Historians trace the name further back to the ancient Chera dynasty, which ruled large parts of present day Kerala.

The land was known as Cheralam, combining Chera and alam, meaning land or region. Over time, phonetic shifts turned Cheralam into Keralam.

Renowned historians from the state say the strongest historical evidence comes from the 3rd century BCE inscriptions of Emperor Ashoka.

In his Rock Edict II, Ashoka refers to a southern ruler as “Keralaputra”, widely regarded as the earliest recorded reference to the name.

While the popular belief that Kerala means “land of coconuts” remains widespread, historians describe it as a later folk interpretation rather than the original source of the name.

The political consensus around the renaming has widened in recent months.

In January 2026, the Kerala unit of the BJP extended support to the move, with State BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar writing to both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan backing the change.

He said recognising the name Keralam would help preserve linguistic culture and strengthen social unity.

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal of the Kerala government to change the name of the state to Keralam. The Centre’s approval comes ahead of the Assembly elections in Kerala.