Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE NAME GAME
Cambodia has changed its name so many times over the last few decades that there are understandable
grounds for confusion. To the Cambodians, their country is Kampuchea. The name is derived from the
word Kambuja, meaning 'those born of Kambu', the mythical founder of the country. It dates back as
far as the 10th century. The Portuguese 'Camboxa' and the French 'Cambodge', from which the Eng-
lish name 'Cambodia' is derived, are adaptations of 'Kambuja'.
It was the Khmer Rouge that insisted the outside world use the name Kampuchea. Changing the
country's official English name back to Cambodia was intended as a symbolic move to distance the
present government in Phnom Penh from the bitter connotations of the name Kampuchea, which
Westerners associate with the Khmer Rouge regime.
