How Bhutan Got Its name
Over the course of its history, Bhutan has been known by many names such as The Land of Medicinal Herbs and The Land of the Thunder Dragon. It was only about a century ago that the country became Bhutan. So when did Bhutan become Bhutan? There are numerous theories floating around on the subject. Here are a few interesting ones we found.
Ralph Fitch, an English merchant, is said to be the first European to have set foot on Bhutan during the 1580s. He spelt Bhutan as Bottanter and described it as the land that took four days on foot to get to from India. In the 1680s, a decade later, Italian cartographer Giacomo Cantelli da Vignola marked Bhutan on the map of India as Regno di Boutan or ‘Kingdom of Boutan.’
In the years that followed, the name was spelt Botton and even Buton by European Jesuits and explorers. Some believe that the word is derived from the Sanskrit expression Bhot-ant, meaning the end of Tibet. And others argue that its origin can be traced to the Sanskrit word Bhu-uttan which translates into highland. Both words are an accurate description as Bhutan consists of tall mountains and narrow valleys and begins where Tibet ends.
How the standardized spelling “Bhutan” stuck is still open to debate and interpretation. However, today, Bhutan has two standard names. One obviously is Bhutan. The other is Druk or Drukyul. The Bhutanese call the land Druk and take immense pride, indeed, in calling themselves Drukpa.