Name of Croatia

The name of Croatia (Croatian: Hrvatska) derives from Medieval Latin Croātia, itself a derivation of the native ethnonym, earlier Xъrvatъ and modern-day Croatian: Hrvat.

The first attestation of the term is in the Latin charter of duke Trpimir from 852 AD, whose original has been lost. A copy has been preserved in a 1568 transcript; Lujo Margetić has proposed in 2002 that the document is in fact of legislative character, dating to AD 840. In it is mentioned:

The oldest stone inscription is the Latin Branimir Inscription (found in Šopot near Benkovac), where Duke Branimir is mentioned:

The earliest written monument in Croatian language, containing the ethnonym *xъrvatъ (khŭrvatŭ, IPA xŭrva:tŭ) is the Baška tablet from 1100 AD, which reads: zvъnъmirъ kralъ xrъvatъskъ ("Zvonimir, king of Croats").

The exact origin and meaning of the ethnonym Hrvat (Proto-Slavic *Xъrvátъ) is poorly known and currently subject to scientific disagreement. It is believed, that the word might not be of native Slavic lexical stock, but a borrowing. Common theories from the 20th century derive it from an Iranian origin, the root word being a third-century Scytho-Sarmatian form attested in the Tanais Tablets as Χοροάθος (Khoroáthos, alternate forms comprise Khoróatos and Khoroúathos).

This form was used to substantiate the derivation of Proto-Slavic *xъrvatъ from the Old Persian xaraxwat-, attested by the Old Iranian toponym Harahvait-, the native name of Arachosia. "Arachosia" is the Latinized form of Ancient Greek Ἀραχωσία (Arachosíā); in Old Persian inscriptions, the region is referred to as Harahuvatiš (). In Indo-Iranian it actually means "one that pours into ponds", which derives from the name of the mythological Sarasvati River. However, although the somewhat suggestive similarity, the connection to the name of Arachosia is etymologically incorrect.

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