Name of the Czech Republic

The name of the Czech Republic derives from the Slavic tribe of Czechs (Czech: Češi). The Kingdom of Bohemia existed between 1085 and 1348, and from 1348 to 1918 it is referred to as the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. After the break-up of the Habsburg Empire, which the kingdom was part of since the seventeenth century, the new country Czechoslovakia was created by the union of the Czech lands and Slovakia.

After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in the so-called "Velvet Divorce" of 1993, the name "the Czech Republic" (Czech: Česká republika) was created as the official long-form name. The official short-form Czech name for the Czech lands (i.e. Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia) is Česko. While almost all languages adopted variants of Česko for the short-form name at this time, the English equivalent "Czechia"/ˈtʃɛki.ə/, though attested as early as 1841, is still quite rarely used in the English-speaking world, however, its usage is increasing.

The country is named after the Czechs (Czech: Čechové), a Slavic tribe residing in central Bohemia that subdued the surrounding tribes in the late 9th century and created the Czech/Bohemian state. The origin of the name of the tribe itself is unknown. According to legend, it comes from their leader Čech, who brought them to Bohemia. Research regards Čech as a derivative of the root čel- (member of the people, kinsman).

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