Silla (English)
Where does "Silla" come from?
The name Silla originates from the Korean term '신라' (Silla), which was the name of a powerful ancient kingdom that dominated the Korean Peninsula for nearly a millennium. This title was adopted into English through modern romanization systems used to translate the historical Korean characters. Today, the word serves as a direct linguistic bridge to the era of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
Full etymology tree
- Silla (English), 'An ancient kingdom in modern Korea, one of the Three Kingdoms, existing from 57 BCE to 935 CE; at its maximum covering all of modern South Korea and most of modern North Korea.'
- derived 신라 (Silla) (Korean), 'Silla (an ancient kingdom in modern Korea, one of the Three Kingdoms, existing from 57 BCE to 935 CE; at its maximum covering all of modern South Korea and most of modern North Korea)'
- inherited 新羅 (Silla) (Hanja)
- derived 신라 (Silla) (Korean), 'Silla (an ancient kingdom in modern Korea, one of the Three Kingdoms, existing from 57 BCE to 935 CE; at its maximum covering all of modern South Korea and most of modern North Korea)'
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris