The city and the region has been known by many different names and versions of those names. Some scholars suggest that the original name of Kandy was Katubulu Nuwara located near present Watapuluwa. However the more popular historical name is Senkadagala or Senkadagalapura, officially Senkadagala Siriwardhana Maha Nuwara (meaning 'great city of Senkadagala of growing resplendence'), generally shortened to 'Maha Nuwara'. According to folklore this name originated from one of the several possible sources. One being the city was named after a brahmin with the name Senkanda who lived in a cave near by, and another being a queen of Vikramabahu III was named Senkanda, and after a coloured stone named Senkadagala. The Kingdom of Kandy has also been known by various names. The English name Kandy, which originated during the colonial era, is derived from an anglicised version of the Sinhalese Kanda Uda Rata (meaning the land on the mountain) or Kanda Uda Pas Rata (the five counties/countries on the mountain) . The Portuguese shortened this to "Candea", using the name for both the kingdom and its capital. In Sinhalese, Kandy is called Maha Nuvara, meaning "Great City" or "Capital", although this is most often shortened to Nuvara, pronounced Nuwara.
