Georgia or Sakartvelo?
Georgian or kartveli?

Georgia is the western name of my country. We, locals call it Sakartvelo. We never use in Georgian language “Georgia”. Sakartvelo consists of two parts: its root, Kartvel-i, which formerly represents a resident of the central region of Kartli, and its Georgian prefix/suffix combination “sa-o” that stands for a general geographic identification meaning “the area where … live.” By the early ninth century, the definition of “Kartli” had been extended to other regions of the country, that shared similar cultures, religions, and languages. Georgians are the descendants of tribes migrants from Anatolia, which populated present day Georgia. The ethnic nucleus of the Georgian people is an amalgamation of three important related tribes: Karts, Migrelo-Zans and Svans. A singular Georgian identity began to take shape in the first centuries of the 1st millennium BCE.
The main factors which influenced the formation of the Georgian ethnics were: – strengthening of the Iberian state in the first and second centuries CE;
– adoption by the Georgians of Christianity in the IV – VI centuries; – creation of the Georgian written language.

The ethnic Georgian formation was essentially completed in the 6th – 10th centuries. This period is characterized by the strengthening and predominance of the Georgian language, as well as the establishment of a state territory and apposite cultural development. The constitution of 1995 declared the official name of the nation as Sakartvelo, with the name Georgia as its English equivalent. So, when you come to Georgia, use Sakartvelo instead of Georgia and that will make every Georgian happy to hear that.