What Was Rome Originally Called?

Early Latin inscriptions name the site Latium (or Latium Vetus—"Old Latium"), after the Latini tribe who settled the Alban Hills and Tiber plain. Legendary king Latinus (or Latino) gave the tribe its name. "Roma" (Greek Rhōmē) appears later, possibly from Etruscan Ruma ("teat," referencing the Palatine's shape) or Indo-European *srew- ("flow," for the Tiber). The shift from Latium to Roma reflects the city's emergence as a distinct polity from the broader Latin region.