Meaning: Its source is an English expression meaning "The ancient Asian nation."

Popularity: The name China ranked 3089th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Though this name appears on the 1990 U.S. Census lists, it is used by only a small percentage of the general population.

Narrative: The source of the English name for the world's most populous country is not a Chinese word. It is found in Sanskrit around the beginning of the Common Era, and appears in the 16th-century writings of Marco Polo as ''Chin.'' The ultimate origin of the name is a matter of debate among scholars.