The name of the Andaman Islands is ancient. A theory that became prevalent in the late 19th century is that it derives from Andoman, the Malay form of Hanuman, the Sanskrit name of the Indian monkey-god.
It is possible that ancient geographers like Ptolemy also knew of the Andamans but referred to them by a different name. The Persian navigator Al-Ramhormuzi, in his 10th-century book Ajaib al-Hind (The wonders of India), described the islands as being inhabited by fierce cannibalistic tribes. The book also mentions an island he called Andaman al-Kabir (Great Andaman).
The Andaman and Nicobar islands are called Timaittivu ("impure islands" in Tamil) in Chola Dynasty chronicles.
In the thirteenth century, Marco Polo briefly mentions the Andamans (calling them Angamanain), though it is uncertain whether he visited the islands and, if he did, whether he met the natives, because he describes them as having heads like dogs and immediately adds that they are cannibals.Another Italian traveler, Niccolò de' Conti (c. 1440), mentioned the islands and said that the name means "Island of Gold".