The word kotta comes from Malay word kota which in turn comes from the Sanskrit word कोट्ट (kota) which means fort, fortress, castle, fortified house, fortification, works, city, town, or place encircled by walls. Mara likely a corruption of Malay word muara which means estuary, thus the name kotta mara means estuary fort. In various publications it is also written as kotta-mara, kota mara, kotamara, and cotta mara. In Indonesian sources it is known as lanting kotamara, with the word “lanting” meaning raft house, a traditional Banjar floating house. According to the Great Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), kota mara means (1) Wall on a ship to protect men mounting the cannon (2) Terrace or wall over a castle which a cannon is mounted. According to H. Warington Smyth, kota mara means transverse deck bulkhead at stem and stern (of a ship).
