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Etymology

The bay gets its name from the historical Bengal region (modern-day Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and the Barak valley of Southern Assam). In Ancient Indian scriptures, this water body may have been referred to as Mahodadhi (Sanskrit: महोदधि, lit. ' Great water receptacle '). Ancient Romans called it Sinus Gangeticus or Gangeticus Sinus whilst Ancient Greeks called it in Ancient Greek: Κόλπος Γαγγητικός, meaning "Gulf of the Ganges", and old European maps continued to use this name.

The other Sanskrit names for Bay of Bengal are Vaṅgopasāgara (Sanskrit: वङ्गोपसागर, lit. ' Bengal Sub-sea or Bengal Bay '), Vaṅgasāgara (Sanskrit: वङ्गसागर, lit. ' Bengal Sea '), Pūrvapayodhi (Sanskrit: पूर्वपयोधि, lit. ' Eastern Ocean ').