Etymology

The name Kerala takes the form Keralam in Malayalam, the main language of the state. However there are alternative etymologies for the name:

A 3rd-century BCE rock inscription by the Mauryan emperor Asoka the Great refers to the local ruler as Keralaputra (Sanskrit for "son of Kerala"; or "son of Chera", this is associated with a popular etymology deriving "kerala" from "kera", or coconut).

Two thousand years ago, one of three states in the region was called Cheralam in Classical Tamil: Chera and Kera are variants of the same word. The Graeco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei refers to this Keralaputra as Celobotra. Ralston Marr derives "Kerala" from the word "Cheral" that refers to the oldest known dynasty of Kerala kings. In turn the word "Cheral" is derived from the proto-Tamil-malayalam word for "lake". Another theory suggestes the name is derived from the Arabic "Khair Allah" Arabic:  خير الله.

Ancient religious texts Parasurama, surrounded by settlers, commanding Varuna to part the seas and reveal Kerala.

According to Hindu mythology, the land of Kerala was recovered from the sea by Parasurama, an avatar of Vishnu; hence Kerala is also called Parasurama Kshetram ("The Land of Parasurama"). Parasurama was an axe-wielding warrior sage. He threw his axe across the sea, and the water receded as far as it reached. According to legend this new area of land extended from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. Consensus among more scientific geographers agrees that a substantial portion of this area was indeed under the sea in ancient times. The legend later expanded, and found literary expression in the 17th or 18th century with Keralolpathi, which traces the origin of aspects of early Kerala society, such as land tenure and administration, to the story of Parasurama. Another much earlier Puranic character associated with Kerala is Mahabali, an Asura and a prototypical king of justice, who ruled the earth from Kerala. He won the war against the Devas, driving them into exile. The Devas pleaded before Lord Vishnu, who took his fifth incarnation as Vamana and pushed Mahabali down to Patala (the netherworld) to placate the Devas. There is a belief that, once a year during the Onam festival, Mahabali returns to Kerala.

The Matsya Purana, which is among the oldest of the 18 Puranas, makes the Malaya Mountains of Kerala (and Tamil Nadu) the setting for the story of Lord Matsya, the first incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and King Manu, the first man and the king of the region. The earliest Sanskrit text to mention Kerala by name is the Aitareya Aranyaka of the Rigveda. It is also mentioned in both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the two great Hindu epics.