The name Indonesia derives from two Greek words: Indos and nesos. Indos means “India” and nesos means “island.” So, Indonesia literally means “the island of India.”
The name was first used in the early 1800s by British explorer James R. Wellsted. He used it to refer to the islands off the coast of Sumatra. The name was later adopted by the Dutch East India Company and eventually became the official name of the country.