Why go
The name Kampuchea links the modern country to the older Sanskrit Kambujadeśa, while Khmer names the people and their language. An inscription at Baksei Chamkrong near Angkor gives the name a legendary ancestor. Reading that story as a royal origin myth, rather than a literal migration record, adds context to the site's inscriptions.
The full story
Cambodia is the established English country name. In Khmer, Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit Kambujadeśa, or 'land of Kambuja.' The formal name Preah Reachanachak Kampuchea means Kingdom of Cambodia. Prateh Kampuchea is a less ceremonial way to say the country of Cambodia, while Srok Khmer means Khmer land in familiar speech. Khmer also describes the language and the majority ethnic group. The names have a much older layer at Angkor. A tenth-century inscription at Baksei Chamkrong tells of Kambu, a legendary Indian sage, marrying Mera, a naga princess. In that account, Kambuja means the descendants of Kambu. It is a story about ancestry and legitimacy, not proof that a population migrated from the region elsewhere called Kamboja. Similar ancient names appear in other Asian records, and a shared word alone does not establish a shared people. Historical writing also uses different state names for different periods, including Democratic Kampuchea under the Khmer Rouge. Keep those names tied to their dates. Kampuchea itself is not confined to that regime; it is part of the country's longer linguistic history.