Why and when was Bombay renamed Mumbai?
The name “Mumbai” is derived from Mumba or Maha-Amba – the name of the Hindu goddess Mumbadevi – and Aai, “mother” in Marathi. The name Bombay had its origins in the 16th century when the Portuguese arrived in the area and called it by various names, which finally took the written form Bombaim. After the British gained possession in the 17th century, it was anglicised to Bombay, although it was known as Mumbai or Mambai to Marathi and Gujarati-speakers, and as Bambai in Hindi, Urdu. The name was officially changed to its Marathi pronunciation of Mumbai in 1996.
