Origin of name 'Keralam'

Although, many studies have been done by scholars to derive the name 'Keralam'; there is no certain theory that proves the origins of name Keralam. 

Some of the theories are:

1. From the word 'kera' meaning coconut
   The word kera in Malayalam means coconut and 'alam' means region/land. Since coconut is one of the main agricultural product in Kerala, it is assumed that the word Keralam came from Kera+Alam, meaning land of coconuts.
2. From 'Cheram'
   As per Dr. Gundert, in Kannada/Canarese pronunciation, cheram was called as 'Keram', the country between Gokarnam (Gokarana) and 'Cumari' (Kanyakumari), and the name Keralam was derived from 'Cheram'.
3. From the Tamil word 'Charal'
   As per this theory, the word Keralam came from the Tamil word Charal which means kind of mountain slope. This, down the line, got evolved to Chera/Kera country>Keralam.
   
4. From 'Cher' and 'Alam'
   Cher means muddy and alam means region, thus meaning a slushy land, Cheralam/Keralam. The word Chernta means 'added', thus it is also interpreted as land that was added to the existing mountains or addition to the land from sea.
5. Land of 'Chera'
   Another theory is that the name came from 'Chera' kings who were the rulers of the state in Chera dynasty. Thus Cheralam/Keralam meaning land of Chera kings. It is also said that the name was first recorded as Keralaputra in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription left by the Maurya emperor Ashoka (274–237 BCE), one of the Edicts of King Asoka.