http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
The word "China" is derived from Cin (چین), a Persian name for China popularized in Europe by the account of the 13th-century explorer Marco Polo.[25][26] The first recorded use in English dates from 1555.[27] The Persian word is, in turn, derived from the Sanskrit word Cīna (चीन),[28] which was used as a name for China as early as AD 150.[29] There are various scholarly theories regarding the origin of this word. The traditional theory, proposed in the 17th century by Martino Martini, is that "China" is derived from "Qin" (秦), the westernmost of the Chinese kingdoms during the Zhou Dynasty, or from the succeeding Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC).[30] In the Hindu scriptures Mahābhārata[31] and Manusmṛti (Laws of Manu), the word Cīna is used to refer to a country located in the Tibetan-Burman borderlands east of India.[32]