An unchanged name

Bulgaria has never changed its name from its foundation to the present day. Our people were called “Bulgarians” in foreign chronicles as early as the 4th century, although there are many theories about the origin of the word “Bulgarians”, or “Vulgares”. The first use of the word “Bulgaria” is believed to occur in the proceedings of the Sixth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople, held in 680–681. There, the expression “the war with Bulgaria” was used instead of “the war with the Bulgarians”. Byzantine writers subsequently popularised the term and began systematically referring to our country as “Βουλγαρнα”, or “Bulgaria”. Later, Nikephoros used the term when naming Kubrat’s state “Old or Great Bulgaria”.