Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Resort, Rangali, Alif Dhaal Atoll, Maldives

Some medieval travelers such as Ibn Batuta called the islands "Mahal Dibiyat" (محل دبيأت) from the Arabic word Mahal ("palace"), which must be what the Berber traveler interpreted of the local name having been through Muslim North India, where Perso-Arabic words were introduced into the local vocabulary . This is the name currently inscribed in the scroll of the Maldive state emblem. The classical Persian/Arabic name for Maldives is Dibajat.
The name Maldives also might have come from the Sinhalese word Maala Divaina ("Necklace Islands"), perhaps referring to the shape of the archipelago.