The word Tunisia is derived from Tunis; a city and capital of modern-day Tunisia. The present form of the name, with its Latinate suffix -ia, evolved from French Tunisie. The French derivative Tunisie was adopted in some European languages with slight modifications, introducing a distinctive name to designate the country. Other languages remained untouched, such as the Russian Туни́с (Tunís) and Spanish Túnez. In this case, the same name is used for both country and city, as with the Arabic تونس, and only by context can one tell the difference.
The name Tunis can be attributed to different origins. It is generally associated with the Berber root tns, which means "to lie down" or "encampment". It is sometimes also associated with the Phoenician goddess Tanith (aka Tunit), ancient city of Tynes