Cumuḍa (sometimes Cimuda or Cunuda) is the oldest known endonym of Hami, when it was founded by a people known in Han Chinese sources as the Xiao Yuezhi ("Lesser Yuezhi"), during the 1st millennium BC.

The oldest attested Chinese names is "昆莫" (Kūnmò; by the time of the Han dynasty it was referred to in Chinese as "伊吾" (Yīwú) or "伊吾卢" (Yīwúlú), in the Tang dynasty as Yīzhōu, 伊州.

By the 10th century CE, the city and its residents were known to the Han as "仲雲" (pinyin: Zhòngyún; Wade–Giles: Tchong-yun).
A monk named Gao Juhui, who had traveled to the Tarim Basin, wrote that the Zhongyun were descendants of the Xiao Yuezhi and that the king of Zhongyun resided near Lop Nur.

Following the subsequent settlement of Uyghur-speaking people in the area, Cumuḍa became known as Čungul, Xungul, Qumul, Qomul and Kumul (Yengi Yezik̡: K̡umul, K̡omul).

The toponym Yīwúlú also appears as "伊吾廬" in the History of the Yuan dynasty, the biographies of which include references to the place using both names: Baurchuk Art Tekin (巴而朮阿而忒的斤) bases his troops at Hāmìlì in juan 122, while one Tabun (塔本) is recorded as being a man of Yīwúlú in juan 124.

During the Yuan dynasty the Mongolian name for the place, Qamil, transcribed into Chinese as "哈密力" (Hāmìlì), was widely used.

Marco Polo reported visiting "Camul" in the mid-14th century and that was the name under which it first appeared on European maps, during the 16th century.

From the Ming dynasty onwards, Qumul was known in Han sources as "哈密" (Hāmì).

When Matteo Ricci visited the city in 1605 in his account of the Portuguese Jesuit Benedict Goës, he used the same spelling as well.

Lionel Giles has recorded the following names (with his Wade–Giles forms of the Chinese names converted to Pinyin):
Kunwu (Zhou)
Yiwu or Yiwulu (Han)
Yiwu Jun (Sui)
Yi Zhou (Tang)
Kumul, Kamul, Camul (Turkic)
Khamil (Mongol)
Hami (Han Chinese name)
Cumuḍa (sometimes Cimuda or Cunuda) is the oldest known endonym of Hami, when it was founded by a people known in Han Chinese sources as the Xiao Yuezhi ("Lesser Yuezhi"), during the 1st millennium BC.
The oldest attested Chinese names is "昆莫" (Kūnmò; by the time of the Han dynasty it was referred to in Chinese as "伊吾" (Yīwú) or "伊吾卢" (Yīwúlú), in the Tang dynasty as Yīzhōu, 伊州.
By the 10th century CE, the city and its residents were known to the Han as "仲雲" (pinyin: Zhòngyún; Wade–Giles: Tchong-yun). A monk named Gao Juhui, who had traveled to the Tarim Basin, wrote that the Zhongyun were descendants of the Xiao Yuezhi and that the king of Zhongyun resided near Lop Nur.
Following the subsequent settlement of Uyghur-speaking people in the area, Cumuḍa became known as Čungul, Xungul, Qumul, Qomul and Kumul (Yengi Yezik̡: K̡umul, K̡omul).
The toponym Yīwúlú also appears as "伊吾廬" in the History of the Yuan dynasty, the biographies of which include references to the place using both names: Baurchuk Art Tekin (巴而朮阿而忒的斤) bases his troops at Hāmìlì in juan 122, while one Tabun (塔本) is recorded as being a man of Yīwúlú in juan 124.
During the Yuan dynasty the Mongolian name for the place, Qamil, transcribed into Chinese as "哈密力" (Hāmìlì), was widely used.
Marco Polo reported visiting "Camul" in the mid-14th century and that was the name under which it first appeared on European maps, during the 16th century.
From the Ming dynasty onwards, Qumul was known in Han sources as "哈密" (Hāmì).
When Matteo Ricci visited the city in 1605 in his account of the Portuguese Jesuit Benedict Goës, he used the same spelling as well.
Lionel Giles has recorded the following names (with his Wade–Giles forms of the Chinese names converted to Pinyin):
Kunwu (Zhou)
Yiwu or Yiwulu (Han)
Yiwu Jun (Sui)
Yi Zhou (Tang)
Kumul, Kamul, Camul (Turkic)
Khamil (Mongol)
Hami (Han Chinese name)
Hami