The word Lepcha (endonym Roang kup) is considered to be the anglicised version of the Nepalese word lepche meaning "vile speakers" or "inarticulate speech".
This was at first a derogatory nickname but is no longer seen as negative.

The origin of the Lepcha is unknown.
They may have originated in Myanmar, Tibet or Mongolia but the Lepcha people themselves firmly believe that they did not migrate to the current location from anywhere and are indigenous to the region.
They speak a Tibeto-Burman language which some classify as Himalayish.
Based on this, some anthropologists suggest they emigrated directly from Tibet to the north, Japan or from Eastern Mongolia.
Others suggest a more complex migration that started in southeast Tibet, a migration to Thailand, Burma, or Japan, then a navigation of the Ayeyarwady River and Chindwin rivers, a crossing of the Patkoi range coming back west, and finally entering ancient India (this supported by Austroasiatic languages substrata in their vocabularies).
While migrating westward through India, they are surmised to have passed through southern Bhutan before reaching their final destination near Kanchenjunga.
The Lepcha people themselves do not have any tradition of migration, and hence they conclude that they are autochthonous to the region, currently falling under the state of Sikkim, Darjeeling District of West Bengal, eastern Nepal and the southwestern parts of Bhutan.
In the Mechi Zone, they form 7% of the population of Ilam District, 2% in Panchthar District, and 10% of the population in Taplejung District.
In Sikkim as a whole they are considered to be around 15% of the population of the state.

The Lepcha people were earlier ruled by Pano (King) Gaeboo Achyok.
Pano Gaeboo Achyok was instrumental in uniting the Lepcha people and to honour him, the Lepcha people celebrate 20 December of every year as Pano Gaeboo Achyok celebrations day.
Pano Gaeboo Achyok extended the Lepcha kingdom from Bhutan in the east to Ilam (Nepal) in the west and from Sikkim to the northern tips of present day Bangladesh.
The word Lepcha (endonym Roang kup) is considered to be the anglicised version of the Nepalese word lepche meaning "vile speakers" or "inarticulate speech". This was at first a derogatory nickname but is no longer seen as negative.
The origin of the Lepcha is unknown. They may have originated in Myanmar, Tibet or Mongolia but the Lepcha people themselves firmly believe that they did not migrate to the current location from anywhere and are indigenous to the region. They speak a Tibeto-Burman language which some classify as Himalayish. Based on this, some anthropologists suggest they emigrated directly from Tibet to the north, Japan or from Eastern Mongolia. Others suggest a more complex migration that started in southeast Tibet, a migration to Thailand, Burma, or Japan, then a navigation of the Ayeyarwady River and Chindwin rivers, a crossing of the Patkoi range coming back west, and finally entering ancient India (this supported by Austroasiatic languages substrata in their vocabularies). While migrating westward through India, they are surmised to have passed through southern Bhutan before reaching their final destination near Kanchenjunga. The Lepcha people themselves do not have any tradition of migration, and hence they conclude that they are autochthonous to the region, currently falling under the state of Sikkim, Darjeeling District of West Bengal, eastern Nepal and the southwestern parts of Bhutan. In the Mechi Zone, they form 7% of the population of Ilam District, 2% in Panchthar District, and 10% of the population in Taplejung District. In Sikkim as a whole they are considered to be around 15% of the population of the state.
The Lepcha people were earlier ruled by Pano (King) Gaeboo Achyok. Pano Gaeboo Achyok was instrumental in uniting the Lepcha people and to honour him, the Lepcha people celebrate 20 December of every year as Pano Gaeboo Achyok celebrations day. Pano Gaeboo Achyok extended the Lepcha kingdom from Bhutan in the east to Ilam (Nepal) in the west and from Sikkim to the northern tips of present day Bangladesh.
Lepcha people