There is no conclusive source for the origin of the Anglicized name "panda." The closest candidate that has been accepted as the source originates in the Nepali word "ponya," possibly referring to the adapted wrist bone. The Western world originally applied this name to the Red Panda. Until 1901, when it was erroneously stated that it was related to the Red Panda, the Giant Panda was known as "mottled bear" ("Ailuropus melanoleucus") or "particolored bear."

In most encyclopedic sources, the name "panda" or "common panda" originally referred to the lesser-known Red Panda, thus necessitated the inclusion of "giant" and "lesser/red" prefixes in front of the names. Even now, Encyclopaedia Britannica still uses "giant panda" or "panda bear" for the bear and simply "panda" for the Ailuridae, despite the popular usage of the word "panda" today.

Since the earliest collection of Chinese writings, the Chinese language has given the bear 20 different names, such as 花熊 (hua xiong) "spotted bear" and 竹熊 (zhu xiong) "bamboo bear." The most popular names in China today are 大熊貓 (dà xióng māo), literally "large bear cat," or just 熊貓 (xióng māo), "bear cat." The name may have been inspired by the Giant Panda's eyes which have pupils that are cat-like vertical slits unlike other bear species with round pupils. 

In Taiwan, the popular name for panda is the inverted 貓熊 (māo xióng) "cat bear," even though many encyclopedia and dictionaries in Taiwan still use "bear cat" as the correct name. Some linguists argue that, in this construction, "bear" instead of "cat" is the base noun, making this name more grammatically and logically correct, which may have led to the popular choice despite official writings.

वर्गीकरण
आधुनिक "शोध"
नाव
Panda diplomacy