The name Udmurt comes from *odo-mort 'meadow people,' where the first part represents the Permic root *od(o)[8] meaning 'meadow, glade, turf, greenery'.

This, in turn, is thought to have been borrowed from the Indo-Aryan term *maryá- 'man', literally 'mortal, one who is bound to die' (< PIE *mer- 'to die'), compare Old Indic márya 'young warrior' and Old Indic marut 'chariot warrior', both connected specifically with horses and chariots.

[9] This is supported by a document dated 1557, in which the Udmurts are referred to as lugovye lyudi 'meadow people', alongside the traditional Russian name otyaki.

[10] On the other hand, in the Russian tradition, the name 'meadow people' refers to the inhabitants of the left bank of a river in general.

Most relevant in this regard is the recent theory proposed by V. V. Napolskikh and S. K. Belykh, who suppose that the ethnonym was borrowed from Proto-Iranian entirely: *anta-marta meaning 'resident of outskirts, border zone' (cf.

[11] During the course of the Russian Empire, Udmurts have been referred to mainly as Chud Otyatskaya (чудь отяцкая), Otyaks, Wotyaks[12] or Votyaks, all being exonyms.

Small groups live in the neighboring areas of Kirov Oblast and Perm Krai, Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, and Mari El.

[12] James George Frazer also mentions a rite performed by the people in his book The Golden Bough.