It was Banda himself who chose the name "Malawi" for the former Nyasaland; he had seen it on an old French map as the name of a "Lake Maravi" in the land of the Bororos, and liked the sound and appearance of the word as "Malawi"
Ndi Banda yemwe adasankha dzina loti 'Malawi' kutchula Nyasaland wakale; Analiwona pa mapu akale achifalansa ngati dzina la 'Nyanja ya Maravi' m'dziko la Bororo, ndipo anakonda kumveka ndi maonekedwe a mawu akuti 'Malawi'