The historical name "Ragusa" is recorded in the Greek form (, Latinized ) in the 10th century. It was recorded in various forms in the medieval period, "Rausia, Lavusa, Labusa, Raugia, Rachusa". Various attempts have been made to etymologize the name. Suggestions include derivation from Greek , "grape"; from Greek , "narrow passage"; Greek "ragged (of rocks)", () "fissure"; from the name of the Epirote tribe of the "Rhogoi", from an unidentified Illyrian substrate. A connection to the name of Sicilian Ragusa has also been proposed. Putanec (1993) gives a review of etymological suggestion, and favours an explanation of the name as pre-Greek ("Pelasgian"), from a root cognate to Greek "fissure", with a suffix "-ussa" also found in the Greek name of Brač, "Elaphousa".