FromTuvaluanTuuvalu(literally“eight standing together”) in reference to the eight inhabited islands of Tuvalu, although Tuvalu consists of nine islands. The ninth island,Niulakita, was inhabited in 1949. Compare toProto-Austronesian*walu(“eight”).
2024 March 22, Emma Bubola, “The A.I. Boom Makes Millions for an Unlikely Industry Player: Anguilla”, inThe New York Times[1]:
Tuvalu, a string of islands northwest of Australia, sold the rights to its suffix, “.tv,” to a Canadian entrepreneur for $50 million, and used the money to put electricity on the outer islands, create scholarships and finance the process to join the United Nations.