As a place name, the word "Kunming" was difficult to research before the Tang Dynasty. There are different opinions about the origin of the word "Kunming". Most scholars believe that "Kunming" was originally the ethnic name of an ancient nation in southwest China. "Kunming" was written as "Kun", "Kun Mi" or "Lin Kun" in China ancient literature. In the early days, it was not the name of a city, but the name of an ancient nation living in the southwest of China, that is, today's western Yunnan and southwestern Sichuan.

According to records, the appearance of the word "Kunming" can be traced back to the period of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. Sima Qian, a famous historian at that time, wrote in Historical Records Biography of Southwest Yi: "From the east of the same teacher (now Baoshan) in the west to the north, Zhang and Kun all migrated with livestock, but they were not in their usual places and could travel thousands of miles." Thus, the word "Kunming" is the ethnic name of a minority in ancient Yunnan.

"Kunming" appeared as a place name in the Tang Dynasty. "In the second year of Wude, Kunming County set up a town, and the land of Kunming was connected to the south, hence the name." Accordingly, Kunming County is not Kunming today, but Dingze Town (now Yanyuan County) in Sichuan. The reason why Dingze Town was named "Kunming" in the Tang Dynasty has been clearly written in the records, which is why it is close to Kunming. Kunming here still refers to the Kunming people. Before the Gai Han and Tang Dynasties, most ethnic groups in Kunming settled in western Yunnan. It was not until Nanzhao and Dali that Wuman and Baiman rose, and the place where Kunming people lived was occupied by Wuman and Baiman. Kunming talents moved eastward to central Yunnan and lived around Dianchi Lake. In the second year of Song Blessing (1254), Dali was destroyed in the Yuan Dynasty, and a "Thousand Houses in Kunming" was established in Shanshan. "Kunming" began to appear as a place name and has continued to this day.

As for the meaning of the word "Kunming", Jin Changju explained: "Most of the migrants grow Kunming in Japan, and a few species grow in Japan." This sentence can be interpreted as the Kunming nationality with a large population.

As for some local chronicles: "The Wang Liangshan Mountain in the north of Kunming is named Kunlun ... The name of Kunming is taken from the flood in Yunnan, and the southern foot of Kunlun Mountain has a scene of separation from (Lebanon), which is not empty ... The name of Kunming is nothing more than a symbol of Yunnan's civilized scene ... It is said that the sun and the moon push each other, and a bright life can shine on everything, covering the remote areas of Yunnan, and after opening up, Kunming was named as the provincial capital, which means that it can be on a par with the province from now on. As far as glyphs are concerned, Kun is a combination of Japan and Japan, which means that its civilization will progress day by day; Ming is a combination of the words sun and moon, which means the combination of sun and moon. It is said that its future development will be like the rising of the sun and the moon, and the meaning of Kunming is like this ... "This statement is for reference only.