The ancient and modern name of Greece is Hellas or Hellada in Greek, and its official name is the Hellenic Republic. However, in English, the country is usually called Greece, which comes from the Latin Graecia, meaning the land of the Greeks. The Greeks themselves have never referred to their country as Greece, but rather as Hellenes, adopting the traditional appellation of the Hellas region. The word "Greek" comes from the Latin word "Graecus," which in turn comes from the Greek word "Grekos" ("Γραικός"). In informal or casual speech, most Greeks refer to their country as "Ellada," which translates literally as "Greece". The word "Hellas" (Ελλάς) is also sometimes used colloquially. Its worth noting that there are some regional variations regarding what Greeks call their homeland. For example, on the island of Crete, many residents refer to Greece as "Kriti," and on Rhodes, they often use the term "Dhodhekanisos".