Page "Sinhala language" Paragraph 5

As for the second element la, local tradition connects it to the Sanskrit root lā-" to seize ", as to translate it " lion-seizer " or " lion-killer ", or to Sanskrit loha / Sinhala lē " blood ", to have it mean " lion blood ".

From a linguistic point of view, however, neither interpretation is convincing, so that we can only safely say that the word Sinhala is somehow connected to a term meaning " lion ".