Tunisia has been Tunisia since ancient times, so it is neither Tarshish nor Taunis(Sociable)
Tunisia, the country and the capital at the same time, is the name of the Massilian Lubyans since 1000 years BC. It was founded as a coastal city by the Tunisian Massilian Lubyans, our ancestors, and it bears the name Tunas or Tinas according to most historians and archaeologists. So the name Tunisia is clearly a local name since the founding of the city in ancient times, but we were not surprised every time. Some people come out to us to promote strange names that have colonial agendas behind them, such as the fact that Tunisia was originally called Tunis because it is beautiful in the face of its delegation, or the type that Tunisia was called Tarshish because it is a holy city... Let us clarify the matter for the Tunisians that the naming of Tunis is part of the policy of Arabization of everything local, by the Tunisian Masili lobby, and it is a ridiculous translation in addition to its interpretation. What is more dangerous than that is the claim of some that Tunisia was called Tarshish in the past, which is a holy city, and where did holiness come from? The claims of this naming are a Biblical and Israeli narrative. It is in the service of Zionism, which promotes this label based on biblical history that is used geographically to have intelligence and political legitimacy. Unfortunately, some in Tunisia are adopting this dangerous nonsense to attack the local historical truth rooted in Tunisians and prepare the mental ground for accepting normalization.
But the word Tarshish is excluded and there is no room for its inclusion. However, there are those who believe that the naming of Tunisia goes back to the Phoenician era, as the city is usually called by its main god, and in the case of Tunisia, it is Tanit. There is another opinion that confirms that the origin of the name is Tenast, which means the key, and the conflict remains in the origin of the name without a consensus on a single opinion.
Source: websites