The first syllable Sur- originates from the Sanskrit word Sura (Devanagari: सुर) meaning God (cf. Asura), and the word In-tar from Sanskrit is Indra (Devanagari: इन्द्र). Hence the name of the province literally means Lord Indra.[citation needed]
Prior to the fourteenth century, the area of Surin was under the Khmer empire suzerainty (known in Khmer as Sorin).