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The term "Sumerian" is the common name given to the ancient non-Semitic inhabitants of [[Mesopotamia]], Sumer, by the [[Semitic people|Semitic]] [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadians]]. The Sumerians referred to themselves as ''ùĝ saĝ gíg-ga'' (cuneiform: {{cuneiform|&#x12326;}} {{cuneiform|&#x12295;}} {{cuneiform|&#x1222A;}} {{cuneiform|&#x120B5;}}), phonetically uŋ saŋ giga, literally meaning "the black-headed people".<ref>{{cite book|author=W. Hallo, W. Simpson|year=1971|title=The Ancient Near East|publisher=New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich| page=28}}</ref> The [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] word ''Shumer'' may represent the geographical name in dialect, but the [[phonology|phonological]] development leading to the Akkadian term ''šumerû'' is uncertain.<ref name="Nimrod">{{cite journal|title=Nimrod before and after the Bible|author=K. van der Toorn, P. W. van der Horst|journal=The Harvard Theological Review|year=Jan 1990| volume=83| issue=1| pages=1–29|doi=10.1017/S0017816000005502}}</ref> Hebrew ''[[Shinar]]'', Egyptian ''Sngr'', and Hittite ''Šanhar(a)'', all referring to southern Mesopotamia, could be western variants of ''Shumer''.<ref name="Nimrod"/>