Of toponyms, demonyms, and etymology

Flo Adriano asked a very interesting question about the term "Asia". Specifically, she asks in her comment to "I got you thinking about the reason for the groupings...hahaha!":

why is the continent of Asia, called "ASIA"? what's the history behind it's name?
why is the continent of asia named as "ASIA"? who gave the name?

The term "Asia" may be traced to Ancient Greece when the Greek historian Herodotus first used it in reference to Anatolia and/or the Persian Empire in his account of the Persian Wars. The etymological roots of the word, however, might also be found in the Akkadian language.

Clicking here will bring you to the relevant information on Wikipedia.

More interesting is the common usage of "Asian". Colloquially, it is used to refer to people from a sub-region of Asia. In other words, people don't use it to refer to a person who comes from the Asian continent. Rather, it is used in reference to a person or persons from a culturally distinct sub-region of the Asian continent. In the United States the term is commonly associated with East Asians, while the British associate it with South Asians. Over time, it has also grown in scope to include Southeast Asians.

This reinforces the premise that the Asian continent can be separated into two distinct cultural realms. One part is obviously asian and the other is not.

Everyone is encouraged to do more research on this topic so we can add more information and sources.