Origination of name Bartsham has got manifold stories that had done recorded history and orally transmitted one.

Bartsham geographically shares its boundaries with Bidung and Ramjar gewogs beautifully located in between two gewogs, rising up sloppy gentle hill, overlooking Bidung gewog. When viewing Bartsham from Bidung through little pocket, flat land of Kumung upward rising gentle sloppy hills, the physical shape of its location exactly view as a lord Buddha, Shakyamuni screening the whole sitting posture on Buddha, with holding loves, compassion and well-being over its localities and place – the initially called as Bartsham (the land of everything – Phun-Sum-Tshog –Pai – Yuljong).

It has got another orally transmitted story with regards to the renaming of Bartsham. In ancient time, people of neighboring countries India and Tibet used to trade from place. During that time, Bartsham exactly lies in between these two commercial hubs – sharing the same long journey to south and north respectively. In sharchop “Bar” means “in between” and “Tsham” means “boundry” in short Bartsham. So the name was conceived thereafter. 

Another one was interesting, it dates back when Guru Padmasambhava first convent in Bhutan in eight century, Guru widely travelled all over Bhutan blessed with his manifest power and hidden many sacred treasures and relics. When Guru Rinpoche and Khando Yeshey Tshogyal reached to Mongling Tsho in Bartsham, Guru Rinpoche found that the local deity of mongling was severely harming its locality and animals. With advice of Guru Rinpoche’s utmost compassion subdued this ferocious deity and converted him into a protective deity of Buddha Dharma and sentient beings. In return the Mongling Tsho’s deity and its area emerged with Bar – Tsho – Sum

1. Phu – Thong – Ja, Dephu, Dogorom
2. Bar – Ri-Zor-Gong, Yoenang Naktshang, Thangpachey
3. Da – Tsharzam, Yudi drang, Wongchuli are local villages.

Those Tsho Sum were offered to the deity by Khando Yeshey Tshogyel and made reverent and protection to Buddha Dharma and its people. Therefore, the name this region was known or called as “Bar-Tsho-Sum” was slightly mispronounced by people and, today it is popularly known as Bartsham.  (Reference: Mongling Selchey book)