Hittite name was Tārša. The ancient name Tarsos is derived from Hittite name Tārša. That in turn was possibly derived from the name of the storm god Tarḫunz. Later, during the Hellenistic period Tarsus was known as Antiochia on the Cydnus (Greek: Αντιόχεια του Κύδνου, Latin: Antiochia ad Cydnum) to distinguish it from another towns named Antiochia, esp. Antioch on the Orontes .
See:
- Edwards, Robert W., "Tarsus", The Eerdmans Encyclopedia of Early Christian Art and Archaeology, ed., Paul Corby Finney. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing 2016. pp. 569–570.