Historically, Hinthada was occupied by the
Mon people, and was part of the
Bagan Empire. According to local histories, the town was founded by
Sithu I of Bagan who rested there on a trip up the Irrawaddy River. While building a temporary palace, his male
hintha bird (a quasi-legendary species of goose or swan) passed away- causing him to name the area (Hintha-ta; lit. yearn for hintha). An alternative folk etymology says it was actually
Sithu IV, who stopped in the area while fleeing the
first Mongol invasion of Burma. Because he found the area lacking in food for his feast and called it ဟင်းလျာတ (hin-lya-ta; lit. yearn for entrees), which later morphed into Hinthada. The last folk etymology comes from the
Mon language name for the
danone palm, which grew in abundance in the area. In Mon, the palm is called Henzada and is the most likely origin for the town's name. In the 2010s, the town did not see the dramatic changes in other cities during the
2011–2015 Myanmar political reforms and remained an archetypal agricultural trading town. However, in 2015, following the ousting of
Shwe Mann from the
Union Solidarity and Development Party, the town's local
Htay Oo looked set to become the party's new leader and potential new president. However, locals opposed his re-election due to grievances regarding the military regime's monopolisation of rice milling and illegal land grabs. Htay Oo would go on to lose in the
2015 Myanmar general election, although remained the deputy chairman of the USDP. ==Demographics and Economy==