撒尔塔是梵文sart，意思是指中亚的商人，也有城市居民之意。

「撒尔塔」最早出现在1070年黑汗王朝作品福乐智能，与15世纪作家阿里希尔·纳沃伊(1441-1501)的著作中。突厥人最初使用这字形容定居喀什噶尔的农民和商人。葛逻禄人阿儿斯兰汗也叫撒尔塔人。

撒尔塔人是由突厥化的中亚土着粟特人、古花剌子模人和其它土着居民，以及波斯人、阿拉伯人为主形成的。他们操突厥语与伊朗语，信奉伊斯兰教，经营农业、手工业和商业，在人种上属高加索人种和蒙古人种的混合体。

后来突厥人定居和中亚的突厥化，居住在绿洲的的突厥人、塔吉克斯坦人被称为撒尔塔，最后几乎中亚至西亚定居的人也被称为撒尔塔人，花剌子模被称为撒尔塔兀勒。撒尔塔是指深度阿拉伯化与波斯化的突厥人，以及突厥化的塔吉克斯坦人。

Sart is a name for the settled inhabitants of Central Asia and the Middle East, which has had shifting meanings over the centuries. Sarts, known sometimes as Ak-Sart in ancient times, did not have any particular ethnic identification, and were usually (though not always) town-dwellers. Since the 16th century and onward Mughal historians referred to the Tajiks of the Kabulistan (now Afghanistan) and surrounding regions as Sarts.