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Geographical renaming

April 08, 2024

Geographical renaming is the changing of the name of a geographical feature or area, which ranges from the change of a street name to a change to the name of a country. Places are also sometimes assigned dual names for various reasons.

Background edit

A change might see a completely different name being adopted or may only be a slight change in spelling. Some names are changed locally but the new names are not recognised by other countries, especially when there is a difference in language. Other names may not be officially recognised but remain in common use. Many places have different names in different languages, and a change of language in official or general use has often resulted in what is arguably a change of name. There are many reasons to undertake renaming, with political motivation being the primary cause; for example many places in the former Soviet Union and its satellites were renamed to honour Stalin. Sometimes a place reverts to its former name (see, for example, de-Stalinization).[citation needed]

One of the most common reasons for a country changing its name is newly acquired independence. When borders are changed, sometimes due to a country splitting or two countries joining, the names of the relevant areas can change. This, however, is more the creation of a different entity than an act of geographical renaming.[citation needed]

Place names may revert to an earlier name; for instance in Australia, pre-colonial names established thousands of years ago by Aboriginal peoples have been reclaimed as official names. Examples include K'gari (formerly Fraser Island and various other names since settlement), and Uluru / Ayers Rock, where a dual naming strategy was adopted but it is now commonly known as Uluru.[1]

Other more unusual reasons for renaming have included getting rid of an inappropriate or embarrassing name, or as part of a sponsorship deal or publicity stunt.[2]

In some cases established institutions preserve the old names of the renamed places in their names, such as the Pusan National University in Busan, South Korea; the Peking University in Beijing; Bombay Stock Exchange, IIT Bombay and the Bombay High Court in Mumbai; University of Madras, Madras Stock Exchange, the Madras High Court, and IIT Madras in Chennai; the University of Malaya, Keretapi Tanah Melayu, in Malaysia; and SWAPO (South West Africa People's Organization), the ruling party of Namibia. Often the older name will persist in colloquial expressions. For example, the dish known in English as "Peking duck" retained that name even when the Chinese capital changed its transliteration to "Beijing".[citation needed]

Romanisation edit

Changes in romanisation systems can result in minor or major changes in spelling in the Roman alphabet for geographical entities, even without any change in name pronunciation or spelling in the local alphabet or other writing system. Names in non-Roman characters can also be spelled very differently when Romanised in different European languages.[citation needed]

Chinese names edit

China developed and adopted the Pinyin romanisation system in February 1958 in place of previous systems such as the postal romanization and Wade–Giles. Many Chinese geographical entities (and associated entities named after geographical names) thus had their English names changed. The changes sometimes appear drastic, since it is sometimes the case that the former romanisations were derived from Cantonese—the common language in British-held Hong Kong—while the newer romanisations are derived entirely from Mandarin. However, the pronunciation in Mandarin has mostly stayed the same both before and after the change. Pinyin was adopted by the International Organization for Standardization in 1982 and officially adopted in Singapore (resulting in several geographical name changes of its own). However it is usually not applied in the autonomous regions of the PRC (e.g. Lhasa, Ürümqi, Hohhot, Xigazê, Ili, Altay, Kaxgar, Hulunbuir, Erenhot, with a notable exception being place names in Ningxia, whose native Hui people speak Mandarin as their native language) and has not resulted in any geographical name change in the SARs of Hong Kong and Macau, and is adopted only in parts of Taiwan, particularly within Taipei and other Kuomintang controlled cities and counties, in a recent push to adopt Pinyin by the Kuomintang government.[citation needed]

Examples of changes:[citation needed]

In the People's Republic of China

In the Republic of China (Taiwan)

In Singapore[3]

Korean names edit

The introduction of the Revised Romanization of Korean in place of the McCune–Reischauer system on 7 July 2000 by the South Korean government has resulted in a string of changes to geographical names. The system is not used by North Korea. Examples of changes include:

Exonyms and endonyms edit

For geographical entities with multiple pre-existing names in one or more languages, an exonym or endonym may gradually be substituted and used in the English language.

  • Many countries have intentionally had their common English names officially changed to the local name, such as Côte d'Ivoire and Timor-Leste's translations to their local languages, or Persia requesting to be known by the endonym Iran, and Mesopotamia being changed to Iraq.[citation needed]
  • Transfer of a city between countries speaking different languages can result in seeming changes of name. Changes can be as slight as Straßburg (Germany) and Strasbourg (France). Some are less subtle: Thessaloniki, built in 4th century BC in ancient Macedonia became Selanik in the Ottoman Empire and sometimes being referred to as Salonica, now Thessaloniki in Greece; Pilsen in the Austro-Hungarian Empire became Plzeň in Czechoslovakia; Chișinău, now the capital of Moldova, was in Russian and Soviet times part of Romania and known as Kishinev (the latter name is used in English in certain historical contexts, e.g. Kishinev pogrom). Some are translations; Karlsbad become Karlovy Vary.
  • When the formerly-German city of Danzig came under Polish rule, it became known in English by its Polish name of Gdańsk. But when Winston Churchill gave his Iron Curtain speech he still spoke of a city in Poland by its German name (Stettin) instead of its contemporary Polish name Szczecin even though Churchill fully accepted the transfer of the formerly-German city to Poland, probably because it is German phonology, not Polish, that is closer to English. The pattern is far from uniform, and it takes time.
  • The Soviet Union replaced German city names in the former East Prussia that became the Kaliningrad Oblast and Japanese place names in southern Sakhalin Island with Russian names unrelated to the old German and Japanese place names after annexing them in the aftermath of World War II.
  • The military junta changed the official English name of Burma to Myanmar in 1988, even though both were pre-existing names which originated from the Burmese language and used interchangeably depending on contexts (see Names of Myanmar).
  • Decolonisation in India saw a trend to change the established English names of cities to the names in the local language. Since then, changes have included Chennai (from Madras in August 1996), Kolkata (from Calcutta in January 2001) and Mumbai (from Bombay in 1995), amongst many others.
  • The People's Republic of China, upon its founding and new nationalities policy, changed the names of cities in ethnic minority regions from sometimes patronising Chinese language names to those of the native language. For example, it changed Dihua to Ürümqi and Zhenxi to Barkol.[4]
  • After the occupation of the communist North Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War, the city of Saigon changed its name to Ho Chi Minh City (after the late leader of North Vietnam Ho Chi Minh) to symbolize the north's victory in the war. Despite the official name change, however, many older Americans (especially those who fought in the Vietnam War) still refer to the city as Saigon. Even many Vietnamese still refer to the city as Saigon.[5] The name of the river, however, remains unchanged, the Saigon River.

Changes resulting from splits and mergers edit

List of significant name changes edit

This is a list of internationally important or significant renamings.

Countries edit

The British governments records changes of countries' names.[6]

Partially recognized states edit

Subnational entities edit

Australia
Bangladesh
Main article: List of renamed places in Bangladesh
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
China
Cuba
France
India
Further information: Renaming of cities in India
Indonesia
  • Irian Barat → Irian Jaya (1973) → Papua (2001)
  • Irian Jaya Barat → Papua Barat (2007)
  • Aceh Darussalam → Daerah Istimewa Aceh (1959) → Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam (2001) → Aceh (2009)
Ireland
Kazakhstan
Malaysia
Mexico
Netherlands
Pakistan
Russia
South Africa
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States

Cities and towns edit

  • Amadora, Portugal, was known as Porcalhota until 1907. The name change was due to the unflattering meaning of the original toponym (something like "Little dirty one").
  • Astana, Kazakhstan – renamed Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022. Kazakhstan's legislature passed a law on 20 March 2019 to rename the Central Asian nation's capital city from Astana to Nur-Sultan. The act came one day after Nursultan Nazarbayev's resignation as president of the country.
  • Attock, Pakistan, was known as Campbellpur.
  • Atyrau, Kazakhstan, formerly from 1708 to 1992 as Guriev (or Gur'yev, Gurjev, or Guryev)
  • Banda Aceh, Indonesia – formerly known as Kutaraja.
  • Bangalore, India, set to be changed to Bengaluru with state government approval in 2006 but yet to be ratified by the central government
  • Banjul, formerly Bathurst.
  • Beijing, China, usually spelled Peking until the 1980s. Named Peiping (Beiping in Pinyin) from 1927 to 1949.
  • Bengkulu, Indonesia – formerly known as Bencoolen.
  • Bin Qasim, Pakistan – formerly known as Pipri.
  • Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, between 1926 and 1991 called Frunze.
  • Bogor, Indonesia – formerly known as Buitenzorg.
  • Bogotá – Changed to Santa Fé de Bogotá D.C. (Distrito Capital) in 1991 from Bogotá D.E. (Distrito Especial). Changed back to the simplified Bogotá D.C. (Distrito Capital) in 2000.
  • Bratislava, Slovakia, formerly Pozsony or Pressburg
  • Busan – spelt Pusan prior to the official adoption of the Revised Romanization by the South Korean Government in 2000. During the Korean War it was the temporary capital. Named Dongrae (동래/東萊) until 1910.[citation needed] In 1920, renamed Busan.[citation needed]
  • Châlons-en-Champagne, formerly Châlons-sur-Marne until 1998.
  • Chemnitz, Germany – from 1953 to 1990 named Karl-Marx-Stadt after Karl Marx.
  • Chennai, called Madras until 1996.
  • Ciudad Altamirano, Mexico. Formerly known as Pungarabato until 1936.
  • Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela. Formerly Santo Tomás de la Nueva Guayana de la Angostura del Orinoco (briefed as just Angostura) until 1846.
  • Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Founded as Puerto Flor de Lis in 1957, later renamed as Puerto Presidente Stroessner. Received its current name after his fall in 1989.
  • Ciudad Guerrero, Mexico. Formerly known as Concepción de Papigochi until 1859.
  • Ciudad Guzmán, Mexico. Formerly Zapotlán el Grande until 1856.
  • Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico. Formerly known as Taximaroa until 1908, and Villa Hidalgo until 1922.
  • Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Formerly known as Paso del Norte until 1888.
  • Ciudad Lerdo, Mexico. Formerly known as San Fernando until 1864.
  • Ciudad Victoria, Mexico. Formerly known as Santa María de Aguayo until 1863.
  • Cobh, Ireland – formerly known as Queenstown
  • Constância, Portugal was known as Punhete until 1833. The name change was justified by the resemblance of the old toponym with the word punheta (Portuguese for "hand job").
  • Dhaka, Bangladesh – previously Dacca
  • Daegu – spelt Taegu prior to the official adoption of the Revised Romanization by the South Korean Government in 2000. In ancient times, Dalgubeol (달구벌/達句伐)
  • Dnipro, Ukraine, was officially changed from Dnipropetrovsk in 2016, following Ukraine's decommunization laws (the former name is a contraction of the Ukrainian name of the river Dnieper and the surname of Soviet leader Hryhoriy Petrovsky). Previous names include Katerynoslav, Sicheslav, and Novorossiysk.
  • Dobrich – known as Bazargic between 1913 and 1940, Tolbuhin between 1945 and 1990. It was known Hacıoğlu Pazarcık during Ottoman rule
  • Donetsk – founded as Yuzovka (after John Hughes) in 1870, called Stalino 1924-–1961, renamed Donyetsk in Russian (Donetsk in Ukrainian) after the De-Stalinization period in the USSR
  • Dushanbe – known as Stalinabad between 1929–1961 and renamed Dushanbe after the De-Stalinization period in the Soviet Union.
  • Dún Laoghaire, Ireland – formerly known as Kingstown
  • Eisenhüttenstadt, Germany, was founded as Stalinstadt after World War II to settle displaced people from the former eastern German territories, and was renamed during the De-Stalinization period in the Soviet Union.
  • Faisalabad was known as Lyallpur (until the 1970s) in Pakistan.
  • Flores, Guatemala. Formerly known as Santa María de los Remedios until 1831.
  • Florianópolis was known as Desterro until 1893, when the president of recent-founded Brazilian republic, Marshal Floriano Peixoto, crushed the Naval Revolts, and the supporters of Peixoto, after the imprisonment of all his opponents, changed the name of the city to honor the Marshal.
  • Fugging – two places in Austria were called Fucking.
  • Gagarin, town in Russia; formerly Gzhatsk, took current name after cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's death in 1968
  • Gdańsk – in German Danzig, when part of Kingdom of Prussia or Germany (1793–1920 and 1940–5) and as a Free City (1920–39).
  • Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico. Formerly known successively as Tepeyac, Villa de Guadalupe and Guadalupe Hidalgo. Got its current name in 1931.
  • Harare – named Salisbury until 1982. Other place names in Zimbabwe also changed.
  • Heraklion in Crete, Greece: Its ancient name was Heraklion. In 824 it was named "Handaq" (The Moat) from which derived the Greek name "Chandax" in Byzantine times (961–1204) and later the Italian "Candia" during the Venetian period (1212–1669) when Candia eventually became the name of the whole island of Crete. In Turkish times (1669–1898) it was called "Kandiye" by the Ottomans but from the locals "Megalo Kastro" (Great Castle) or simply "Kastro". During the time of the autonomous Cretan State (1898–1913) scholars proposed to reuse the ancient name "Heraklion" which eventually was accepted by the locals.
  • Hermosillo, Mexico. Known as Villa del Pitic until 1828.
  • Ho Chi Minh City – formerly Saigon, changed in 1975 after the fall of South Vietnam (see also Names of Ho Chi Minh City)
  • Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa, changed in 1975 after the independence of Angola
  • Istanbul – since 28 March 1930, formerly Byzantium (under Greek rule) then Constantinople (under Roman and Ottoman rule); the latter name change inspired the popular song "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (see also Names of Istanbul)
  • Iqaluit, capital of Nunavut Territory in Canada, known as Frobisher Bay until 1987.
  • Ivano-Frankivsk, founded as polish Stanisławów in 1662, changed to Stanislau in 1772, under Austria. After World War I it returned to its original name. Then it was known as Stalislav (1939–41), Stanislau (1941–45) and again Stanislav, until 1962, when it has been renamed to its current name, to honour Ivan Franko.
  • İzmir – since 28 March 1930, formerly Smyrna (under Roman and Ottoman rule).
  • Jakarta, Indonesia – formerly Batavia, Jayakarta, and Sunda Kelapa.
  • Jayapura, Indonesia – formerly known as Hollandia and Sukarnopura.
  • Jerusalem – renamed Aelia Capitolina by the Romans in 135 and was restored to Jerusalem in 325.
  • João Pessoa – formerly known as Cidade da Parahyba, as Frederikstad and as Filipéia de Nossa Senhora das Neves.[14]
  • Kabwe in Zambia – formerly Broken Hill.
  • Kaliningrad from Königsberg in 1946 (along with other cities in East Prussia)
  • Kanpur, India – formerly known as Cawnpore.
  • Katowice in Silesia, Poland was Stalinogród between 1953 and 1956, and Kattowitz when under German rule
  • Kenora, Ontario, Canada from Rat Portage in 1905.
  • Khujand, Tajikistan from Leninabad between 1939 and 1992. Khodjend before 1939.
  • Kimchaek, North Korea, formerly known as Songjin. Renamed during the Korean War after the chief of staff of the North Korean army killed during the war.
  • Kingisepp, Russia, named after an Estonian communist Viktor Kingissepp, formerly named Yamburg, Yam, and Yama (Yamsky Gorodok).
  • Kinshasa – formerly Léopoldville, changed in 1966.
  • Kirov, Russia – formerly Vyatka
  • Kitchener, Ontario was known as Berlin until 1916; it was changed due to hostility toward Germany in World War I. (See Berlin to Kitchener name change)
  • Kisangani, formerly Stanleyville
  • Klaipėda from Memel in 1945
  • Kochi, India – formerly Cochin.
  • Kota Kinabalu from Jesselton.
  • Kolkata, India – formerly Calcutta.
  • Kollam, India – formerly Quilon.
  • Krasnodar – formerly Yekaterinodar.
  • Kuito formerly Silva Porto, changed in 1975 after the independence of Angola
  • Kuressaare, Estonia – was named Kingissepa after an Estonian communist Viktor Kingissepp during the Soviet occupation, but was renamed Kuressaare again in 1988.
  • Lake Station, Indiana, from East Gary, to disassociate itself from the adjacent city of Gary.
  • Libres, Mexico. Formerly known as San Juan de los Llanos until 1860.
  • Londonderry, Northern Ireland – known as Derry until 1623 when it received a royal charter. The previous name still remains in use in certain areas. (See Derry/Londonderry name dispute)
  • Lubumbashi, formerly Élisabethville.
  • Lüshun – formerly Port Arthur in English, or Ryojun during the Japanese occupation in the 1930s and 1940s.
  • Lviv, Ukraine – originally called Lviv. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Ruthenia from 1272 until 1349, when it was conquered by Polish Kingdom and became Lwów. Then became Lemberg under Austro-Hungarian rule (1772–1918), reverted to Lviv for a short time of existence of West Ukrainian Republic (1918), reverted to Lwów (1918–1945), then Lvov under Soviet rule (1945–1991); restored current name on Ukrainian independence
  • Latina – (Italy, Latium), whose former original fascist name was Littoria.
  • Makassar, Indonesia – formerly known as Ujung Pandang.
  • Malabo – formerly Santa Isabel.
  • Maputo – formerly Lourenço Marques.
  • Marijampolė, Lithuania – was named Kapsukas after a Lithuanian communist Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas during the Soviet occupation, but was renamed Marijampolė again in 1991.
  • Matamoros, Mexico. Founded as San Juan de los Esteros in 1774, renamed Nuestra Señora del Refugio de los Esteros (shortened to Villa del Refugio) in 1793. Received its current name in 1826.
  • Mbala, Zambia – formerly Abercorn
  • Mexico City – formerly the two altepetls (or polities) of Mexihco-Tlatelolco and Mexihco-Tenochtitlan.
  • Montana, Bulgaria – known as Kutlovitsa until 1890, Ferdinand between 1890 and 1945, Mihaylovgrad between 1945 and 1993.
  • Montemorelos, Mexico. Formerly known as San Mateo del Pilón until 1825.
  • Morelia, Mexico. Formerly known as Valladolid de Michoacán until 1827.
  • Mumbai, India – formerly known as Bombay.
  • Natal; known as New Amsterdam between 1633 and 1654 during the Dutch occupation.
  • New York – formerly New Amsterdam (see History of New York City)
  • Nizhniy Novgorod was Gorkiy during the Soviet Union from 1932 to 1990.
  • North Little Rock, Arkansas – formerly Argenta until 1917
  • Novohrad-Volynskyi known to 1796 as Zwiahel, or Zvyahel.
  • Nuuk renamed from Godthåb in 1979, following the introduction of the Home Rule.
  • Orenburg was renamed Chkalov from 1938 to 1957, after Valery Chkalov and renamed Orenburg in 1957.
  • Oslo, Norway renamed Christiania when rebuilt after fire in 1624. Spelled Kristiania between 1877 and 1925 when the name returned to Oslo.
  • Ottawa, Ontario known as Bytown until 1855.
  • Parramatta, Australia was known as Rose Hill from establishment in 1788 until 1791.
  • Perm, known as Molotov from 1945 to 1957, after Vyacheslav Molotov and renamed Perm in 1957.
  • Podgorica, known as Titograd 1945–1992
  • Polokwane, changed from Pietersburg in 2003, along with some other towns
  • Port Klang, changed from Port Swettenham, the port of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Portlaoise, Ireland – formerly Maryborough.
  • Prayagraj, India; formerly Allahabad
  • Priozersk, Russia – in Finnish Käkisalmi, when part of Finland, until 1944.
  • Puebla de Zaragoza, Mexico, known as Puebla de los Ángeles until 1862.
  • Recife, Brazil – formerly Mauritsstad.
  • Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada from Pile O' Bones or Pile-of-bones in 1882 in what was then the North-West Territory.
  • Rijeka from Fiume in 1945
  • Royal Tunbridge Wells, changed from Queen's-Wells to Tunbridge Wells in 1797. Renamed in 1909 to its current name after receiving a royal charter.
  • Royal Wootton Bassett – known as Wootton Bassett until 2011 when it received a royal charter.
  • Sahiwal – formerly known as Montgomery in Pakistan.
  • Saint Petersburg – originally Saint Petersburg (in 1703), then Petrograd (in 1914), Leningrad (in 1924) and back to Saint Petersburg in 1991
  • Saltcoats, Saskatchewan, Canada from Stirling in what was then the North-West Territories.
  • Samara, Russia – renamed Kuibyshev from 1935 to 1991, after Valerian Kuibyshev and renamed Samara in 1991.
  • San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico, formerly known ad Ciudad Real de Chiapa or Chiapa de Españoles until the end of Spanish rule.
  • San Felipe Torres Mochas, recovered its original name in 1948; from 1889 until that year it was known as Villa Hernández Álvarez.
  • San Pablo del Monte, Mexico. The original name before 1940, became known as Villa Vicente Guerrero until 2016.
  • Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic was renamed Ciudad Trujillo between 1936 and 1961 in a drive of personality cult around the dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo that also affected Pico Duarte (renamed Pico Trujillo), several provinces, and other Dominican features.
  • Seoul – formerly Hanyang (from 1392), then Hanseong (from 1395), Keijō or Gyeongseong (from 1914) and renamed Seoul in 1946. (See also Names of Seoul)
  • Sasmuan – formerly Sexmoán, renamed in 1991 after a referendum due to perceived sexual connotations of its former name.[15][16]
  • Shenyang – formerly Mukden, Fengtian (奉天) or Shengjing (盛京).
  • Staines-upon-Thames formerly Staines, renamed in 2012 with the aim of promoting its riverside location, boosting the local economy and to disassociate itself from the character Ali G.
  • Sucre formerly known as La Plata (1539-mid 17th century), Charcas (mid 17th century to early 18th century) and Chuquisaca (until 1831), current name in honour of Antonio José de Sucre.
  • Szczecin – in German Stettin, when part of Germany, until 1945.
  • Tallinn – known as Reval until 1917.
  • Tel Aviv-Yafo – renamed Tel Aviv from Ahuzat Bayit. Renamed Tel Aviv-Yafo in 1950 after the annexation of Jaffa (Yafo).
  • Thiruvananthapuram, India – formerly Trivandrum.
  • Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada in 1970 from the merger of twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur.
  • Tokyo – formerly Edo, until it became the capital of Japan in 1868.
  • Tolyatti – formerly known as Stavropol-on-Volga and Stavropol. In 1964, it was renamed Tolyatti after Palmiro Togliatti
  • Toronto – known as York at the time of the War of 1812.
  • Tskhinvali, Georgia – also known as Tskhinval or Ch'reba in present time, formerly named Staliniri (1934–1961)
  • Tver – known as Kalinin from 1931 to 1990.
  • Ulyanovsk in Russia, formerly Simbirsk
  • Ürümqi – formerly known as Tihwa (迪化; Dǐhuà in pinyin), which means "to enlighten" in Chinese. In 1954, renamed Ürümqi, which means "beautiful pasture" in Dzungar Mongolian.
  • Varanasi, India – formerly known as Benares (or Banaras) and Kashi.
  • Veles, known as Titov Veles between 1945 and 1991.
  • Ventura, California, originally San Buenaventura, New Spain and Mexico.
  • Vilnius – the capital of Lithuania was known as Vilna or Wilno when it was under Polish rule (1920–1939).
  • Villahermosa, Mexico. Formerly known as San Juan Bautista until 1916.
  • Virden, Manitoba, Canada from Manchester.
  • Volgograd – formerly Tsaritsyn (1589–1925), Stalingrad (1925–1961).
  • Vyborg – in Finnish Viipuri, when part of Finland, until 1944.
  • Wanganui, New Zealand. Originally called Petre, now known dually as Wanganui and Whanganui.
  • Wrocław – in German Breslau, when part of Germany, until 1945.
  • Xi'an – Usually spelt Sian until the 1980s. Formerly Chang'an (長安), the ancient name for the city when it was the capital of China until the name was changed to Xi'an in the Ming dynasty.
  • Xiangyang, named Xiangfan between 1950 and 2010.
  • Yangon – renamed Yangon after being known as Rangoon (1852–1988). Still known as Rangoon in many English-speaking countries.
  • Yekaterinburg – known as Sverdlovsk in the Soviet Union.
  • Yonashiro – changed from Okinawan "Yonagusuku" to a Japanese name and elevated to town status in 1994.
  • Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – named Toyohara under Japanese rule between 1905 and 1946, but before that was Vladimirovka, a Russian settlement before the Russo-Japanese War (1882–1905).
  • Zhob, Pakistan – renamed from Fort Sandeman in 1976.[17]
  • Zlín, Czech Republic – renamed Gottwaldov between 1949 and 1989 after Klement Gottwald, a Czechoslovak communist politician, before reverting to Zlín.
  • Zmiiv, Ukraine – renamed Gotwald between 1976 and 1990 after Klement Gottwald, a Czechoslovak communist politician, before reverting to Zmiiv.

Unusual name changes edit

Naming disputes edit

Main article: List of geographical naming disputes

See also edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ renaming of Londonderry to Derry remains highly controversial. According to the city's royal charter of 10 April 1662 the official name is Londonderry. This was reaffirmed in a High Court decision in January 2007 when Derry City Council sought guidance on the procedure for effecting a name change. The name Derry is preferred by nationalists and it is broadly used throughout Northern Ireland's Catholic community, as well as that of the Republic of Ireland, whereas many unionists prefer Londonderry; however in everyday conversation Derry is used by most Protestant residents of the city. Apart from this local government decision, the city is usually known as Londonderry in official use within the United Kingdom. In the Republic of Ireland, the city and county are almost always referred to as Derry, on maps, in the media and in conversation.[citation needed]

References edit

  1. ^ Enalanga, Marcellus (17 June 2023). "Renaming or reclaiming? Here's what happened with K'gari and what could change elsewhere". SBS News. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  2. ^ Sutter, John D. "Topeka 'renames' itself 'Google, Kansas'". CNN.
  3. ^ "yax-491 Road names as markers of history". yawningbread.org. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Full text of white paper on history, development of Xinjiang". Chinese Embassy, Ottawa. Xinhua. 24 October 2003. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  5. ^ "Which Name to Use for Vietnam's Largest City". TripSavvy. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to 2023". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Türkiye The Republic of Türkiye changed its official name from The Republic of Turkey on 26 May 2022 in a request submitted to the Secretary-General by the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs". United Nations.
  8. ^ Mahadi Al Hasnat (2 April 2018). "Mixed reactions as govt changes English spellings of 5 district names". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  9. ^ Mahadi Al Hasnat (2 April 2018). "Mixed reactions as govt changes English spellings of 5 district names". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  10. ^ . Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  11. ^ "Agenda da UFRR - 17.04.16".
  12. ^ "Newfoundland's name change now official". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 December 2001. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  13. ^ Haida Nation; Her Majesty the Queen in Her Right of the Province of British Columbia (Autumn 2015). "Amending Agreement of the Kunst'aa guu - Kunst'aayah Reconciliation Protocol" (PDF). Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  14. ^ . Paraibanos.com (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  15. ^ . Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  16. ^ Jennings, Ken (17 April 2012). Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks. Scribner. ISBN 978-1439167182.
  17. ^ . Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  18. ^ Bryant, Nick (18 February 2011). "Australian town becomes SpeedKills in safety campaign". BBC News. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  19. ^ Haines, Lester (24 November 2005). "Idaho town becomes Secretsanta.com". The Register. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  20. ^ Robb Jackson, Mary (27 January 2006). . KDKA.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2006.
  21. ^ "Chatological Humor (Updated 11.16.07)". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2 April 2017.

Bibliography edit

  • Branford, Becky (26 May 2005). "City names mark changing times" at BBC News. Accessed 26 November 2005.
  • Giraut F. & Houssay-Holzschuch M., 2022,The Politics of Place Naming: Naming the World, ISTE/John Wiley.

External links edit

  • Name Changes Since 1990: Countries, Cities, and More at Mapping.com

April 08, 2024
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Geographical renaming news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Geographical renaming is the changing of the name of a geographical feature or area which ranges from the change of a street name to a change to the name of a country Places are also sometimes assigned dual names for various reasons Contents 1 Background 2 Romanisation 2 1 Chinese names 2 2 Korean names 3 Exonyms and endonyms 4 Changes resulting from splits and mergers 5 List of significant name changes 5 1 Countries 5 2 Partially recognized states 5 3 Subnational entities 5 4 Cities and towns 6 Unusual name changes 7 Naming disputes 8 See also 9 Footnotes 10 References 11 Bibliography 12 External linksBackground editA change might see a completely different name being adopted or may only be a slight change in spelling Some names are changed locally but the new names are not recognised by other countries especially when there is a difference in language Other names may not be officially recognised but remain in common use Many places have different names in different languages and a change of language in official or general use has often resulted in what is arguably a change of name There are many reasons to undertake renaming with political motivation being the primary cause for example many places in the former Soviet Union and its satellites were renamed to honour Stalin Sometimes a place reverts to its former name see for example de Stalinization citation needed One of the most common reasons for a country changing its name is newly acquired independence When borders are changed sometimes due to a country splitting or two countries joining the names of the relevant areas can change This however is more the creation of a different entity than an act of geographical renaming citation needed Place names may revert to an earlier name for instance in Australia pre colonial names established thousands of years ago by Aboriginal peoples have been reclaimed as official names Examples include K gari formerly Fraser Island and various other names since settlement and Uluru Ayers Rock where a dual naming strategy was adopted but it is now commonly known as Uluru 1 Other more unusual reasons for renaming have included getting rid of an inappropriate or embarrassing name or as part of a sponsorship deal or publicity stunt 2 In some cases established institutions preserve the old names of the renamed places in their names such as the Pusan National University in Busan South Korea the Peking University in Beijing Bombay Stock Exchange IIT Bombay and the Bombay High Court in Mumbai University of Madras Madras Stock Exchange the Madras High Court and IIT Madras in Chennai the University of Malaya Keretapi Tanah Melayu in Malaysia and SWAPO South West Africa People s Organization the ruling party of Namibia Often the older name will persist in colloquial expressions For example the dish known in English as Peking duck retained that name even when the Chinese capital changed its transliteration to Beijing citation needed Romanisation editChanges in romanisation systems can result in minor or major changes in spelling in the Roman alphabet for geographical entities even without any change in name pronunciation or spelling in the local alphabet or other writing system Names in non Roman characters can also be spelled very differently when Romanised in different European languages citation needed Chinese names edit China developed and adopted the Pinyin romanisation system in February 1958 in place of previous systems such as the postal romanization and Wade Giles Many Chinese geographical entities and associated entities named after geographical names thus had their English names changed The changes sometimes appear drastic since it is sometimes the case that the former romanisations were derived from Cantonese the common language in British held Hong Kong while the newer romanisations are derived entirely from Mandarin However the pronunciation in Mandarin has mostly stayed the same both before and after the change Pinyin was adopted by the International Organization for Standardization in 1982 and officially adopted in Singapore resulting in several geographical name changes of its own However it is usually not applied in the autonomous regions of the PRC e g Lhasa Urumqi Hohhot Xigaze Ili Altay Kaxgar Hulunbuir Erenhot with a notable exception being place names in Ningxia whose native Hui people speak Mandarin as their native language and has not resulted in any geographical name change in the SARs of Hong Kong and Macau and is adopted only in parts of Taiwan particularly within Taipei and other Kuomintang controlled cities and counties in a recent push to adopt Pinyin by the Kuomintang government citation needed Examples of changes citation needed In the People s Republic of China Peking Beijing Canton Guangdong Nanking Nanjing Sian Xi an Chengtu Chengdu Chungking Chongqing Tientsin Tianjin Sinkiang Xinjiang Heilungkiang HeilongjiangIn the Republic of China Taiwan Shih lin Shilin Chung cheng Zhongzheng Tamsui Danshui since reverted In Singapore 3 Peck San Bishan Ao Kang Hougang Nee Soon YishunKorean names edit This section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed February 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The introduction of the Revised Romanization of Korean in place of the McCune Reischauer system on 7 July 2000 by the South Korean government has resulted in a string of changes to geographical names The system is not used by North Korea Examples of changes include Inchŏn Incheon Kyŏngju Gyeongju Pusan Busan Taegu Daegu Taejŏn DaejeonExonyms and endonyms editFor geographical entities with multiple pre existing names in one or more languages an exonym or endonym may gradually be substituted and used in the English language Many countries have intentionally had their common English names officially changed to the local name such as Cote d Ivoire and Timor Leste s translations to their local languages or Persia requesting to be known by the endonym Iran and Mesopotamia being changed to Iraq citation needed Transfer of a city between countries speaking different languages can result in seeming changes of name Changes can be as slight as Strassburg Germany and Strasbourg France Some are less subtle Thessaloniki built in 4th century BC in ancient Macedonia became Selanik in the Ottoman Empire and sometimes being referred to as Salonica now Thessaloniki in Greece Pilsen in the Austro Hungarian Empire became Plzen in Czechoslovakia Chișinău now the capital of Moldova was in Russian and Soviet times part of Romania and known as Kishinev the latter name is used in English in certain historical contexts e g Kishinev pogrom Some are translations Karlsbad become Karlovy Vary When the formerly German city of Danzig came under Polish rule it became known in English by its Polish name of Gdansk But when Winston Churchill gave his Iron Curtain speech he still spoke of a city in Poland by its German name Stettin instead of its contemporary Polish name Szczecin even though Churchill fully accepted the transfer of the formerly German city to Poland probably because it is German phonology not Polish that is closer to English The pattern is far from uniform and it takes time The Soviet Union replaced German city names in the former East Prussia that became the Kaliningrad Oblast and Japanese place names in southern Sakhalin Island with Russian names unrelated to the old German and Japanese place names after annexing them in the aftermath of World War II The military junta changed the official English name of Burma to Myanmar in 1988 even though both were pre existing names which originated from the Burmese language and used interchangeably depending on contexts see Names of Myanmar Decolonisation in India saw a trend to change the established English names of cities to the names in the local language Since then changes have included Chennai from Madras in August 1996 Kolkata from Calcutta in January 2001 and Mumbai from Bombay in 1995 amongst many others The People s Republic of China upon its founding and new nationalities policy changed the names of cities in ethnic minority regions from sometimes patronising Chinese language names to those of the native language For example it changed Dihua to Urumqi and Zhenxi to Barkol 4 After the occupation of the communist North Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War the city of Saigon changed its name to Ho Chi Minh City after the late leader of North Vietnam Ho Chi Minh to symbolize the north s victory in the war Despite the official name change however many older Americans especially those who fought in the Vietnam War still refer to the city as Saigon Even many Vietnamese still refer to the city as Saigon 5 The name of the river however remains unchanged the Saigon River Changes resulting from splits and mergers editCzechoslovakia got its name from the agglomeration of the Czech and Slovak peoples in 1918 It peacefully dissolved into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in 1993 Yugoslavia Land of the South Slavs was originally Kingdom of Serbs Croats and Slovenes created by joining Kingdom of Serbia Kingdom of Montenegro and parts of Austro Hungarian Empire inhabited by South Slavs today comprising Croatia Bosnia and Herzegovina Slovenia and Vojvodina i e the Northern part of modern Serbia It became Yugoslavia in 1929 It subsequently split into the modern states of Serbia Croatia Bosnia and Herzegovina Slovenia North Macedonia and Montenegro between 1991 and 2006 Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence in 2008 The Gambia and Senegal became one as Senegambia Confederation 1982 1989 Tanganyika and Zanzibar joined to become Tanzania Egypt and Syria were briefly joined as the United Arab Republic Malaya merged with the northern Borneo territories of Sabah and Sarawak and Singapore to form Malaysia in 1963 Singapore was expelled from Malaysia in 1965 Various places split by compass directions such as North and South Dakota West Virginia and Virginia North and South Korea East and West Germany South Sudan and Sudan etc South Yemen was previously known as the Aden Protectorate and by other names Some of these were subsequently unified such as Germany and Yemen List of significant name changes editThis is a list of internationally important or significant renamings Countries edit The British governments records changes of countries names 6 This list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items November 2019 Terra de Santa Cruz Brazil 1530 Temasik Singapore 1819 New Spain Mexico 1821 Upper Peru Bolivia 1825 Republic of the Seven United Netherlands Batavian Republic 1795 Batavian Commonwealth 1801 Kingdom of Holland 1806 Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands 1813 United Kingdom of the Netherlands 1815 Kingdom of the Netherlands 1830 New Grenada Colombia 1819 New Granada 1831 Colombia 1863 Dahomey French Dahomey 1894 Spanish East Indies Philippines 1898 Eastern Bengal and Assam 1905 East Bengal 1947 East Pakistan 1955 Bangladesh 1971 German Southwest Africa Southwest Africa 1915 Kingdom of Great Britain United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1927 Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd Saudi Arabia 1932 Persia Iran 1935 Irish Republic Irish Free State 1922 Ireland 1949 Abyssinia Ethiopia 1941 Dutch East Indies Indonesia 1945 or 1949 Transjordan Jordan 1946 Siam Thailand 1949 Gold Coast Ghana 1957 Ubangi Shari Central African Republic 1958 French Dahomey Republic of Dahomey 1958 French Upper Volta Republic of Upper Volta 1958 French Sudan Mali 1960 Western Samoa Trust Territory Western Samoa 1962 Samoa 1997 United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar Tanzania 1964 Nyasaland Malawi 1964 Northern Rhodesia Zambia 1964 Southern Rhodesia Rhodesia 1964 Bechuanaland Botswana 1966 Basutoland Lesotho 1966 British Guiana Guyana 1966 French Somaliland Afars and Issas 1967 Spanish Guinea Equatorial Guinea 1968 Muscat and Oman Oman 1970 Democratic Republic of the Congo Zaire 1971 Ceylon Sri Lanka 1972 British Honduras Belize 1973 Portuguese Guinea Guinea Bissau 1974 Dutch Guiana Suriname 1975 Republic of Dahomey Benin 1975 Spanish Possessions in the Sahara Spanish West Africa 1946 Province of the Sahara 1958 Western Sahara 1975 Khmer Republic Kampuchea 1975 Portuguese Timor East Timor 1975 Afars and Issas Djibouti 1977 Ellice Islands Tuvalu 1978 Gilbert Islands Kiribati 1979 Rhodesia Zimbabwe Rhodesia 1979 Zimbabwe Rhodesia Zimbabwe 1980 New Hebrides Vanuatu 1980 Republic of Upper Volta Burkina Faso 1984 Ivory Coast Republic of Cote d Ivoire 1986 Burma Myanmar 1989 disputed Southwest Africa Namibia 1990 Bessarabia Moldavian SSR 1940 Republic of Moldova 1991 Belarusian Democratic Republic Byelorussian SSR 1919 Republic of Belarus 1991 Kara Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast Kirghiz ASSR 1926 Kirghiz SSR 1936 Socialist Republic of Kyrgyzstan 1990 Republic of Kyrgyzstan 1990 Kyrgyz Republic 1991 Kirghiz ASSR Kazakh ASSR 1925 Kazakh SSR 1936 Republic of Kazakhstan 1991 Russian Empire Russian Republic 1917 Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic 1917 Russian Federation 1991 Kingdom of Cambodia Khmer Republic 1970 Democratic Kampuchea 1975 People s Republic of Kampuchea 1979 State of Cambodia 1989 Kingdom of Cambodia 1993 Zaire Democratic Republic of the Congo 1997 East Timor Timor Leste 2002 Kingdom of Serbs Croats and Slovenes Kingdom of Yugoslavia 1929 Democratic Federal Yugoslavia 1943 Federal People s Republic of Yugoslavia 1945 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1963 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1992 State Union of Serbia and Montenegro 2003 Republic of Serbia 2006 Cape Verde Cabo Verde 2013 Swaziland Eswatini 2018 Democratic Federal Macedonia 1944 People s Republic of Macedonia 1946 Socialist Republic of Macedonia 1963 Republic of Macedonia 1991 Republic of North Macedonia 2019 Republic of Turkey Republic of Turkiye 2023 7 Partially recognized states edit Turkish Cypriot General Committee 1967 Autonomous Turkish Cypriot Administration 1974 Turkish Federated State of Cyprus 1975 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 1983 Kosovo and Metohija Kosovo 2008 Nagorno Karabakh Republic Republic of Artsakh 2017 Republic of South Ossetia Republic of South Ossetia the State of Alania 2017 Subnational entities edit AustraliaVan Diemen s Land Tasmania 1856 BangladeshMain article List of renamed places in Bangladesh Dacca Dhaka 1983 Barisal Barishal 2018 8 Chittagong Chattogram 2018 9 BelgiumLys West Vlaanderen 1815 Meuse Inferieure Limburg 1815 Escaut Oost Vlaanderen 1815 Jemappes Henegouwen 1815 Hainaut 1830 Dyle Zuid Brabant 1815 Brabant 1831 BrazilGuapore Rondonia 1956 10 Rio Branco Roraima 1962 11 CanadaProvince of Newfoundland Province of Newfoundland and Labrador 2001 12 Queen Charlotte Islands Haida Gwaii 2010 13 ChinaChih li Zhili Hebei 1928 CubaSanta Clara province Las Villas province 1940 split into Villa Clara Sancti Spiritus and Cienfuegos provinces 1976 Camaguey province split into Camaguey and Ciego de Avila provinces 1976 Oriente province Santiago de Cuba province 1878 Oriente province 1904 split into Las Tunas Holguin Granma Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo provinces 1976 La Habana province split into La Habana and Ciudad de La Habana provinces 1976 La Habana province split into Artemisa and Mayabeque provinces 2011 Ciudad de La Habana province La Habana province Havana 2011 Isla de Pinos Isle of Pines Isla de la Juventud Isle of Youth island 1978 FranceMayenne et Loire Maine et Loire 1791 Bec d Ambes Gironde 1795 Charente Inferieure Charente Maritime 1941 Seine Inferieure Seine Maritime 1955 Loire Inferieure Loire Atlantique 1957 Basses Pyrenees Pyrenees Atlantiques 1969 Basses Alpes Alpes de Haute Provence 1970 Cotes du Nord Cotes d Armor 1990 IndiaFurther information Renaming of cities in India Dremoshong Sikkim 1800s Madras State Tamil Nadu 1968 Mysore Karnataka 1973 Bombay Mumbai 1995 New Bombay Navi Mumbai 1995 Madras Chennai 1996 Calcutta Kolkata 2001 Pondicherry Puducherry 2006 Orissa Odisha 2011 IndonesiaIrian Barat Irian Jaya 1973 Papua 2001 Irian Jaya Barat Papua Barat 2007 Aceh Darussalam Daerah Istimewa Aceh 1959 Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam 2001 Aceh 2009 IrelandKing s County County Offaly 1922 Queen s County County Laois 1922 County Tyreconnell County Donegal 1927 KazakhstanSouth Kazakhstan Turkistan Region 2018 Akmolinsk 1830 Tselinograd 1961 Aqmola 1992 Astana 1998 Nur Sultan 2019 Astana 2022 MalaysiaBritish North Borneo Sabah 1963 Prang Besar Putrajaya 1999 MexicoNueva Galicia Jalisco 1824 Nuevo Santander Tamaulipas 1824 NetherlandsBouches de l Escaut Zeeland 1815 Bouches de l Yssel Overijssel 1815 Meuse Inferieure Limburg 1815 PakistanNawabshah District Shaheed Benazirabad District 2008 Northern Areas Gilgit Baltistan 2009 North West Frontier Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2010 RussiaKuibyshev Oblast Samara Oblast 1991 South AfricaNatal KwaZulu Natal 1994 Eastern Transvaal Mpumalanga 1995 Orange Free State Free State 1995 Pretoria Witwatersrand Vereeniging Gauteng 1995 Northern Transvaal Northern Province 1995 Limpopo 2003 SwitzerlandLeman Geneve 1815 Simplon Valais 1815 United KingdomLondonderry City Council Derry City Council 1984 disputed a Shropshire Salop 1974 Shropshire 1980 United StatesState of Massachusetts Bay Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1781 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations State of Rhode Island 2020 Cities and towns edit Amadora Portugal was known as Porcalhota until 1907 The name change was due to the unflattering meaning of the original toponym something like Little dirty one Astana Kazakhstan renamed Nur Sultan from 2019 to 2022 Kazakhstan s legislature passed a law on 20 March 2019 to rename the Central Asian nation s capital city from Astana to Nur Sultan The act came one day after Nursultan Nazarbayev s resignation as president of the country Attock Pakistan was known as Campbellpur Atyrau Kazakhstan formerly from 1708 to 1992 as Guriev or Gur yev Gurjev or Guryev Banda Aceh Indonesia formerly known as Kutaraja Bangalore India set to be changed to Bengaluru with state government approval in 2006 but yet to be ratified by the central government Banjul formerly Bathurst Beijing China usually spelled Peking until the 1980s Named Peiping Beiping in Pinyin from 1927 to 1949 Bengkulu Indonesia formerly known as Bencoolen Bin Qasim Pakistan formerly known as Pipri Bishkek Kyrgyzstan between 1926 and 1991 called Frunze Bogor Indonesia formerly known as Buitenzorg Bogota Changed to Santa Fe de Bogota D C Distrito Capital in 1991 from Bogota D E Distrito Especial Changed back to the simplified Bogota D C Distrito Capital in 2000 Bratislava Slovakia formerly Pozsony or Pressburg Busan spelt Pusan prior to the official adoption of the Revised Romanization by the South Korean Government in 2000 During the Korean War it was the temporary capital Named Dongrae 동래 東萊 until 1910 citation needed In 1920 renamed Busan citation needed Chalons en Champagne formerly Chalons sur Marne until 1998 Chemnitz Germany from 1953 to 1990 named Karl Marx Stadt after Karl Marx Chennai called Madras until 1996 Ciudad Altamirano Mexico Formerly known as Pungarabato until 1936 Ciudad Bolivar Venezuela Formerly Santo Tomas de la Nueva Guayana de la Angostura del Orinoco briefed as just Angostura until 1846 Ciudad del Este Paraguay Founded as Puerto Flor de Lis in 1957 later renamed as Puerto Presidente Stroessner Received its current name after his fall in 1989 Ciudad Guerrero Mexico Formerly known as Concepcion de Papigochi until 1859 Ciudad Guzman Mexico Formerly Zapotlan el Grande until 1856 Ciudad Hidalgo Mexico Formerly known as Taximaroa until 1908 and Villa Hidalgo until 1922 Ciudad Juarez Mexico Formerly known as Paso del Norte until 1888 Ciudad Lerdo Mexico Formerly known as San Fernando until 1864 Ciudad Victoria Mexico Formerly known as Santa Maria de Aguayo until 1863 Cobh Ireland formerly known as Queenstown Constancia Portugal was known as Punhete until 1833 The name change was justified by the resemblance of the old toponym with the word punheta Portuguese for hand job Dhaka Bangladesh previously Dacca Daegu spelt Taegu prior to the official adoption of the Revised Romanization by the South Korean Government in 2000 In ancient times Dalgubeol 달구벌 達句伐 Dnipro Ukraine was officially changed from Dnipropetrovsk in 2016 following Ukraine s decommunization laws the former name is a contraction of the Ukrainian name of the river Dnieper and the surname of Soviet leader Hryhoriy Petrovsky Previous names include Katerynoslav Sicheslav and Novorossiysk Dobrich known as Bazargic between 1913 and 1940 Tolbuhin between 1945 and 1990 It was known Hacioglu Pazarcik during Ottoman rule Donetsk founded as Yuzovka after John Hughes in 1870 called Stalino 1924 1961 renamed Donyetsk in Russian Donetsk in Ukrainian after the De Stalinization period in the USSR Dushanbe known as Stalinabad between 1929 1961 and renamed Dushanbe after the De Stalinization period in the Soviet Union Dun Laoghaire Ireland formerly known as Kingstown Eisenhuttenstadt Germany was founded as Stalinstadt after World War II to settle displaced people from the former eastern German territories and was renamed during the De Stalinization period in the Soviet Union Faisalabad was known as Lyallpur until the 1970s in Pakistan Flores Guatemala Formerly known as Santa Maria de los Remedios until 1831 Florianopolis was known as Desterro until 1893 when the president of recent founded Brazilian republic Marshal Floriano Peixoto crushed the Naval Revolts and the supporters of Peixoto after the imprisonment of all his opponents changed the name of the city to honor the Marshal Fugging two places in Austria were called Fucking Gagarin town in Russia formerly Gzhatsk took current name after cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin s death in 1968 Gdansk in German Danzig when part of Kingdom of Prussia or Germany 1793 1920 and 1940 5 and as a Free City 1920 39 Gustavo A Madero Mexico Formerly known successively as Tepeyac Villa de Guadalupe and Guadalupe Hidalgo Got its current name in 1931 Harare named Salisbury until 1982 Other place names in Zimbabwe also changed Heraklion in Crete Greece Its ancient name was Heraklion In 824 it was named Handaq The Moat from which derived the Greek name Chandax in Byzantine times 961 1204 and later the Italian Candia during the Venetian period 1212 1669 when Candia eventually became the name of the whole island of Crete In Turkish times 1669 1898 it was called Kandiye by the Ottomans but from the locals Megalo Kastro Great Castle or simply Kastro During the time of the autonomous Cretan State 1898 1913 scholars proposed to reuse the ancient name Heraklion which eventually was accepted by the locals Hermosillo Mexico Known as Villa del Pitic until 1828 Ho Chi Minh City formerly Saigon changed in 1975 after the fall of South Vietnam see also Names of Ho Chi Minh City Huambo formerly Nova Lisboa changed in 1975 after the independence of Angola Istanbul since 28 March 1930 formerly Byzantium under Greek rule then Constantinople under Roman and Ottoman rule the latter name change inspired the popular song Istanbul Not Constantinople see also Names of Istanbul Iqaluit capital of Nunavut Territory in Canada known as Frobisher Bay until 1987 Ivano Frankivsk founded as polish Stanislawow in 1662 changed to Stanislau in 1772 under Austria After World War I it returned to its original name Then it was known as Stalislav 1939 41 Stanislau 1941 45 and again Stanislav until 1962 when it has been renamed to its current name to honour Ivan Franko Izmir since 28 March 1930 formerly Smyrna under Roman and Ottoman rule Jakarta Indonesia formerly Batavia Jayakarta and Sunda Kelapa Jayapura Indonesia formerly known as Hollandia and Sukarnopura Jerusalem renamed Aelia Capitolina by the Romans in 135 and was restored to Jerusalem in 325 Joao Pessoa formerly known as Cidade da Parahyba as Frederikstad and as Filipeia de Nossa Senhora das Neves 14 Kabwe in Zambia formerly Broken Hill Kaliningrad from Konigsberg in 1946 along with other cities in East Prussia Kanpur India formerly known as Cawnpore Katowice in Silesia Poland was Stalinogrod between 1953 and 1956 and Kattowitz when under German rule Kenora Ontario Canada from Rat Portage in 1905 Khujand Tajikistan from Leninabad between 1939 and 1992 Khodjend before 1939 Kimchaek North Korea formerly known as Songjin Renamed during the Korean War after the chief of staff of the North Korean army killed during the war Kingisepp Russia named after an Estonian communist Viktor Kingissepp formerly named Yamburg Yam and Yama Yamsky Gorodok Kinshasa formerly Leopoldville changed in 1966 Kirov Russia formerly Vyatka Kitchener Ontario was known as Berlin until 1916 it was changed due to hostility toward Germany in World War I See Berlin to Kitchener name change Kisangani formerly Stanleyville Klaipeda from Memel in 1945 Kochi India formerly Cochin Kota Kinabalu from Jesselton Kolkata India formerly Calcutta Kollam India formerly Quilon Krasnodar formerly Yekaterinodar Kuito formerly Silva Porto changed in 1975 after the independence of Angola Kuressaare Estonia was named Kingissepa after an Estonian communist Viktor Kingissepp during the Soviet occupation but was renamed Kuressaare again in 1988 Lake Station Indiana from East Gary to disassociate itself from the adjacent city of Gary Libres Mexico Formerly known as San Juan de los Llanos until 1860 Londonderry Northern Ireland known as Derry until 1623 when it received a royal charter The previous name still remains in use in certain areas See Derry Londonderry name dispute Lubumbashi formerly Elisabethville Lushun formerly Port Arthur in English or Ryojun during the Japanese occupation in the 1930s and 1940s Lviv Ukraine originally called Lviv It was the capital of the Kingdom of Ruthenia from 1272 until 1349 when it was conquered by Polish Kingdom and became Lwow Then became Lemberg under Austro Hungarian rule 1772 1918 reverted to Lviv for a short time of existence of West Ukrainian Republic 1918 reverted to Lwow 1918 1945 then Lvov under Soviet rule 1945 1991 restored current name on Ukrainian independence Latina Italy Latium whose former original fascist name was Littoria Makassar Indonesia formerly known as Ujung Pandang Malabo formerly Santa Isabel Maputo formerly Lourenco Marques Marijampole Lithuania was named Kapsukas after a Lithuanian communist Vincas Mickevicius Kapsukas during the Soviet occupation but was renamed Marijampole again in 1991 Matamoros Mexico Founded as San Juan de los Esteros in 1774 renamed Nuestra Senora del Refugio de los Esteros shortened to Villa del Refugio in 1793 Received its current name in 1826 Mbala Zambia formerly Abercorn Mexico City formerly the two altepetls or polities of Mexihco Tlatelolco and Mexihco Tenochtitlan Montana Bulgaria known as Kutlovitsa until 1890 Ferdinand between 1890 and 1945 Mihaylovgrad between 1945 and 1993 Montemorelos Mexico Formerly known as San Mateo del Pilon until 1825 Morelia Mexico Formerly known as Valladolid de Michoacan until 1827 Mumbai India formerly known as Bombay Natal known as New Amsterdam between 1633 and 1654 during the Dutch occupation New York formerly New Amsterdam see History of New York City Nizhniy Novgorod was Gorkiy during the Soviet Union from 1932 to 1990 North Little Rock Arkansas formerly Argenta until 1917 Novohrad Volynskyi known to 1796 as Zwiahel or Zvyahel Nuuk renamed from Godthab in 1979 following the introduction of the Home Rule Orenburg was renamed Chkalov from 1938 to 1957 after Valery Chkalov and renamed Orenburg in 1957 Oslo Norway renamed Christiania when rebuilt after fire in 1624 Spelled Kristiania between 1877 and 1925 when the name returned to Oslo Ottawa Ontario known as Bytown until 1855 Parramatta Australia was known as Rose Hill from establishment in 1788 until 1791 Perm known as Molotov from 1945 to 1957 after Vyacheslav Molotov and renamed Perm in 1957 Podgorica known as Titograd 1945 1992 Polokwane changed from Pietersburg in 2003 along with some other towns Port Klang changed from Port Swettenham the port of Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Portlaoise Ireland formerly Maryborough Prayagraj India formerly Allahabad Priozersk Russia in Finnish Kakisalmi when part of Finland until 1944 Puebla de Zaragoza Mexico known as Puebla de los Angeles until 1862 Recife Brazil formerly Mauritsstad Regina Saskatchewan Canada from Pile O Bones or Pile of bones in 1882 in what was then the North West Territory Rijeka from Fiume in 1945 Royal Tunbridge Wells changed from Queen s Wells to Tunbridge Wells in 1797 Renamed in 1909 to its current name after receiving a royal charter Royal Wootton Bassett known as Wootton Bassett until 2011 when it received a royal charter Sahiwal formerly known as Montgomery in Pakistan Saint Petersburg originally Saint Petersburg in 1703 then Petrograd in 1914 Leningrad in 1924 and back to Saint Petersburg in 1991 Saltcoats Saskatchewan Canada from Stirling in what was then the North West Territories Samara Russia renamed Kuibyshev from 1935 to 1991 after Valerian Kuibyshev and renamed Samara in 1991 San Cristobal de las Casas Mexico formerly known ad Ciudad Real de Chiapa or Chiapa de Espanoles until the end of Spanish rule San Felipe Torres Mochas recovered its original name in 1948 from 1889 until that year it was known as Villa Hernandez Alvarez San Pablo del Monte Mexico The original name before 1940 became known as Villa Vicente Guerrero until 2016 Santo Domingo capital of the Dominican Republic was renamed Ciudad Trujillo between 1936 and 1961 in a drive of personality cult around the dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo that also affected Pico Duarte renamed Pico Trujillo several provinces and other Dominican features Seoul formerly Hanyang from 1392 then Hanseong from 1395 Keijō or Gyeongseong from 1914 and renamed Seoul in 1946 See also Names of Seoul Sasmuan formerly Sexmoan renamed in 1991 after a referendum due to perceived sexual connotations of its former name 15 16 Shenyang formerly Mukden Fengtian 奉天 or Shengjing 盛京 Staines upon Thames formerly Staines renamed in 2012 with the aim of promoting its riverside location boosting the local economy and to disassociate itself from the character Ali G Sucre formerly known as La Plata 1539 mid 17th century Charcas mid 17th century to early 18th century and Chuquisaca until 1831 current name in honour of Antonio Jose de Sucre Szczecin in German Stettin when part of Germany until 1945 Tallinn known as Reval until 1917 Tel Aviv Yafo renamed Tel Aviv from Ahuzat Bayit Renamed Tel Aviv Yafo in 1950 after the annexation of Jaffa Yafo Thiruvananthapuram India formerly Trivandrum Thunder Bay Ontario Canada in 1970 from the merger of twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur Tokyo formerly Edo until it became the capital of Japan in 1868 Tolyatti formerly known as Stavropol on Volga and Stavropol In 1964 it was renamed Tolyatti after Palmiro Togliatti Toronto known as York at the time of the War of 1812 Tskhinvali Georgia also known as Tskhinval or Ch reba in present time formerly named Staliniri 1934 1961 Tver known as Kalinin from 1931 to 1990 Ulyanovsk in Russia formerly Simbirsk Urumqi formerly known as Tihwa 迪化 Dǐhua in pinyin which means to enlighten in Chinese In 1954 renamed Urumqi which means beautiful pasture in Dzungar Mongolian Varanasi India formerly known as Benares or Banaras and Kashi Veles known as Titov Veles between 1945 and 1991 Ventura California originally San Buenaventura New Spain and Mexico Vilnius the capital of Lithuania was known as Vilna or Wilno when it was under Polish rule 1920 1939 Villahermosa Mexico Formerly known as San Juan Bautista until 1916 Virden Manitoba Canada from Manchester Volgograd formerly Tsaritsyn 1589 1925 Stalingrad 1925 1961 Vyborg in Finnish Viipuri when part of Finland until 1944 Wanganui New Zealand Originally called Petre now known dually as Wanganui and Whanganui Wroclaw in German Breslau when part of Germany until 1945 Xi an Usually spelt Sian until the 1980s Formerly Chang an 長安 the ancient name for the city when it was the capital of China until the name was changed to Xi an in the Ming dynasty Xiangyang named Xiangfan between 1950 and 2010 Yangon renamed Yangon after being known as Rangoon 1852 1988 Still known as Rangoon in many English speaking countries Yekaterinburg known as Sverdlovsk in the Soviet Union Yonashiro changed from Okinawan Yonagusuku to a Japanese name and elevated to town status in 1994 Yuzhno Sakhalinsk named Toyohara under Japanese rule between 1905 and 1946 but before that was Vladimirovka a Russian settlement before the Russo Japanese War 1882 1905 Zhob Pakistan renamed from Fort Sandeman in 1976 17 Zlin Czech Republic renamed Gottwaldov between 1949 and 1989 after Klement Gottwald a Czechoslovak communist politician before reverting to Zlin Zmiiv Ukraine renamed Gotwald between 1976 and 1990 after Klement Gottwald a Czechoslovak communist politician before reverting to Zmiiv Unusual name changes editSpeed Victoria was renamed Speedkills for one month in 2011 as a road safety campaign 18 Truth or Consequences New Mexico changed from the name Hot Springs in 1950 when Truth or Consequences host Ralph Edwards announced that he would do the show from the first town that renamed itself after the popular radio program Jim Thorpe Pennsylvania formerly Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk negotiated a deal with the heirs of athlete Jim Thorpe to become the site of his tomb in a bid to increase tourism Ismay Montana unofficially took the name of Joe Montana after the NFL quarterback Joe Montana as part of a 1993 publicity stunt Clark Texas renamed itself DISH after the EchoStar Communications Dish Network all 55 households in the town are given free satellite television for 10 years Buffalo Texas temporarily renamed itself Blue Star Texas in 1993 and 1994 when the Dallas Cowboys faced the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl and later renamed itself Green Star Texas in 1999 when the Dallas Stars faced the Buffalo Sabres in the Stanley Cup Finals Buffalo is approximately 100 miles 160 km southeast of Dallas in all three instances the supportive name change proved successful for the Dallas area team Halfway Oregon became the first place to accept money from a dot com to change its name to match the web site Half com Santa Idaho a hamlet with a population of 115 became secretsanta com on 9 December 2005 19 Pippa Passes Kentucky originally Caney Creek but renamed after the Robert Browning poem Pippa Passes through the influence of Alice Spencer Geddes Lloyd founder of Alice Lloyd College Washington Pennsylvania temporarily renamed itself Steeler when the Pittsburgh Steelers made it to the Super Bowl in 2006 20 Eastpointe Michigan incorporated as the village of Halfway in December 1924 and reincorporated as the City of East Detroit in January 1929 The city changed its name to Eastpointe after a vote in 1992 the name change had been proposed to reduce its association with the adjacent city of Detroit a move that offended many Detroit residents and the pointe is intended to associate the city with the exclusive communities of the Grosse Pointes However the school district that serves most of the city was unaffected by the municipal name change for many years afterwards and consequently still used the name East Detroit Public Schools up until 2017 before changing to Eastpointe Community Schools Sleepy Hollow New York renamed from North Tarrytown in 1997 in honor of the Washington Irving short story On June 4 9 of each year Dublin Texas changes its name and even its road signs to Dr Pepper Texas to commemorate the anniversary of the first Dr Pepper Bottling Plant which is located there The Chilean Robinson Crusoe Island renamed from Mas a Tierra in 1966 The Spanish village Asquerosa in Spanish filthy was renamed as Valderrubio in 1943 Richland New Jersey briefly renamed itself Mohito in 2004 at the behest of the Bacardi company in honor of the mint grown at Delponte Farms an essential ingredient in the drink citation needed The New Zealand town of Otorohanga briefly changed its name to Harrodsville in 1986 in support of local restaurateur Henry Harrod who was being threatened with lawsuits over the name of his business by Harrod s of London 21 Two neighbors of Paterson New Jersey were renamed to reduce its association with the adjacent city In 1973 the Borough of East Paterson was renamed Elmwood Park New Jersey and in 2009 the Borough of West Paterson was renamed Woodland Park New Jersey Both boroughs elected to retain its original initials Naming disputes editMain article List of geographical naming disputesSee also editAfricanization Animal name changes in Turkey Decoloniality Dual naming Exonym and endonym Hebraization of Palestinian place names Indigenization Geographic Names Information System List of administrative division name changes List of city name changes List of Australian place names changed from German names List of renamed places in Angola List of renamed cities and towns in Russia List of renamed places in the United States List of double placenames List of entities and changes in The World Factbook List of places List of politically motivated renamings South African Geographical Names Council Street name controversy Street sign theft Toponymy United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names United States Board on Geographic NamesFootnotes edit renaming of Londonderry to Derry remains highly controversial According to the city s royal charter of 10 April 1662 the official name is Londonderry This was reaffirmed in a High Court decision in January 2007 when Derry City Council sought guidance on the procedure for effecting a name change The name Derry is preferred by nationalists and it is broadly used throughout Northern Ireland s Catholic community as well as that of the Republic of Ireland whereas many unionists prefer Londonderry however in everyday conversation Derry is used by most Protestant residents of the city Apart from this local government decision the city is usually known as Londonderry in official use within the United Kingdom In the Republic of Ireland the city and county are almost always referred to as Derry on maps in the media and in conversation citation needed References edit Enalanga Marcellus 17 June 2023 Renaming or reclaiming Here s what happened with K gari and what could change elsewhere SBS News Retrieved 27 June 2023 Sutter John D Topeka renames itself Google Kansas CNN yax 491 Road names as markers of history yawningbread org Retrieved 2 April 2017 Full text of white paper on history development of Xinjiang Chinese Embassy Ottawa Xinhua 24 October 2003 Retrieved 23 August 2010 Which Name to Use for Vietnam s Largest City TripSavvy Retrieved 27 October 2018 Timeline of country name changes in HMG use 1919 to 2023 GOV UK Retrieved 16 September 2023 Turkiye The Republic of Turkiye changed its official name from The Republic of Turkey on 26 May 2022 in a request submitted to the Secretary General by the country s Minister of Foreign Affairs United Nations Mahadi Al Hasnat 2 April 2018 Mixed reactions as govt changes English spellings of 5 district names Dhaka Tribune Retrieved 8 April 2018 Mahadi Al Hasnat 2 April 2018 Mixed reactions as govt changes English spellings of 5 district names Dhaka Tribune Retrieved 8 April 2018 Historia de Rondonia Archived from the original on 13 December 2013 Retrieved 10 December 2013 Agenda da UFRR 17 04 16 Newfoundland s name change now official Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 6 December 2001 Retrieved 10 March 2012 Haida Nation Her Majesty the Queen in Her Right of the Province of British Columbia Autumn 2015 Amending Agreement of the Kunst aa guu Kunst aayah Reconciliation Protocol PDF Retrieved 19 February 2018 Historia Nomes Paraibanos com in Portuguese Archived from the original on 13 August 2017 Retrieved 13 January 2015 Santa Lucia Church Sasmuan Pampanga Archived from the original on 17 November 2015 Retrieved 15 January 2015 Jennings Ken 17 April 2012 Maphead Charting the Wide Weird World of Geography Wonks Scribner ISBN 978 1439167182 Balochistan Police Official Site Archived from the original on 4 March 2010 Retrieved 18 December 2009 Bryant Nick 18 February 2011 Australian town becomes SpeedKills in safety campaign BBC News Retrieved 2 April 2017 Haines Lester 24 November 2005 Idaho town becomes Secretsanta com The Register Retrieved 2 April 2017 Robb Jackson Mary 27 January 2006 Washington Temporarily Renames Town Steeler PA KDKA com Archived from the original on 7 May 2006 Retrieved 26 June 2006 Chatological Humor Updated 11 16 07 washingtonpost com Retrieved 2 April 2017 Bibliography editBranford Becky 26 May 2005 City names mark changing times at BBC News Accessed 26 November 2005 Giraut F amp Houssay Holzschuch M 2022 The Politics of Place Naming Naming the World ISTE John Wiley External links editPortals nbsp geography nbsp politics Name Changes Since 1990 Countries Cities and More at Mapping com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Geographical renaming amp oldid 1217750366, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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