Geographical renaming is the changing of the

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...

of a geographical feature or area. This can range from the change of a

street name A street name is an identifying name given to a street or road. In toponymic terminology, names of streets and roads are referred to as hodonyms (from Greek ‘road’, and ‘name’). The street name usually forms part of the address (th ...

to a change to the name of a country. 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 De-Stalinization (russian: десталинизация, translit=destalinizatsiya) comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and the thaw brought about by ascensio ...

). 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. Other more unusual reasons for renaming have included getting rid of an inappropriate or embarrassing name and as part of a sponsorship deal or publicity stunt. A change might see a completely different name being adopted or may only be a slight change in spelling. In some cases established institutions preserve the old names of the renamed places in their names, such as the

Pusan National University Pusan National University (PNU), also called Busan National University, is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities in South Korea and second highest public universities in South Korea. Located mainly in Busan (or Pusan), the universit ...

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...

, South Korea; the

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

; Bombay Stock Exchange, IIT Bombay and the

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), and is one of the ol ...

in Mumbai; University of Madras,

Madras Stock Exchange The Madras Stock Exchange (MSE) was a stock exchange in Chennai, India. The now defunct MSE was the fourth stock exchange to be established in the country and the first in South India. It had a turnover (2001) of 3,090 crore ($440 million), ...

, the

Madras High Court The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...

, and IIT Madras in Chennai; the University of Malaya, Keretapi Tanah Melayu, in Malaysia; and

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

(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".

Romanisation

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.

Chinese names

China developed and adopted the Pinyin romanisation system in February 1958 in place of previous systems such as the

postal romanization Postal romanization was a system of transliterating Chinese place names developed by postal authorities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For many cities, the corresponding postal romanization was the most common English-language for ...

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 Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the capital of Inner Mongolia in the north of the People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrative, economic and cultural center.''The Ne ...

, Xigazê, Ili, Altay, Kaxgar,

Hulunbuir Hulunbuir or Hulun Buir ( mn, , ''Kölün buyir'', Mongolian Cyrillic: Хөлөнбуйр, ''Khölönbuir''; zh, s=呼伦贝尔, ''Hūlúnbèi'ěr'') is a region that is governed as a prefecture-level city in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. ...

, Erenhot, with a notable exception being place names in Ningxia, whose native

Hui people The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the ...

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. Examples of changes: In the People's Republic of China *Peking →

*Canton → Guangdong *Nanking → Nanjing *Sian → Xi'an *Chengtu →

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

*Chungking →

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

*Tientsin → Tianjin *Sinkiang → Xinjiang *Heilungkiang → Heilongjiang In the Republic of China (Taiwan) *Shih-lin → Shilin *Chung-cheng → Zhongzheng * Tamsui → Danshui (since reverted) In Singapore *Peck San → Bishan *Ao Kang → Hougang *Nee Soon →

Yishun Yishun, formerly known as Nee Soon, is a residential town located in the northeastern corner of the North Region of Singapore, bordering Simpang and Sembawang to the north, Mandai to the west, the Central Water Catchment to its southwest, An ...

Korean names

The introduction of the

Revised Romanization of Korean Revised Romanization of Korean () is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. It was developed by the National Academy of the Korean Language from 1995 and was released to the public on 7 July 2000 by South Korea's Min ...

in place of the

McCune–Reischauer McCune–Reischauer romanization () is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems. A modified version of McCune–Reischauer was the official romanization system in South Korea until 2002, when it was replaced by the Re ...

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 Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

*Kyŏngju →

Gyeongju Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...

*Pusan →

*Taegu →

Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

*Taejŏn → Daejeon

Exonyms and endonyms

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 Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

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 Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. *Transfer of a city between countries speaking different

languages Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

can result in seeming changes of name. Changes can be as slight as Straßburg (Germany) and

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

(France). Some are less subtle: Thessaloniki, built in 4th century BC in

ancient Macedonia Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

became Selanik in the Ottoman Empire and sometimes being referred to as Salonica, now Thessaloniki in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

; Pilsen in the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

became

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

in Czechoslovakia;

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the middle of the ...

, 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 Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...

. *When the formerly-German city of Danzig came under Polish rule, it became known in English by its Polish name of

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

. But when

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

gave his

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

speech he still spoke of a city in Poland by its German name (

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

) instead of its contemporary Polish name

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

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 Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

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 Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

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 The country known in English as Burma, or Myanmar, has undergone changes in both its official and popular names worldwide. The choice of names stems from the existence of two different names for the country in Burmese, which are used in differ ...

). *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 The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

regions from sometimes patronising

Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...

names to those of the native language. For example, it changed Dihua to Ürümqi and Zhenxi to Barkol. *After the occupation of the communist North Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War, the city of

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

changed its name to

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

(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. The name of the river, however, remains unchanged, the Saigon River.

Changes resulting from splits and mergers

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

got its name from the agglomeration of the Czech and Slovak peoples in 1918. It peacefully dissolved into the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

and the

Slovak Republic Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

in 1993. * Yugoslavia ("Land of the South Slavs") was originally ''Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes'', created by joining

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

, Kingdom of Montenegro and parts of

inhabited by South Slavs (today comprising

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

, 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. Serbia's autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija unilaterally declared its independence in 2008. * The Gambia and Senegal became one as

Senegambia Confederation Senegambia, officially the Senegambia Confederation or Confederation of Senegambia, was a loose confederation in the late 20th century between the West African countries of Senegal and its neighbour the Gambia, which is almost completely surr ...

1982–1989 * Tanganyika and Zanzibar joined to become Tanzania *

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

were briefly joined as the United Arab Republic *

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

merged with the northern Borneo territories of Sabah and Sarawak to become Malaysia in 1963. *Various places split by compass directions, such as North and South Dakota, West Virginia and Virginia, North and South Korea, East and West Germany, etc. South Yemen was previously known as the Aden Protectorate and by other names. Some of these were subsequently unified, such as

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

and Yemen.

List of significant name changes

This is a list of internationally important or significant renamings.

Countries

* Terra de Santa Cruz →

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

(1530) * Temasik → Singapore (1819) *

New Granada New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia. *New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717 *Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1819 *United Provinces of ...

→

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Ca ...

(1819) *

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

→ Mexico (1821) * Upper Peru →

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

(1825) * Republic of the Seven United Netherlands →

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic ( nl, Bataafse Republiek; french: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis B ...

(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) *

→

(1831) →

(1863) *

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...

→ French Dahomey (1894) * Spanish East Indies → Philippines (1898) * Eastern Bengal and Assam (1905) → East Bengal (1947) * 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 or Southern Ireland → Irish Free State (1922) → Republic of Ireland (1949) *

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

→ Moldavian SSR (1940) * Abyssinia →

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...

(1941) *

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, wh ...

→ Indonesia ( 1945 or 1949) * Transjordan → Jordan (1946) * Siam → Thailand (1949) * East Bengal → East Pakistan (1955) * Gold Coast →

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

(1957) * Ubangi-Shari →

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of the C ...

(1958) * French Dahomey → Republic of Dahomey (1958) * French Upper Volta → Republic of Upper Volta (1958) *

French Sudan French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

→ Mali (1960) * Western Samoa Trust Territory → Western Samoa (1962) → Samoa (1997) * United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar → Tanzania (1964) * Nyasaland → Malawi (1964) *

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

→ Zambia (1964) * Southern Rhodesia →

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

(1964) * Bechuanaland →

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...

(1966) *

Basutoland Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho. Though the Basotho (then known as Basuto) and their territory had been under British control starting in 1868 (and ruled by Cape Colony from 1871), th ...

→

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

(1966) *

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

→

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

(1966) * Spanish Guinea →

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

(1968) *

French Somaliland French Somaliland (french: Côte française des Somalis, lit= French Coast of the Somalis so, Xeebta Soomaaliyeed ee Faransiiska) was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. It existed between 1884 and 1967, at which time it became the French ...

→ Afars and Issas (1967) * Muscat and Oman → Oman (1970) *

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

→ Zaïre (1971) * East Pakistan →

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

(1971) *

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

→

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

(1972) * British Honduras →

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

(1973) * Portuguese Guinea → Guinea-Bissau (1974) *

Dutch Guiana Dutch Guiana may refer to: * Dutch colonisation of the Guianas, the coastal region between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in South America * Surinam (Dutch colony), commonly called "Dutch Guiana" after the loss of other large colonies in the area ...

→

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

(1975) * Republic of Dahomey → Benin (1975) *

Spanish Possessions in the Sahara Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...

→ Spanish West Africa (1946) →

Province of the Sahara Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...

(1958) → Western Sahara (1975) *

Khmer Republic The Khmer Republic ( km, សាធារណរដ្ឋខ្មែរ, ; french: République khmère) was a pro-United States military-led republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on 9 October 1970. The Khmer Republic wa ...

→

Kampuchea Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

(1975) * Portuguese Timor →

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-we ...

(1975) * Afars and Issas →

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Re ...

(1977) * Ellice Islands → Tuvalu (1978) *

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...

→ Kiribati (1979) *

→

Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Zimbabwe Rhodesia (), alternatively known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, also informally known as Zimbabwe or Rhodesia, and sometimes as Rhobabwe, was a short-lived sovereign state that existed from 1 June to 12 December 1979. Zimbabwe Rhodesia was p ...

(1979) *

→ Zimbabwe (1980) * New Hebrides → Vanuatu (1980) * Republic of Upper Volta →

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

(1984) *

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

→ Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (1986) *

→

(1989; disputed) * Southwest Africa → Namibia (1990) * Moldavian SSR → Republic of Moldova (1991) *

Belarusian Democratic Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; be, Беларуская Народная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Narodnaja Respublika, ), or Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic R ...

→

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

(1919) → Republic of Belarus (1991) * Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast → Kirghiz ASSR (1926) → Kirghiz SSR (1936) →

Socialist Republic of Kyrgyzstan The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghiz SSR; ky, Кыргыз Советтик Социалисттик Республикасы, Kyrgyz Sovettik Sotsialisttik Respublikasy, ky, Кыргыз ССР, Kyrgyz SSR, russian: Киргизск ...

(1990) →

Republic of Kyrgyzstan A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a " government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 1 ...

(1990) → Kyrgyz Republic (1991) * Kirghiz ASSR → Kazakh ASSR (1925) → Kazakh SSR (1936) →

Republic of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbekis ...

(1991) * Russian Empire → Russian Republic (1917) → Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1917) → Russian Federation (1991) * Kingdom of Cambodia →

(1970) → Democratic Kampuchea (1975) → People's Republic of Kampuchea (1979) → State of Cambodia (1989) → Kingdom of Cambodia (1993) * Zaïre →

(1997) *

→ 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 , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

→ Cabo Verde (2013) *

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

→

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

(2018) * Democratic Federal Macedonia (1944) → People's Republic of Macedonia (1946) →

Socialist Republic of Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...

(1963) → Republic of Macedonia (1991) → Republic of North Macedonia (2019) *

Republic of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

→

Republic of Türkiye Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in S ...

(2022)

Partially recognized states

* 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 The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija ( sr, Косово и Метохиja, Kosovo i Metohija; sq, Kosova dhe Metohija), commonly known as Kosovo and abbreviated to Kosmet or KiM, is an autonomous province defined by the constituti ...

→ Kosovo (2008) * Nagorno-Karabakh Republic → Republic of Artsakh (2017) * Republic of South Ossetia → Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania (2017)

Subnational entities

;Australia * Van Diemen's Land → Tasmania (1856) ;Bangladesh *Dacca → Dhaka (1983) *Barisal →

Barishal Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Dist ...

(2018) *Chittagong →

Chattogram Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

(2018) ;Belgium *Lys → West-Vlaanderen (1815) *Meuse-Inférieure → Limburg (1815) *Escaut → Oost-Vlaanderen (1815) *Jemappes → Henegouwen (1815) → Hainaut (1830) *Dyle → Zuid-Brabant (1815) → Brabant (1831) ;

*Guaporé →

Rondônia Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdivision of the country (central-western part). To the west is a short border with the state of Acre, to the north is the state of Amazonas, in the east is Mato Grosso, ...

(1956) *Rio Branco →

Roraima Roraima (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas ...

(1962) ;Canada *Province of Newfoundland → Province of Newfoundland and Labrador (2001) *Queen Charlotte Islands → Haida Gwaii (2010) ;China * Chih-li (Zhili) →

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

(1928) ;Cuba * Santa Clara province → Las Villas province (1940) → split into Villa Clara, Sancti Spiritus and

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 150,000. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especial ...

provinces (1976) * Camagüey province → split into

Camagüey Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 321,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by S ...

, and

Ciego de Ávila Ciego de Ávila City () is a city in the central part of Cuba and the capital of Ciego de Ávila Province. The city has a population of about 497.000, in a municipality of 756,373. Geography Ciego de Ávila lies on the Carretera Central highway ...

provinces (1976) *

Oriente province Oriente (, "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country, which currently is divided into five different provinces. Fidel and Raúl Castro were born in a sm ...

→ Santiago de Cuba province (1878) → Oriente province (1904) → split into Las Tunas, Holguín, Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo provinces (1976) * La Habana province → split into La Habana, and

Ciudad de La Habana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

provinces (1976). * La Habana province → split into Artemisa, and Mayabeque provinces (2011) *

Ciudad de La Habana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

province → La Habana province ( Havana) (2011) * Isla de Pinos (Isle of Pines) →

Isla de la Juventud Isla de la Juventud (; en, Isle of Youth) is the second-largest Cuban island (after Cuba's mainland) and the seventh-largest island in the West Indies (after mainland Cuba itself, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and Andros Islan ...

( Isle of Youth) island (1978). ;France *Mayenne-et-Loire →

Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indre-e ...

(1791) *Bec-d'Ambès →

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...

(1795) *Charente-Inférieure → Charente-Maritime (1941) *Seine-Inférieure → Seine-Maritime (1955) *Loire-Inférieure →

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population o ...

(1957) *Basses-Pyrénées → Pyrénées-Atlantiques (1969) *Basses-Alpes →

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence or sometimes abbreviated as AHP (; oc, Aups d'Auta Provença; ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the south, Vaucluse to the west ...

(1970) *Côtes-du-Nord → Côtes-d'Armor (1990) ;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) ; Indonesia *Irian Barat → Irian Jaya (1973) → Papua (2001) *Irian Jaya Barat →

Papua Barat West Papua ( id, Papua Barat), formerly Irian Jaya Barat (West Irian), is a province of Indonesia. It covers the two western peninsulas of the island of New Guinea, the eastern half of the Bird's Head Peninsula (or Doberai Peninsula) and the ...

(2007) *Aceh Darussalam → Daerah Istimewa Aceh (1959) → Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam (2001) →

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...

(2009) ; Ireland *King's County →

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

(1922) *Queen's County →

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

(1922) *County Tyreconnell → County Donegal (1927) ; Kazakhstan * South Kazakhstan → Turkistan Region (2018) *Akmolinsk (1830) → Tselinograd (1961) → Aqmola (1992) → Astana (1998) → Nur-Sultan (2019) → Astana (2022) ; Malaysia * British North Borneo → Sabah (1963) *Prang Besar > Putrajaya (1999) ; Mexico * Nueva Galicia →

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

(1824) * Nuevo Santander → Tamaulipas (1824) ; Netherlands *Bouches-de-l'Escaut → Zeeland (1815) *Bouches-de-l'Yssel →

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

(1815) *Meuse-Inférieure → Limburg (1815) ; Pakistan *Nawabshah District → Shaheed Benazirabad District (2008) *Northern Areas → Gilgit–Baltistan (2009) * North West Frontier Province → Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2010) ;Russia *

Kuibyshev Oblast Samara Oblast ( rus, Сама́рская о́бласть, r=Samarskaya oblast, p=sɐˈmarskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Samara. From 1935 to 1991, it was known as Kuyb ...

→ Samara Oblast (1991) ; South Africa * Natal →

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

(1994) * Eastern Transvaal →

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

(1995) * Orange Free State → Free State (1995) * Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging → Gauteng (1995) * Northern Transvaal → Northern Province (1995) → Limpopo (2003) ;Switzerland *Léman → Genève (1815) *Simplon → Valais (1815) ;United Kingdom *Londonderry City Council → Derry City Council (1984; disputed) *Shropshire → Salop (1974) → Shropshire (1980) ;United States *State of Massachusetts Bay → Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1781) *State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations → State of Rhode Island (2020)

Cities and towns

* 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 Atyrau ( kk, Атырау, ', ; russian: Атырау, ), known until 1991 as Guryev (russian: Гурьев, ), is a city in Kazakhstan and the capital of Atyrau Region. Atyrau is a transcontinental city, at the mouth of the Ural River on the Cas ...

, Kazakhstan, formerly from 1708 to 1992 as Guriev (or Gur'yev, Gurjev, or Guryev) *

Banda Aceh Banda Aceh ( Acehnese: ''Banda Acèh'', Jawoë: كوتا بند اچيه) is the capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of . The city covers an area of and had ...

, Indonesia – formerly known as Kutaraja. *

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, India, set to be changed to

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

with state government approval in 2006 but yet to be ratified by the central government *

Banjul Banjul (,"Banjul"
(US) and ), officially the City of Ba ...

, formerly Bathurst. *

, 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 Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...

, Kyrgyzstan, between 1926 and 1991 called Frunze. *

Bogor Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

– 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 Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, Slovakia, formerly Pozsony or Pressburg *

– 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. In 1920, renamed to Busan. * Châlons-en-Champagne, formerly Châlons-sur-Marne until 1998. *

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germa ...

in Saxony, Germany – named, from 1953 to 1990, 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 Guerrero is one of the 67 municipalities of Chihuahua, in northern Mexico. The municipal seat lies at Vicente Guerrero (aka Ciudad Guerrero). The municipality covers an area of 5,603.6 km². As of 2010, the municipality had a total populatio ...

, 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 Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Ju� ...

, 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 Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...

, 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,

– previously Dacca *

– 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 Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

, 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 Dobrich ( bg, Добрич ; ro, Bazargic, tr, Hacıoğlu Pazarcık) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, 9th most populated city in Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Dobrich Province and the capital of the region of Southern Dobr ...

– 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 De-Stalinization (russian: десталинизация, translit=destalinizatsiya) comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and the thaw brought about by ascensio ...

period in the USSR * Dushanbe – known as Stalinabad between 1929–1961 and renamed Dushanbe after the

period in the Soviet Union. * Dún Laoghaire, Ireland – formerly known as Kingstown * Eisenhüttenstadt in eastern Brandenburg, Germany, was founded as Stalinstadt after World War 2 to settle displaced people from the former eastern German territories, and was renamed during the

period in the Soviet Union. * Faisalabad was known as Lyallpur (until the 1970s) in Pakistan. *

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Including the Komodo Islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the land area is 15,530.58 km2, and t ...

, Guatemala. Formerly known as Santa María de los Remedios until 1831. *

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina, in the South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as well as part of the mainland. It has a populat ...

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 Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...

, town in Russia; formerly Gzhatsk, took current name after cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's death in 1968 *

– in German Danzig, when part of Kingdom of Prussia or Germany (1793-1920 and 1940–5) and as a

Free City Free city may refer to: Historical places * Free city (antiquity) a self-governed city during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial eras * Free imperial city, self-governed city in the Holy Roman Empire subordinate only to the emperor ** Free City of ...

(1920–39). *

Gustavo A. Madero Gustavo Adolfo Madero González (16 January 187518 February 1913), born in Parras de la Fuente, Coahuila, Mexico, was a participant in the Mexican Revolution against Porfirio Díaz along with other members of his wealthy family. He was als ...

, Mexico. Formerly known successively as Tepeyac, Villa de Guadalupe and

Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

. Got its current name in 1931. * Harare – named Salisbury until 1982. Other

place names in Zimbabwe Place names in Zimbabwe, including the name of the country itself, have been altered at various points in history. The name Zimbabwe was officially adopted concurrently with Britain's grant of independence in April 1980. Prior to that point, t ...

also changed. * Heraklion in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

, 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. *

– formerly Saigon, changed in 1975 after the fall of South Vietnam (see also

Names of Ho Chi Minh City The city now known as Ho Chi Minh City ( vi, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, links=no ) has gone by several different names during its history, reflecting settlement by different ethnic, cultural and political groups. Originally known as ''Prey Nôk ...

) * Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa, changed in 1975 after the independence of Angola * Istanbul – since 28 March 1930, formerly

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' co ...

(under Greek rule) then

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

(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 Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk O ...

, 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. * Izmir – since 28 March 1930, formerly Smyrna (under Roman and Ottoman rule). *

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, Indonesia – formerly Batavia, Jayakarta, and Sunda Kelapa. *

Jayapura Jayapura (formerly Dutch: ''Hollandia'') is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of Papua. It is situated on the northern coast of New Guinea island and covers an area of . The city borders the Pacific Ocean and Yos Sudarso ...

, Indonesia – formerly known as Hollandia and Sukarnopura. * Jerusalem – renamed to 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. * Kabwe in Zambia – formerly Broken Hill. * Kaliningrad from Königsberg in 1946 (along with other cities in East Prussia) *

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

, India – formerly known as Cawnpore. *

Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...

in Silesia, Poland was Stalinogród between 1953 and 1956, and Kattowitz when under German rule *

Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (french: Portage-aux-Rats), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The his ...

, Ontario, Canada from Rat Portage in 1905. * Khujand in Tajikistan from Leninabad between 1939 and 1992. Khodjend before 1939 * Kimchaek in 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 Kingisepp (russian: Ки́нгисепп or ), formerly Yamburg (), Yam (), and Yama (; Votic language, Votic: Jaama), is an ancient types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Kingiseppsky District of Lening ...

, Russia, named after an Estonian

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Viktor Kingissepp, formerly named Yamburg, Yam, and Yama (Yamsky Gorodok). *

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

– formerly Léopoldville, changed in 1966. *

Kirov, Russia Kirov (russian: Киров; masculine) or Kirova (; feminine or masculine genitive) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Kirov, Kirov Oblast, a city and the administrative center of Kirov Oblast *Kirov, Kalug ...

– 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 Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

, India – formerly Quilon. * Krasnodar – formerly Yekaterinodar. * Kuito formerly Silva Porto, changed in 1975 after the independence of Angola * Kuressaare,

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

– was named Kingissepa after an Estonian

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 Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

. * 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 The names of the city and county of Derry or Londonderry in Northern Ireland are the subject of a naming dispute between Irish nationalists and unionists. Generally, although not always, nationalists favour using the name ''Derry'', and u ...

) * 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 Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...

, Indonesia – formerly known as Ujung Pandang. *

Malabo Malabo ( , ; formerly Santa Isabel) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea and the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko, ( bvb, Etulá, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a p ...

– formerly Santa Isabel. * Maputo – formerly Lourenço Marques. * Marijampolė,

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

– was named Kapsukas after a Lithuanian

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 to Nuestra Señora del Refugio de los Esteros (shortened to Villa del Refugio) in 1793. Received its current name in 1826. * Mbala in 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; formerly

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

between 1633 and 1654 during the Dutch occupation. *

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

– formerly

(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 Zviahel (, ; translit. ''Zvil'') is a city in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Originally known as ''Zviahel'', the city was renamed to ''Novohrad-Volynskyi'' () in 1795 after annexation of territories of Polish–Lithuanian C ...

known to 1796 as Zwiahel, or Zvyahel. * Nuuk renamed from Godthåb in 1979, following the introduction of the Home Rule. *

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

was renamed Chkalov from 1938 to 1957, after Valery Chkalov and renamed

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 Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario known as Bytown until 1855. * Parramatta in New South Wales, 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 to 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 Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Ireland. It is located in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. The 2016 census shows that the town's population increased by 9.5% to 22,050 ...

, 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 in Pernambuco,

– formerly Mauritsstad. * Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada from Pile O' Bones or Pile-of-bones in 1882 in what was then the North-West Territory. *

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

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 Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population of ...

– renamed to 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 The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

was renamed to 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) *

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...

– formerly Mukden, Fengtian (奉天) or Shengjing (盛京). *

Staines-upon-Thames Staines-upon-Thames is a market town in northwest Surrey, England, around west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne, at the confluence of the River Thames and Colne. Historically part of Middlesex, the town was transferred to ...

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 Alistair Leslie Graham, better known as Ali G, is a satirical fictional character created and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. A faux-streetwise poseur from Staines, Ali G speaks in rude boy-style Multicultural London English a ...

. *

Sucre Sucre () is the Capital city, capital of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the List of cities in Bolivia, 6th most populated city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . T ...

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. *

– 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 to Tel Aviv-Yafo in 1950 after the annexation of

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

(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 Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

, until it became the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of Japan in 1868. * Tolyatti – formerly known as Stavropol-on-Volga and Stavropol. In 1964, it was renamed to Tolyatti after Palmiro Togliatti * Toronto – known as York at the time of the War of 1812. * Tskhinvali,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

– 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 to 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

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. * Zlín, Czechia – 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

Speed, Victoria Speed is a locality in Victoria, Australia, located approximately 143 km from Mildura, Victoria and about 410 km from Melbourne. Speed was named after William, Harold and Gordon Speed, who settled in the district in 1903. Settlement by ...

, was renamed to Speedkills for one month in 2011 as a road safety campaign. * 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 The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

quarterback Joe Montana, as part of a 1993 publicity stunt * Clark, Texas, renamed itself "DISH" after the EchoStar Communications'

Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...

– 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 The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

faced the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

, and later renamed itself "Green Star, Texas" in 1999 when the Dallas Stars faced the Buffalo Sabres in the

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...

(Buffalo is approximately southeast of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

; 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 * Pippa Passes, Kentucky, originally Caney Creek but renamed after the

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

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 The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

made it to the

in 2006. * 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 Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

(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 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 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 "Más a Tierra" in 1966. * The Spanish village Asquerosa (in Spanish, 'filthy') was renamed as Valderrubio in 1943. * Richland, New Jersey, Richland, New Jersey briefly renamed itself "Mohito" in 2004 at the behest of the Bacardi company in honor of the Mentha, mint grown at Delponte Farms, an essential ingredient in the drink. *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. * 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

*Britain and Ireland naming disputes **British Isles naming dispute ** Northern Ireland: The often-disputed alternative names for Northern Ireland are summarised in 'Northern Ireland#Alternative names, Northern Ireland' and discussed in detail in 'Alternative names for Northern Ireland'. **Ireland (state), Ireland: A 61-year-long dispute concerning the country's name ended in 1998 and is summarised Republic of Ireland#Name, here and discussed in detail Names of the Irish state#Name dispute with the UK. **

in Northern Ireland **Dingle#Name, Dingle/''An Daingean'': The Irish town of Dingle (An Daingean ''or'' Daingean Uí Chúis) has been the focal point of a dispute over whether official signposts in officially Irish-speaking areas (the Gaeltacht) should show place names in Irish only, thus possibly endangering income from tourism. *The Hyphen War of 1990 –

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

''or'' Czecho-Slovakia *Denali naming dispute over the peak formerly known as Mount McKinley, in Alaska, United States *Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands dispute, Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands naming dispute *Renaming of cities in India *Sea of Japan naming dispute *Macedonia naming dispute, now resolved as North Macedonia *Persian Gulf naming dispute starting in the 1960s *Name of Iran, Persia or Iran *Pretoria#Proposed change of name, Pretoria/Tshwane naming dispute over whether to change the city's name to a more Black African ''Tshwane'', or keep its original name, ''Pretoria'' **Includes numerous naming disputes across South Africa ranging from streets to entire provinces. All of which are changing annually and are met with opposition. *Naming disputes involving Israelis and Palestinians **West Bank/Judea and Samaria, disputed both between Israelis and Palestinians and between political factions inside Israel **State of Israel, Israel/Zionist Entity, The Zionist Entity/State of Palestine, Palestine: People who refuse to recognize the State of Israel often call it The Zionist Entity. When such people refer to Palestine, they normally include Israel as part of Palestinian territory (along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip). * Kosovo/Kosova, disputed between Serbians and Albanians *Falkland Islands/Malvinas, disputed between Argentinians and British * Berlin to Kitchener name change, Canadian town's name changed during WWI *Australian place names changed from German names during WWI *Sønderjylland/Schleswig, disputed between Danes and Germans in the 19th Century *Disputes involving the name of a whole entity being used to refer to a part of it, and vice versa **US/Americas, America/North America: The terms 'America' and 'American' are frequently used to refer only to the United States and its people. This sometimes causes resentment among some non-US Americans, especially Latin Americans, who tend to respond by referring to the people of the US as Unitedstatesian (or 'estadounidenses' in Spanish), at least when not using the unofficial term 'gringos'. They can also be called Norte Americanos (North Americans), and this practice is sometimes also followed by native English speakers who wish to show they are sympathetic to Latin Americans, and/or when translating texts into English. The practice can also be found in Mexico, even though Mexico is normally considered part of North America. A Canadians, Canadian may sometimes be described as 'un norteamericano de Canadá' (a North American of Canada). See also use of the word American (word)#Cultural views, American. **EU/Europe: Just as the terms 'America' and 'American' are frequently used to refer only to the United States and its people, the terms 'Europe' and 'European' are also frequently used to refer only to the European Union and its people, and this similarly sometimes causes resentment among some non-EU Europeans, although the Enlargement of the European Union, enlargement of the EU means that there are now fewer non-EU Europeans left to take offence than there used to be when the EU was smaller. **Partition (politics), Partitioned States: When a country is or was divided, the name of the whole is often used to refer to one of the parts, sometimes causing resentment in the other part. The name of the whole is usually used to refer to the larger part, such as 'Korea' for South Korea, and 'Germany' for the former West Germany. Sometimes the term is used to refer to the smaller part for political reasons, such as when the US Sino-American relations#History of relations between the People's Republic of China and the USA, refused to recognize the China, People's Republic of China, so that, at least officially, 'China' meant the Republic of China on Free area of the Republic of China, Taiwan (with 'Red China' or 'Communist China' then being used to refer to the People's Republic of China). Sometimes giving the part the name of the whole is unofficial, and sometimes not. South Korea is officially the 'Republic of Korea', not 'Korea', though, as with many such official names, 'Republic of Korea' can be interpreted as meaning 'Republic of all Korea', and indeed West Germany was officially the 'Federal Republic of Germany', which eventually became the official name of all Germany after German reunification, reunification in 1990. But 'Ireland' is the official name (in English) of the Republic of Ireland (both Names of the Irish state#Constitutional name, according to its Constitution and Names of the Irish state#European Union, according to the European Union). Cyprus (officially the Republic of Cyprus) was 2004 enlargement of the European Union#Cyprus, accepted into the EU as a whole in 2004, although the EU legislation is suspended in the Cyprus#1974 coup, Turkish invasion and division, territory occupied by Turkey since 1974 (the Northern Cyprus, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recognised only by Turkey), until a final settlement of the Cyprus dispute, Cyprus problem.

Notes

References

Bibliography

*Branford, Becky (26 May 2005).
City names mark changing times
at BBC News. Accessed 26 November 2005. *GIRAUT F. & HOUSSAY-HOLZSCHUCH M., 2016, �
The ''dispositif'' of place naming: Toward a theoretical framework
��, ''Geopolitics'' 21(1), 1-21.

External links

{{portalbar, geography, politics
Name Changes Since 1990: Countries, Cities, and More
at Mapping.com Geographical renaming, Geographical naming disputes