February 24, 2019 Comments Off on Nomen est omen! Countries who have changed their name Views: 1600 Urban Trekker

The world atlas is a vibrant, ever-changing item of amusement. Geographical regions adopt new names and countries sometimes opt for alternatives to how they should be called. As of most recently, Macedonia accepted a new name, that of the Republic of North Macedonia, following a decades-long spat with Greece (also described as the world’s strangest international dispute). The new name adoption is due to open other questions ripe for debate.

Below is a list of 6 other countries who have also experienced a name change.

Czech Republic or Czechia

Following the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, Czechoslovakia split into two different countries in 1993–Slovakia and Czech Republic, the latter of which as of recently opted to amend its name to Czechia. An often cited reason for such name intervention is that Czechs prefer a name easier to use in business or sports events circumstances. Basically, Czechia is better for the country’s branding.

Side view of Prague’s famed Dancing House. Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic or as of recently also Czechia.

While the country retains its full name–that of Czech Republic, Czechia is now the official short geographic name of this central European country, similarly to how France works for The French Republic. The decision was officially adopted by the Czech government in April 2016 and later that year the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented recommendations on how to use the new abbreviated name in international contexts.

Alternative name proposals for the Czech Republic in the past have included Czechomoravia and Czechlands. In a more historical context, the Kingdom of Bohemia came forth as the predecessor of the modern Czech Republic.





Persia or Iran

Iran, one of the oldest countries in the world, is globally called Iran as of relatively recently. It was only 1935 when Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last Shah or reigning monarch of Iran, asked the international community to appropriate the usage of the term Iran, the endonym of the country. The decision was somewhat influenced by the Nazi party in Germany. Since then, Iran has become the commonly used name for the Middle East country. Subsequently, the citizens became from Persians Iranians, but the language they speak is still Persian.

Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. One of many sites of interest in the vast and beautiful Iran. Photo by Alborzagros, CC BY-SA 3.0

Historically, the name Persia has proliferated thanks to its abundant presence in ancient Greek writings, hence its perception as an exonym (a name given to a place, person or thing by an outsider as opposed to endonym).

Kampuchea or Cambodia

Cambodia has changed its name times and times over during the 20th-century. Between 1953 and 1970, this country in the southeast of Asia was called the Kingdom of Cambodia. From 1970 until 1975, the official name was the Khmer Republic. Until the remainder of the 1970s, the name went as Democratic Kampuchea, now under communist rule. And from 1989 until 1993, the name of the country read as the State of Cambodia.

Cambodia’s ultra-famed Angkor Wat complex. Photo by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 4.0

In 1993, Cambodia reinstated to a monarchy and went back to being the Kingdom of Cambodia. Still, the Khmer people, which are most of Cambodia’s population, prefer the naming of Kampuchea (“Descendants of Prince Kambu”). In this context, the name Cambodia is considered a Western miss-enunciation of Kampuchea.

It should be also noted that Kampuchea is not unique to the modern kingdom of Cambodia. The same name can be stumbled upon in the wider geographical region of South Asia, such as in Thailand or Burma, the latter of which also has a history of name changes.

Burma or Myanmar

It was 1989 when Burma’s ruling military junta changed the country’s name to Myanmar. This came only a year after thousands lost their lives in a popular uprising that took place in the country, which is nestled in between Thailand, China, India, and Bangladesh.

The name change was recognized by the United Nations and by countries such as France and Japan, but the United States and the United Kingdom did not follow suit. Internationally, both names remain usable.

The Uppatasanti Pagoda, a famous site to see once in Naypyidaw, the capital of Burma/Myanmar, Photo by DiverDave, CC BY 3.0

The BBC, for instance, refers to the country as Burma, and the BBC News website says this is because most of its audience is familiar with that name instead of Myanmar. Lonely Planet use Myanmar and other parties such as The Rough Guide does not cover the country at all, as there are also tourism boycotts advocated by certain movements.

Abyssinia or Ethiopia

Ancient Greeks referred to all people south of Egypt as Ethiopians, a name derived from the Greek Aithiopia, a coinage of Aitho (“I burn”) and ops (“face”). Which means the name stood for the land of the of scorched faces. Historically, the reference attached to the region known as Nubia, but more recent usage has shifted this name further south to the land known up until the 20th-century as Abyssinia.

Abyssinia, the predecessor name before Ethiopia was officialized, is a word the origin of which is not entirely clear. The name Abyssinia was used for the country at least since the 13th-century and did not change up until World War Two.

Distinctive blue-colored taxis in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, Photo by A. Savin, FAL

Alternative interpretations of Ethiopia’s names say that Ethiopia has always been called well like that since the 4th-century and that the name Abyssinia was a designation promoted by the Arab-speaking world. Geographically, Abyssinia should also refers to a smaller territorial claim than Ethiopia.

Zaire or The Democratic Republic of Congo

Another African country that experienced a name change at multiple occasions was Congo (that being the short designation of the central African country). In the past, Congo infamously remained a Belgian colony and under the savage, blood-lustful rule of King Leopold II of Belgium; it was known as the Congo Free State in between 1885 and 1908. After that, Congo was also called the Belgian Congo and Congo-Leopoldville. Funny name for what Britannica.com describes as “the world’s only private colony.”

Night view of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUSCO photos, CC BY-SA 2.0

The country finally declared independence in 1960, becoming the Republic of Congo, but in 1971 a new dictatorship dawned. Under the military chief Mobutu Sese Seko, the newly adopted name became Zaire or the Republic of Zaire, with Zaire being another designation for the Congo River. When Mobutu Sese Seko died in 1997, the country name swapped to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

More African countries who have changed their names in history include Burkina Faso, Benin, and Botswana among others. Their former names are Upper Volta, Dahomey, and Bechuanaland respectively. South Africa is another specific case, where, since 1961 the full official name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. The Dutch version went as Republiek van Zuid-Afrika until 1983 when it became Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika. Since 1994, South Africa has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages, a fact that speaks volumes about the rich and diverse society living at the southern tip of the African continent.

In Asia, Siam is now Thailand, and Ceylon, which became a republic in 1972 is now Sri Lanka, the land of the “splendid things.” And so forth the list goes. Like it or not, countries change their names more common than one might initially assume. And historically, each of these changes has meant a new constellation of political, economic and societal circumstances.

Buddha would probably say the following on this topic: “In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.”

You might also want to read: Unusual places: South Australia’s Opal Capital of the World

Tags: Cambodia, Congo, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Iran, Macedonia, Myanmar