8 Countries That Changed Their Names and Why

country sure as shooting exchange over the course of their chronicle . But the name of a country ? Well that can change , too . Even how it ’s spelled can develop . Just reckon at a vintagemapand chances are you ’ll see nation names that you may not agnise .

Empires , warfare and governmental changes shape the world and influence not only the way land is divided , but also how the great unwashed touch on to dissimilar nations .

Somecountries ' name have changedover the last century or decade , but some have changed more late . Here areeight nation whose names have changedand why .

Türkiye

After a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey in early February 2023 , people begin note the medium using the spelling Türkiye when covering the disaster . That ’s because Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu request the United Nationschange the spelling from Turkey to Türkiyein June 2022 . The request was based on a order from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , which said the spelling Türkiye " represent and verbalise the civilisation , civilisation and value of the Turkish nation in the best means . " The United States formally followed suit in January 2023 when it recognized the spelling on all government documentation . Although the rest of the world is know the " new " spelling , it ’s not " new " for people in Türkiye since they ’ve been writing it this way since 1923 .

The Netherlands

If you think thatHolland and the Netherlandsare the same and that you may use the names interchangeably , think again . The Dutch governmentsaid goodbye to the name " Holland"in 2020 to cleanse up this country ’s mental image . inquisitively , the name Holland was n’t representative of the integral land ; Holland referred only to an area in the Netherlands , specifically , The Hague , Rotterdam and Amsterdam . So , now you’re able to rub Holland as an alternative name and start come to to this rural area as The Netherlands .

Republic of North Macedonia

This European rural area that abut Greece switched its name from the Republic of Macedonia to the Republic of North Macedonia in 2004 . Although the name was modify in 1991 when the land became independent after the breakup of Yugoslavia , ab initio the country was refer to as Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia . Greece objectedbecause it has a Macedonia region . So in 2018 the Balkan land and Greece signed an concord that , among other thing , resolved yearslong divergence between the two nations , and concur on the name Republic of North Macedonia . The young name has prove helpful as the land is now part of the European Union and NATO .

The Kingdom of eSwatini

Swaziland , a small , land - lock country tucked within the state of South Africa — that ’s right , it ’s located inside another country — change its name in 2018 to The Kingdom of eSwatini . King Mswatti III , the country’sabsolute monarch , announced the name change in honor of the commonwealth ’s 50th anniversary of independence from Britain , though he ’d been referring to the land as eSwatini ( which means " nation of the Swazis " in the Swazi voice communication ) since 2014 . " African countries on getting independence reverted to their ancient name before they were colonized,“Mswatti order the crowdwho gathered for celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Swazi independence . " So from now on , the commonwealth will formally be known as the Kingdom of eSwatini . "

Czechia

If you had n’t heard the Czech Republic transfer its name to Czechia , you ’re not alone . Despite the United Nations recognizing the name change in 2016 , it ’s still not very well - fuck . In fact , during an interview with the Wall Street Journal , Prime Minister Andrej Babiš , was n’t even cognisant of the name modification . " I did n’t have sex this . I do n’t like it at all,“he said in the audience . And to be bonnie , the country has had a few names since 1993 when Czechoslovakia split into two separate Department of State : Czech Republic and Slovak Republic .

Cabo Verde

This 10 - island country with a population of around 500,000 is located off the coast of Western Africa in the Atlantic Ocean was nominate Cabo Verde ( meaning Green Cape ) byPortuguese sailors in 1444when they were uninhabited . Throughout time , the name became more anglicized Cape Verde . But in 2013 , the Secretary - General submitted an official postulation to the United Nations to official revert its name back to the Republic of Cabo Verde . The area use both names of Cabo Verde and Republic of Cabo Verde .

Thailand

In 1927 , Luang Phibunsongkhram ( Phibun ) formed the radical People ’s Party in what was called Siam . believe to be of Chinese origin , the name Siam was used by Portuguese colonists . Phibun helped lead a takeover in 1932 against the Chakri top executive and formed a westerly - dash republic . The monarchy survive , but in 1938 Phibun became a nationalistic dictator and change the land ’s name to Thailand . In 1939 , Thailand became a integral monarchy and the world updated its name .

Iran

What was once known asPersia was renamed IranMarch 21 , 1935 . Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi deepen the name after he finally became Shah of Iran of Iran ( 1925 - 41 ) after he   head aBritish - engineer coupand occupied Tehran in 1921 . As Reza Shah Pahlevi , he want redevelop Iran because he say Persia was too " colonial " and he wanted it to catch up with the forward-looking world . He felt like Persia was lagging behind , and thought give it a new name — Iran — would facilitate give it a facelift . But it was n’t just a name change . Reza Shah introduced reform , including more rights for woman , mandatory education for both son and girl ; and reorganization of the government activity . He also ban the chadar in 1936 .