List of countries which have changed their names in the past

Amid speculations running rife about the Narendra Modi-led BJP government planning to change India’s name to Bharat, there is heightened curiosity revolving around the possibility of such a move and also the countries who have done it in the past.

There are a bunch of countries that changed their names for reasons ranging from political or cultural in nature to an attempt to forget the past.

Here is the list of countries that changed their name.

1) Turkey To Turkiye
Last year,  President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey hereon will be identified by its Turkish name Turkiye. It let go of the anglicised version of the country’s name. 

"The word Türkiye represents and expresses the culture, civilisation and values of the Turkish nation in the best way," Erdoğan said announcing his decision.

2) Persia to Iran

The name Persia was Iran’s official name until 1935. Iran, which was the name of the country in Persian, was adopted after the government asked the countries it has diplomatic ties with to officially refer to the country as Iran. 

3) Siam to Thailand

The country which has never been colonised was ruled by King Siam and was known by that name. However, in 1939 the King changed its name to Thailand after it became a constitutional monarchy.

4) Burma to Myanmar
The ruling Junta military changed the name of the country known as Burma to Myanmar in the year 1989. The change of name was acknowledged by the United nations.

5)  Democratic Kampuchea to Cambodia
The country Cambodia has a history of its name getting changed according to the changing leader and political allegiance. The country which was once Kingdom of Cambodia and the Khmer republic was then referred to Democratic Kampuchea under Communist regime between 1975 to 1979. The United Nations named it State of Cambodia which was again renamed as the Kingdom of Cambodia in 1993. 

6) Holland to Netherlands
Holland became Netherlands in the year 2020. The country which originally had two regions North and South became the Netherlands which was also looked at as a move to promote tourism.

7) Irish Free State to Ireland
The country was originally named as the Irish Free State and the name was changed to Ireland in 1937.

8)  Ceylon to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka separated from its colonial legacy and changed the name Ceylon given to it by the British Empire to Sri lanka. Post independence the island government changed the name to Sri Lanka. 

9) The Republic Of Macedonia to The Republic Of North Macedonia
In an attempt to have an alliance with NATO, the Republic of Macedonia changed its name to the Republic of North Macedonia in 2019.

10) Swaziland to Eswatini
The king of Swaziland in Africa in the year 2018 changed the name of the country to Eswatini which is merely Swaziland in its local language.

11) Rhodesia to Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe changed the colonial name of Rhodesia after it got independence to the Republic of Zimbabwe, later was renamed to Zimbabwe.

12) Czech Republic to Czechia
Amid the backdrop of the Soviet Socialist Republic crumbling, Czechoslovakia was divided into two countries one being the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic wants to be known as Czechia so that it can expand on business by having an easier name.