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AS MACEDONIAN CITIZENS prepare to vote tomorrow on whether to rename their country The Republic of North Macedonia, here is a look at other countries that have changed their names.
Many countries changed their names at independence, most often from ones imposed by their colonisers, while others were re-baptised on emerging from disintegrating federations.
At their independence, for example, Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), Botswana (Bechuanaland), Ghana (Gold Coast), Indonesia (Dutch East Indies), Malawi (Nyasaland) and Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) were created.
The 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union saw changes to the names of its now separate republics, such as Belarus and Ukraine, as happened with the disintegration of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.
However few already-sovereign nations have taken the decision to re-baptise themselves, as Macedonia is proposing to do to settle a dispute with Greece over its name.
Here are some of the most recent examples:
Swaziland reverts to eSwatini
Fifty years after Swaziland’s independence from Britain, King Mswati III announced in April 2018 that the tiny country would “revert to its original name”, eSwatini, which means “land of the Swazi”.
Africa’s last absolute monarch caught his nation by surprise, although the change had been mooted and there was some unhappiness with the previous one, a mix of Swazi and English.
Congo: to Zaire and back
At independence from Belgium in 1960, the central African country became the Republic of Congo, confusingly taking the same name as its neighbour. The two were differentiated by reference to their capitals – Brazzaville and Kinshasa.
A few years later the name was tweaked, and the country became the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
But in 1971 there was a change to Zaire, imposed by general Joseph-Desire Mobutu who took power in a 1965 coup. He adopted a policy of replacing European-style names with African ones.
He became Mobutu Sese Seko and set up a dictatorship that lasted until Laurent-Desire Kabila captured the capital in 1997 and reinstated the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Burma chooses Myanmar
In 1989 Burma’s military government renamed the South Asian country the “Republic of the Union of Myanmar”, to draw a line under its past as a British colony.
It was only the English translation that changed, its name in the Burmese language remaining intact.
The opposition, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, continued for years to use Burma, as did some countries that rejected the legitimacy of the junta.
Use of Myanmar increased when the transition to democracy began in 2012 but in French “Birmanie” remains in common use.
From Upper Volta to Burkina Faso
Keeping the name Upper Volta for years after its independence from France in 1958, the landlocked west Africa nation was re-baptised Burkina Faso, or “land of upright men”, in 1984.
The name – introduced by popular coup leader Thomas Sankara who took power a year earlier – combines two of the country’s languages.
The previous title referred to its location along the Volta River.
Kampuchea returns to Cambodia
The Kingdom of Cambodia was named the Khmer Republic in 1970 when Prince Norodom Sihanouk was ousted in a US-backed coup.
When Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge took over the Southeast Asian nation in 1975, they called it Democratic Kampuchea after its Khmer-language title.
The Vietnam-backed regime that toppled the genocidal Khmer Rouge in 1979 re-baptised the country the People’s Republic of Kampuchea.
When Vietnam withdrew in 1989 and the monarchy was restored, Sihanouk becoming head of state, it returned to being Cambodia.
Dahomey becomes Benin
Fifteen years after its independence from France and a year after adopting Marxist policies, Dahomey renamed itself the People’s Republic of Benin in 1975.
The name is a reference to the powerful pre-colonial Kingdom of Benin that was in what is now southwest Nigeria until the late 19th century.
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Opal Fruits became starburst
@Dean Anderson: Am I the only one who wishes they hadn’t changed from Marathon to Snickers?
@Ken Loughman: you’re not alone Ken! marathon is a much better name ,snickers doesn’t sound right
@Ken Loughman: will always be Marathon. And what about Moro to boost?
@Dean Anderson: I think that they did it to save packaging costs as it was already called Snickers on the Continent. I also remember that there was an attempt here and in Britain to rename Twix to Raider during the late 80s/early 90s for a similar reason. That one didn’t work out.
@Michael: True! I’d forgotten about that!
And Ceylon became Sri Lanka, British Honduras became Belize.
“I had a Republic of North Macedonia” is a lot harder to fit on a tee-shirt
@Paddy Downey: well played sir
@Paddy Downey: Thanks Paddy. Was just looking through comments to make sure nobody eles had posted it before i did.
Czechia from Czech Republic
@Anto Whelan: Yes. That’s the official English-language name specified by the Czech government. Most English speakers still call it the Czech Republic, though…
what’s wrong with ” Macedonia”???
kinda catchy
@Frank Dubogovik: One of the provinces of Greece is also called Macedonia, so the Greek government isn’t comfortable with the current name.
@Frank Dubogovik: Macedonia is originally a region of northern Greece, and the Greeks have protested the name ‘Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’ since its formation.
This is probably the biggest naming rights issue in Europe since the division side Carbery GAA resisted Rosscarbery calling their club Carbery Rangers.
@Frank Dubogovik: The main problem is denying the right of self-determination to a people despite it being a cornerstone human right of the UN, EU etc. If the Greeks wanted Macedonia they should’ve changed their name long time ago. It didn’t bother them when Yugoslavia while it existed had a republic called Macedonia. Noone objected to Luxembourg as a country despite there being bordering regions with the same name within the neighbouring countries after Luxembourg was divided.
2/3rds of Ireland, in a sham of decolonisation, named itself the ‘Republic of Ireland’ or ‘Ireland’ for short even though it isn’t actually Ireland. Strange nobody here seems to have picked up on that
@Paul Devlin: Wrong, it never called itself the Republic of Ireland, that’s the name of a soccer team.
In the English languge the name it Ireland, no prefixes.
The British enclave in the North Eastern corner of Ireland masqurades in British terminology as Norther Ireland but there is no such country.
@Kevin Barry: the irish football team is Ireland. It’s the FAI. The other organisation is Northern Ireland.
@eoinh: No. It’s called the “Republic of Ireland”. It is not allowed by FIFA to play under the name “Ireland”
@Kevin Barry: wrong. The name of the sovereign state in Ireland is the Republic of Ireland. It has usurped the name of both the island and the nation of Ireland and so styles itself ‘Ireland’. ‘Northern Ireland’ is neither a country or a state. ‘Ireland’ represents neither Ireland nor the Irish nation
@Paul Devlin:
No. The name of the sovereign independent state is “Ireland” or Éire.
See Articles 4 & 5 of the Constitution:
ARTICLE 4
The name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland.
ARTICLE 5
Ireland is a sovereign, independent, democratic state.
@Paul Devlin: *26 of 32 is more than three quarters, and at the time, Ireland was not a colony, it was an integral part of the UK, as Scotland is, Wales is, England is and Northern Ireland is.
@Paul Devlin: wrong again. The country is Ireland. It’s defined in the constitution. Northern Ireland is also a country, like it or not.
@Robin Pickering: Ireland’s status as an integral part of the UK didn’t make it any less of a colony, the same with Northern Ireland. Algeria was an integral part of France but still a colony. Your loyalism is getting the better of you. Northern Ireland is not a country. It has no sovereignty, no state and no agreed nationality. Even the British state has registered it as a province of the UK, along with its recognised countries of England and Scotland and the principality of Wakes
@eoinh: Erm, I think you missing some important stuff with that non-factual statement…
Before the Irish Free State was formed in 1922 (later the Republic of Ireland), all sporting organisations were united in our 32-county island. There existed the 32-county Irish Football Association (IFA) for soccer, the 32-county GAA (which included athletics and cycling as well as football, hurling and handball), 32-county Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI), and 32-county Rugby Irish Rugby Football Union amongst other sports.
After 1922, some of these sporting organisations – notably in soccer, athletics and cycling – fractured to become new-named organisations in Nth Ireland and Sth Ireland. Most remain united over 32-counties – notably GUI, IRFU, GAA and others – to this day – still totally Irish of our island of Ireland.
In the 1920s, in soccer, it was the Free State’s soccer clubs that broke away from the Irish Football Association (IFA) to form the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) in the 26-county Free State.
That FAI breakaway from the IFA was the biggest single mistake made by in the interests of all Irish soccer players.
As a young lad, I attended that famous match Shamrock Rovers XI vs Brazil in 1973. That match showed what we could achieve as a 32-county soccer team on a worldwide basis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamrock_Rovers_XI_v_Brazil
It is solely because of the vested interests of both the IFA and FAI that we don’t have 32-county Irish team that could perform admirably on any international soccer stage, like the players of the GUI, IRFU and GAA (especially Handball) do.
Forget about the historic Flight of the Earls, the O’Neill Chieftains – the O’Neills are back! – in present-day Michael and Martin – in soccer.
It’s time to move on from the past, throw out vested interests, re-unite soccer on our island of Ireland for the benefit of dedicated, classy players and fans. Let the O’Neills re-unite Irish soccer.
This is especially now of more importance if the efforts of the EFA, SFA, FAW, IFA and FAI to bring the World Cup are to bear fruit for us soccer fans see some World Cup teams and players play on Irish soil before our eyes.
@Paul Devlin:
Northern Ireland holds exactly the same status in the UK as does England Scotland and Wales. Algeria was never an integral part of France.
@CrabaRev: read a book, pal. You’re entirely wrong
@CrabaRev: that’s my point. ‘Ireland’, which isn’t Ireland, has usurped the name of the island and the nation. It’s neither. Keep up
@Paul Devlin: You don’t know what your point is Paul, you are rambling. Also I am not you pal.
@Paul Devlin: Of course that should have read: “Also I am not your pal.” I know it’s obvious, but you do seem to have comprehension difficulties, so I thought I’d better clarify.
@CrabaRev: you are most definitely my pal. Also, Algeria was an integral part of the French Republic until its independence, hence the need for some book reading for you, mon ami. Bon nuit!
@CrabaRev: Just to throw a spanner in the works, Scotland does not hold a position similar to Wales. Wales has an assembly, with a legal jurisdiction as part of England. Northern Ireland has a joint assembly, with legal jurisdiction overridden by the parliament of the UK. Scotland has a parliament, with jurisdiction held in joint command with that of Westminster. So, no, the constituent parts of the UK are not the same. Nor are they equal to Algeria under French rule, which was ruled as equivalent to a county under ROI governance.
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: They may have slightly different administrative structures, they all have the same status.
The full name of the country is: “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. The hint is in the name.
@Canny Jem: any soccer team in the world can achieve things if they put in the effort.
Unfortunately most of them are overpaid, lazy and self centered. The Irish team or whatever you want to call them are examples of that. Coleman being an exception perhaps
Namibia was West South Africa
@Paddy Downey: South West Africa
@Chemical Brothers:
South South West Africa
@Paddy Downey: German South West Africa
The people’s front of Southern West Africa
I could be wrong but I heard they’re changing it to Athensville.
Maybe we should go back to Hibernia.
@mary conneely: Yep – like Macedonia, Italia, Germania, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Syria, Scotia for Scotland, Cambria instead of Wales and Anglia instead of England…? We’d all be back speaking Latin.
The one name I would not like to see of any nation’s people calling their homeland is ‘Givinchia’.
Free state to eire to Ireland to republic of
have your say