List of alternative country names
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Most countries of the world have alternative names. Some countries have also undergone name changes for political or other reasons. This article attempts to give all known alternative names and initialisms for all nations, countries and sovereign states, in English and any predominant or official languages of the country in question.
Countries are listed alphabetically by a description, that is, the most common name or term that is politically neutral and unambiguous. This may followed by a note as to the status of the description used.
A
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan (common, English) |
Gandhar (Sanskrit) |
| Albania (official, English) |
Shqipëria (official, Albanian) |
| Australia (common, English) |
Commonwealth of Australia (official, English) |
B
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Bangladesh (common, English) |
East Pakistan, East Bengal (former names, English), People's Republic of Bangladesh (official, English) |
| Belarus (common, English) |
Gudija (Lithuanian) |
| Benin (common, English) |
Dahomey (former name), Republic of Benin (official, English), République du Bénin (official, French) |
| Botswana (common, English) |
Bechuanaland (former, English), Republic of Botswana (official, English) |
| Brazil (common, English) |
Pindorama (native, pre-colonization, Tupi-Guarani), Terra de Santa Cruz (early Portuguese colonization), United States of Brazil (former, English), Federative Republic of Brazil (official, English) |
| Burkina Faso (official, English and French) |
Upper Volta (former name, English), Haute-Volta (former name, French), Bourkina-Fasso (unofficial French form in the first few days after the 1984 change from Upper Volta until the government clarified the official spelling) |
C
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Cambodia (common, English) |
Kingdom of Cambodia (official, English), Royaume du Cambodge (official, French), Kampuchea (former officially-sanctioned common name in the English language and transliteration from Khmer language), Khmer Republic (former official), Democratic Kampuchea (former official), People's Republic of Kampuchea (former official), State of Cambodia (former official), Khmer (former, Sanskrit) |
| Canada (official, English and French) |
Dominion of Canada (historical long form, English), Dominion du Canada (historical long form, French) |
| Central African Republic (official, English) |
Oubangui-Chari (former, French), Ubangi-Shari (English), République Centrafricaine (official, French) |
| Chile (official, English) |
Chilli (Aymara), Xile (Catalan), Chili (French, Quechua), Cile (Italian), Txile (Basque), Reyno de Chile (colonial Spanish), Capitania general de Chile (colonial Spanish) |
| People's Republic of China (official, English) |
China/中国 (common, ambiguous), 中华人民共和国 (official, Chinese), PRC (initialism), Communist China (colloquial, mainly used by Western countries), Red China (colloquial, mainly derogatory), 中共 (colloquial, mainly used by the ROC), Mainland China/中国大陆/中国內地 (colloquial, refers to the area that the PRC Government administers since the end of the Chinese Civil War), New China/新中国 (colloquial, pro-Communist), Shenzhou/神州, Ch'in Empire, Cathay |
| Republic of China (official, English) |
Taiwan/臺灣 (common, slightly inaccurate), 中華民國 (official, Chinese), ROC (initialism), Chinese Taipei/中華台北 (international designation), Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu/台灣、澎湖、金門及馬祖個別關稅領域 (international designation), Taipei, China (international designation), Taiwan, Province of China (UN designation), Nationalist China (obsolete), Free China (obsolete, pro-Nationalist), Formosa (the old name of Taiwan, the main island that the ROC Government administers since the end of the Chinese Civil War) |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo (official, English) |
Zaire (former official name, 1971 to 1997; still occasionally used to distinguish it from Republic of the Congo), DRC (initialism), Congo Kinshasa (used in contrast to "Congo Brazzaville"), Belgian Congo (former name during Belgian colonization, 1908 to 1960, English), Congo belge (former name, French), Congo Free State (former name, 1885 to 1908), Republic of the Congo (former name, 1960 to 1964, during which time both Congos had identical official names) |
| Republic of the Congo (official, English) |
Congo (common), Congo Brazzaville (used in contrast to "Congo Kinchasa"), French Congo (former name during French colonization, 1880 to 1910, English), |
| Croatia (official, English) |
Hrvatska (official, Croatian; also in Serbian, Bosnian), Kroatien (German), Chorwacja (Polish), Hrvaška (Slovenian), Хорватия (Russian), Kroatië (Dutch), Croatie (French) |
| Czech Republic (official, English) |
Česká Republika (official, Czech), Česko (common, Czech), Czechia (abbreviated, English) |
D
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Djibouti (common) |
French Territory of the Afars and the Issas, French Somaliland, Obock Territory (former names, English), Territoire français des Afars et des Issas, Côte française des Somalis, Territoire d'Obock (former names, French), Republic of Djibouti (official, English), République de Djibouti (official, French) |
F
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| French Republic (official, English) |
France (common, English and French), République Française (official, French), L'Hexagone (often journalistic, colloquial French), Gaul (former name, English), Gaule (former name, French), Tsarfat (common, Hebrew) |
G
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Georgia (official, English) |
Iberia (former, English, East Georgia), Colchis (former, English, West Georgia), Iveria (usually used as Christian name) |
| Federal Republic of Germany (official, English) |
Germany (common, English), Deutschland (common, German), Bundesrepublik Deutschland (official, German; formerly meant only West Germany), Duitsland (common, Dutch) BRD (German initialism), Allemagne (common, French), Alemania (common, Spanish), Germania (common, Italian), Alemanha (common, Portuguese), Niemcy (common, Polish), Németország (common, Hungarian), Þýskaland (common, Icelandic), Tyskland (common, Danish), Tiara Tudestga (common, Romansh Sursilvan) |
| Greece (official English description) |
Hellas (official and common name), Ελλάδα ("Hellada" common name in Greek), Ελλάς ("Hellas" official description in Greek), Hellenic Republic (official name of Greek state, English), Görögország (common, Hungarian), Yunanistan (common, Turkish), Al-Yunan (common, Arabic), Yavan (common, Hebrew) |
| Guinea-Bissau (common, English) |
Portuguese Guinea (former, English), Republic of Guinea-Bissau (official, English), Guiné-Bissao (archaic, Portuguese), Guinea (shorthand, used when context clearly distinguishes Guinea-Bissau from the neighboring Republic of Guinea) |
H
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Hungary (common, English) |
Republic of Hungary (official, English), Magyar Köztársaság (official, Hungarian), Magyarország (common, Hungarian), Republik Ungarn (official, German), Ungarn (common, German)), Hongrie (common, French), Hungría (common, Spanish), Ungheria (common, Italian), Maďarsko (common, Czech and Slovak), Węgry (common, Polish), Венгрия (common, Russian), Al-Majar (common, Arabic) |
I
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| India |
Bhārat (official name in Hindi), Bhārat Gaṇarājya (official long form in Hindi), Republic of India (official long form in English), Union of India, Hindustan (unofficial name in Hindi/Urdu), (Al-)Hind (name in Arabic/Persian/Urdu), Hoddu (Hebrew), Aryavarta (name in Sanskrit) |
| Iraq |
Mesopotamia (former name) |
| Iran |
Persia (former name) |
| Ireland |
Éire (official Irish name), Ireland (official English name), Irish Free State (1922-1937), Poblacht na hÉireann (official Irish description), Republic of Ireland (official English description), Saorstát Éireann (Irish 1922-1937), Erin, Banba, Fodla (three poetic names), Hibernia (Latin name, also poetic) |
| Iceland |
Iceland (official English name), Republic of Iceland (official English description), Ísland (official Icelandic name), Lýðveldið Ísland (official Icelandic description), Fold (poetic name), Thule (Latin name, also poetic), Frón, Ísafold (both poetic),"Izland" (Hungarian) |
| Israel |
State of Israel (official English name), Medinat Yisra'el (official Hebrew name), Dawlat Isra'il (official Arabic name), the Jewish State (unofficial), the Hebrew State (unofficial), State of the Jews (unofficial), Palestine of '48 (Arabic, indicates non-recognition), the Zionist Entity (Arabic, derogatory) |
K
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Kazakhstan (common, English) |
Republic of Kazakhstan (official English long name), Kazakhstan (English passport short name), Republic of Kazakhstan (English passport long name), Қазақстан (official Kazakh short name), Қазақстан Республикасы (official Kazakh long name), Qazaqstan (Kazakh short name in Latin script), Alash / Алаш / Alaş (former name, also poetic) |
L
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Lesotho (common, English) |
Basutoland (former, English), Kingdom of Lesotho (official, English) |
M
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Malawi (common) |
Nyasaland (former, English), Republic of Malawi (official, English) |
| Mexico (shortened form) |
United Mexican States (official), Estados Unidos Mexicanos (official, Spanish), México (Spanish short form), República Mexicana (Only heard in Mexico, colloquial, Spanish), Méjico (Spanish variant), MEX (initialism), MX (initialism) |
| Moldova | Republic of Moldova (official), Republica Moldova (official, Moldovan), Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (former Soviet name, English), Република Советикэ Сочиалистэ Молдовеняскэ (former Soviet name, Moldovan), Bessarabia or Bassarabia (historic name, still used by irredentists). |
| Montenegro (official, English and other languages) |
Crna Gora (official, Montenegrin, Serbian and Croatian), Mali i Zi (official, Albanian) |
N
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands (common, English) |
Kingdom of the Netherlands (official, English), Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (official, Dutch), Nederland (common, Dutch), Kingdom of Holland (former official name, English), Holland (common, English, Dutch and other languages), Batavian Republic (former official name, English), Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (former long official name, English), Dutch Republic (former short official name, English), United Provinces (former common name), Seventeen Provinces or Low Countries (former official names when united with Belgium and Luxembourg, English) | |
| New Zealand (official, English) |
Aotearoa (official, Maori), Realm of New Zealand (official English name including Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and Ross Dependency), Dominion of New Zealand (former official, English) | |
| Norway (common, English) |
Norge (common, Norwegian Bokmål), Noreg (common, Norwegian Nynorsk), Kingdom of Norway (official, English), Kongeriket Norge (official, Norwegian Bokmål), Kongeriket Noreg (official, Norwegian Nynorsk) |
P
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Pakistan (common, English) |
Islamic Republic of Pakistan (official and constitutional, English), Federation of Pakistan (alternate official name, English), Dominion of Pakistan (historic official name, English), West Pakistan (common and later official name for the area now covering Pakistan, used when discussing the polity before the secession of Bangladesh) |
| Palau (common, English) |
Republic of Palau (official, English), Belau (common, Palauan; was also sometimes used by English speakers who supported Palauan independence before it was gained in 1994) |
| Poland (common, English) |
Republic of Poland (official, English), Rzeczpospolita Polska (official, Polish), Polska (common, Polish), RP (often journalistic, Polish), People's Republic of Poland (former Communist name, English), Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa (former Communist name, Polish), Rzeczpospolita (historic common name, Polish), Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (historic official name, English), Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów (historic official name, Polish), United Commonwealth of the Two Nations (historic official name, English), Lengyelország (common, Hungarian), Lenkija (common, Lithuanian) |
| Philippines (official, English) |
Shri Vijaya (former, Sanskrit), Republika ng Pilipinas, Filipinas |
| Puerto Rico (common, English and Spanish) |
Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico (official, Spanish), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (official, English), Porto Rico (archaic, English), Associated Free State of Puerto Rico (non-official literal translation to English of the official Spanish name), Borikén, Borinquen, or Borinken (former Taíno name also used colloquially and among nationalists) |
R
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Russia | Russian Federation (official English description), Российская Федерация (official Russian), Russia (official and common name, ambiguous, English), Россия (common, Russian), RF (initialism), Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (former name), RSFSR (former name initialism), Rus (poetic or obsolete name, ambiguous), Roos (Hindi name), Great Russia (obsolete name) |
| Romania | România (official, Romanian), Rumania or Roumania (archaic, English), Kingdom of Romania (name under monarchy, English), Regatul României (name under monarchy, Romanian), Romanian People's Republic (former Communist name, English), Republica Populară Romînă (former Communist name, Romanian), Socialist Republic of Romania (former Communist name, English), Republica Socialistă România (former Communist name, Romanian) |
| Rwanda | Republic of Rwanda (official, English), République du Rwanda (official, French), Repubulika y'u Rwanda (official, Kinyarwanda), "Pays des mille collines" (poetic, French), Ruanda (former colonial name, various languages) |
S
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis (co-official, English), Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis (co-official, English), Saint Christopher and Nevis (alternate short-form, English), Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla (former official, English), Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla (former common, English), Saint Kitts or Saint Christopher (shorthand, English), San Cristóbal y Nieves (common, Spanish), Saint-Christophe-et-Niévès (common, French), Liamuiga and Oualie (former indigenous names of the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, respectively) |
| Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (official, English) |
Saudi Arabia (common, English), KSA (initialism), Saudia (former in English, common in Arabic) Al Mumlaka Al-Arribiyyah As-saudiyyah (official name in Arabic),ArvaSthan (Name in Sanskrit Ancient name meaning land (Sthan)of horse(Arva)) |
| Republic of Serbia (official, English) |
Serbia (common, English), Servia (archaic, English), Srbija (common, Serbian), Republika Srbija (official, Serbian), Serbia and Montenegro (former common, English), Yugoslavia (former common, English) |
| Republic of Singapore (official, English) |
Singapore (common, English), Singapura (common, Malay),Sinhapura (Sanskrit ie Land of Lions), Xīnjiāpō/新加坡 (common, Chinese), Ciŋkappūr/சிங்கப்பூர் (common, Tamil), Pulau Ujong (historical, ancient), Temasek (former, Malay), Shōnan-tō/昭南島 (former, Japanese occupation), little red dot (colloquial; originally derogatory) |
| South Africa (common, English) |
Azania, Mzansi (Xhosa, for South) Suid-Afrika (Afrikaans) |
| Spain | España (common, Spanish), Reino de España (official, Spanish), Espanya (common, Catalan), Spanish State (former name, also used now with political nuances), la piel de toro (Spanish) / la pell de brau (Catalan) ("the bull hide", metaphoric name after the shape of the Iberian Peninsula), Las Batuecas (derogatory name in the works of Mariano José de Larra), Sfarad (common, Hebrew) |
| Sri Lanka (common, Sanskrit, English) |
Ceylon (former, English), Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (official, English), elangai (official, Tamil), Taprobane (one of the medieval names of Sri Lanka) |
| Sudan | Republic of Sudan (official, English), The Sudan (alternate English), Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (colonial name, English), Mahdist State (former English unofficial) |
| Suriname (common, English) |
Dutch Guiana (former, English), Netherlands Guiana (former official, English), Republic of Suriname (official, English), Republiek Suriname (official, Dutch), Surinam (incorrect but widely-used common English name) |
| Sweden (common, English) |
Sverige (common, Swedish), Konungariket Sverige (official, Swedish), Kingdom of Sweden (official, English), Svea Rike (possibly former/poetical, Swedish), Ruotsi (common, Finnish) |
| Swiss Confederation (official, English) |
Switzerland (common, English), Schweiz (common, German), Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (official, German), Zwitserland (common, Dutch) Suisse (common, French), Confédération suisse (official, French), Svizzera (common, Italian), Confederazione Svizzera (official, Italian), Svizra (common, Romansh), Confederaziun Svizra (official, Romansh), Confoederatio Helvetica, Helvetia (Latin, sometimes used officially), CH (initialism) |
T
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Taiwan |
Formosa (former, English), Republic of China (official, English) |
| Tanzania (common, English) |
United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar (former, English), United Republic of Tanzania (official, English). Deutsch-Ostafrika, together with Ruanda and Urundi (= German East Africa, colonial name until 1918). The country is named after Tanganyika, its mainland part, and the Zanzibar islands off its east coast. |
| Thailand |
Siam (former name), Kingdom of Thailand (official, English) |
| Transnistria |
Pridnestrovie (official shortform name), Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica (official, longform) |
| Turkey |
Republic of Turkey (official, English), Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (official, Turkish), Asia Minor (geographical, English), Anatolia (geographical, English), Ottoman Empire (former, English), Turkish Empire (former unofficial, English), Porte or Sublime Porte (English descriptions of the former Ottoman state) |
| Tuvalu |
Tuvalu (short- and long-form name, English and Tuvaluan), Ellice Islands (colonial name, English) |
U
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| United States (shortened form) |
United States of America (official), America (colloquial), the States (colloquial), U.S. (initialism), U.S.A. (initialism) |
| United Kingdom (shortened form) |
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (official, English), Britain (colloquial), Great Britain (incorrect, colloquial), Teyrnas Unedig Prydain Fawr a Gogledd Iwerddon (official, Welsh), Prydain (colloquial, Welsh), UK (initialism) United Kingdom (short form), England (incorrect, colloquial), Anglia for England (Latin, poetic), Albion (Latin, poetic), Caledonia for Scotland only (Latin, poetic), |
| United Arab Emirates (shortened form) |
United Arab Emirates (English), Trucial States (English, prior to 1971) Al Emirat Al Arrabbiyah Al Mutahidah (official, Arabic) UAE (English initialism) |
V
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Vanuatu (common) |
New Hebrides (former name under British and French condominium rule from 1906-1980 Nouvelles Hebrides (former official name in French, parted in NiuhebridisBislama (Vanuatri) jocular name used in humour. |
|-
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Vietnam (common) |
French Indochina (former name under French colonization when united with Laos and Cambodia, English), Socialist Republic of Vietnam (official, English), parted in North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) from 1954 to 1975, Cộng hòa Xã hội Chủ nghĩa Việt Nam (official, Vietnamese), Việt Nam (short form, Vietnamese,Champa (Sanskrit) |
Z
| Description | Other name(s) or older name(s) |
|---|---|
| Zambia (common) |
Northern Rhodesia (former, English), Republic of Zambia (official, English) |
| Zimbabwe (common) |
Rhodesia or Republic of Rhodesia (former names, English), Republic of Zimbabwe (official, English) |