7 Countries that have officially changed their names

A little test; Do you know that Turkey has been changed to Turkiye?

Aside from Turkey, other countries have officially changed their names from what people have known them to be.

And the good thing is that these countries still exist and function well.

1. Thailand

Thailand was originally known as Siam but was later changed to Thailand in 1939. Between 1946 & 1948 it was renamed Siam but officially because of the Kingdom of Thailand 1948.

2. Ireland

Originally Irish Free State was created in 1922, however, reports have it that a new constitution was adopted in 1937 when it was renamed Ireland and became a republic.

3. The Netherlands

The name was changed from Holland in 2020 and has been used for promotional purposes. Another reason for the change is to present Netherland as an open, inventive, and inclusive country.

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4. Eswatini

Replaced Swaziland, a name which people have usually mistaken for Switzerland. In April 2018, Swaziland was renamed Eswatini during a celebration of the nation’s 50th Independence. Eswatini means “Land of Swazi.”

5. Turkiye

Turkiye was popularly known as Turkey. This was announced by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He stated that the new name would influence how the public & foreign nations address the country.

6. Republic of North Macedonia

North Macedonia used to be Macedonia before it was changed in 2019. The primary reason behind the name change was to become a member of NATO and to differentiate itself from Greece which also had s region named Macedonia.

7. Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was formerly known to be Ceylon, a name given by the Portuguese when they discovered it in 1505 before becoming part of the British Empire and becoming independent in 1948.