The process of modifying a country’s name isn’t simple, much less economical. But despite it all, various parts of the world have dared to do it.
UNIQ found 11 countries that changed their names and we’ll tell you the story behind their resolutions.
Due to land divisions, wars, changes in government, independence, or simply to facilitate pronunciation abroad, some countries have decided to change their name. In some cases, they did it many years ago, and we know these countries by their current name. But others did it very recently, and we still find it challenging to call them by their new name.
Remember to read all the way through to the last country’s story — you’ll find a bonus that explains how much it costs to make this modification.
1. Irish Free State changed to Ireland.
In 1937, with the intention of removing all ties to the United Kingdom (with whom the country had a fierce war for 2 years), the Irish Free State became Ireland, or Éire, in the local Irish language.
Bonus: How much does it cost to change the name of a country?
Most of the countries on the list switched their name as a way of erasing part of their past and getting closer to their true identity, while others did it to encourage tourism, like the Netherlands. However, not everything is as easy as it seems. And it’s not cheap either. Each nation paid millions of dollars, or its equivalent in their local currencies, to change its name.
And then you have the citizens who are used to calling their country by a certain name and have to become familiar with writing it and saying it in another. These changes don’t happen overnight, and although many will still wonder if they were even necessary at all, they will usually end up embracing them.
It is not a matter of having a clean slate. The Constitution, official stationery, and even money has to change as well. Everything that bears the country’s old name, like maps, flags, and hymns, must erase it and replace it with the new one. This, of course, takes time.
Would you change your name? Do you agree with what these countries have done? Tell us in the comment section! And share the article with your friends if you thought it was cool!
