You may not realize it, but lots of things are named for places that used to exist, but now go by different names. For instance, everyone’s heard of Siamese cats and Ceylon tea. Well, Siam is the old name for Thailand and Ceylon is now called Sri Lanka. Also, many places were given names when they were colonized by Europeans, only to be renamed when they gained their independence. Did you know that Belize was formerly known as British Honduras and Suriname was Dutch Guiana? The borders of several African countries have been redrawn many times throughout history too. Due to frequent wars and former colonial rule, if you look at an old map of Africa you’re sure to see places that no longer exist. The nations of Zambia and Zimbabwe were once collectively known as Rhodesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo was once called Zaire.
Can you think of any other places that used to be known by other names? Feel free to add them in the comments section below!
| CURRENT NAME | FORMER NAME |
| Bangladesh | East Pakistan |
| Belize | British Honduras |
| Burkina Faso | Upper Volta |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Zaire, British Congo |
| Ethiopia | Abyssinia |
| Ghana | Gold Coast |
| Iran | Persia |
| Mali | French Sudan |
| Myanmar | Burma |
| Sri Lanka | Ceylon |
| Suriname | Dutch Guiana |
| Tanzania | Tanganyika and Zanzibar |
| Thailand | Siam |
| Vanuatu | New Hebrides |
| Zambia | Northern Rhodesia |
| Zimbabwe | Southern Rhodesia |
Michael Figueiredo is a freelance travel writer based in Los Angeles, California. When he’s not gallivanting around the world, he’s enjoying the laid-back lifestyle and perfect weather of Southern California. So far he’s visited thirty-six countries and territories on five continents. His goal is to see at least one new country every year! . Read more from this author
Twitter: @ladyexpat
Interesting! It can be hard to keep up with the changing names sometimes.
Nice one….some of the old names-Siam and Persia- sounded more romantic and exotic. I wish they never changed them.
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Cambodia was formerly known as Kampuchea (interestingly, its still called Kampuchea in Vietnamese) and Indonesia was the Dutch East Indies. When the French ruled Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, the three countries combined were known as French Indonchina.
The Australian state of Tasmania used to be known as Van Diemen’s Land, named in honour of the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.
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That’s right, thanks for the additions!
Michael recently posted..Travel Fun Facts! Volume: 1 – Former Country Names
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I had forgotten about some of these….very interesting it’s kinda like a roadmap of that country’s history. Wonderful story idea, Mike!
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Thanks Renee!
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I didn’t know a lot of these. I feel like I’ve gotten my history lesson for the day and can now go out and play
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Haha! Go out and play!
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Very interesting list. So many have changed over time it is hard keeping up with it all.
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Fun post! Here are a few more:
US Virgin Islands used to be Danish West Indies, Benin used to be Dahomey, Somalia was Italian Somaliland, Taiwan was Formosa, and perhaps most interestingly: Iraq was known as Mesopotamia.
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Awesome, thanks for the additions Sophie! I actually knew about Taiwan/Formosa–that was one of my inspirations for making this article. I can’t believe I left it off. Doh! “Formosa” means “beautiful” in Portuguese
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Very helpful. I sometimes get confused with what is what. Not only countries chnage names, cities as well, see: Bombay (Mumbai) and Peking (Beijing).
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That’s true Inka! I’m glad that India and China said that we need to start calling these cities by their real names (and not just what the British called them.)
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I don’t think I would have gotten any of these correct!
I’ll be honest and admit that I get completely confused with all the name changes. The UK still calls Myanmar, Burma actually (maybe we don’t like change in the UK!
) The break up of Yugoslavia, the Czech Republic and the USSR left the map of Europe with a whole load of smaller countries whose names I know – I just forget where some of them are exactly.
Julia
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ha, cool post. i knew a few of these, but definitely not all. i know australia as was once upon a time called new holland, and even before that terra australis. but that could all have been before it was a country.
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Nice list, Michael — I get confused about some of these so I’m going to keep it handy.
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I love this! Learning new things about countries can be fascinating and I find that I am a historical and fact sponge when I travel, which is totally different from when I am at home. I guess it’s just more fun to learn on the road! (How could they change a name like Upper Volta?!
)
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When I was in college I told a friend that I was from Upper Volta….he believed me until I told him the truth a few years later. Haha! (I’ll have another “Fun Facts” post up here pretty soon too!)
that’s interesting. i knew about siam, but pretty much nothing else rang a bell. thanks for teaching me a few new facts today. i actually thought zaire was still zaire. wow.
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I can’t believe I left it off. Nice list, Michael — I get confused about some of these so I’m going to keep it handy.
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