Countries That Changed Their Names Recently And Why
Turkey ➡️ TürkiyeIn 2022, Turkey officially requested to be called “Türkiye” internationally to better reflect its language and identity, distancing from the bird "turkey"
Macedonia ➡️ North MacedoniaTo resolve a long dispute with Greece, Macedonia changed its name to North Macedonia in 2019, allowing it to join NATO and aim for EU membership
Czech Republic ➡️ CzechiaIn 2016, the Czech Republic adopted the short-form name Czechia for easier international branding, though both names are still used
Swaziland ➡️ EswatiniIn 2018, King Mswati III renamed Swaziland to Eswatini, meaning "land of the Swazis", to shed colonial ties and avoid confusion with Switzerland
Holland ➡️ The NetherlandsIn 2020, the Dutch government stopped using “Holland” for tourism and officially promoted the full country name: The Netherlands
Burma ➡️ MyanmarAlthough done in 1989, the name change from Burma to Myanmar is still debated. Some countries and groups use the old name due to political reasons
Belarus ➡️ Belaya Rus ProposalA name change to Belaya Rus ("White Rus") has been discussed to reflect historical identity, though it’s not official yet. The debate continues