Many cities that exist today, in past eras, could have other names. Renaming can occur for various reasons: a change of government, the transition of a city to another state, religious and other reasons. Other cities can be renamed several times in a couple of centuries, but in the end the settlement will receive the name that was originally.
For this reason, many people may mistakenly call the city by another name that is either outdated or unofficial. Even geography experts who are well acquainted with the world map may be confused by the name of some cities, because the wrong name can be even more popular than the official one!
Calcutta
Previously, the Indian city was called Kolkata, but in 2001 it underwent a renaming. The reason for this was the Bengali language, in which the new name is pronounced and sounds more correct than Calcutta. However, many residents of India and travelers continue to call the large city in the old way, which does not correspond to the official name.
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City is one of the largest cities in Vietnam. Until 1976, the settlement was called Saigon, but after the authorities decided to rename it. Saigon still continues to be called both locals and guests of the country during the conversation. By the way, the city received a new name in honor of the first president of Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh.
Oslo
For a long time, the capital of present-day Norway had a different name in two variations - Christania and Christiania. From 1624 to the 1920s, the first name was used, until 1925 the city was called Kristania. However, then the government decided to return the settlement to its original name, and since then the capital of Norway is a city called Oslo. Linguists translate this name as "a meadow that is consecrated by the gods" or "a meadow at the foot of a hill".
Chennai
The city of Chennai is located in the southern part of India and until 1996 had another name - Madras. It was called so in honor of the place Madraspatnam, the current name of the settlement was acquired in honor of the ancient ruler of the south of the country. The old name is still very popular among the locals, although the new one has been used as the official one for almost 30 years.
Maputo
Almost 2 centuries since its foundation, the capital of Mozambique was named in honor of the merchant and traveler from Portugal - Lawrence-Marques. In 1976, the country's largest city received a new name, which was given in honor of the Maputo River, which flows through the state.
Mumbai
Mumbai was called Bombay until 1995. The city is known for the films of the Indian film industry, shot on this territory. Bollywood appeared as a result of the merger of the names Hollywood and Bombay, but after renaming to Mumbai, Mullywood did not become. The current name is given to the city in honor of the goddess of Hinduism Mumba Devi, but many continue to call the city by its old name.
New York
Even before the independence of the United States from the English crown, New York had a different name – New Amsterdam. The city was formed in 1624 and carried its first name for 40 years – after the name changed to New York, in honor of the Duke of York, who would soon become king of Britain. Since then, one of the largest cities in the United States has not changed its name.
Guangzhou
Guangzhou is a city one of the three largest in China. The capital of Guangdong Province among Europeans had the name Canton - an erroneously assigned name of the province in Cantonese. The inhabitants of Europe incorrectly called Guangzhou, giving it the name of the region of China in which it is located.
KInshasa
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has a capital, the name of which until 1966 was in honor of King Leopold II of Belgium. After gaining independence, the inhabitants of the African state decided to rename their capital, and since then the city has been called Kinshasa. Such a name appeared from the village that was on this place before the formation of a large city.
Yangon
The former Rangoon was called so until 1989. The translation of the combined word from burmese is "the end of enmity". At the end of the twentieth year, the Myanmar city became known as Yangon, but the former name is still popular with locals.
Istanbul
The city has existed for more than two thousand years, and for its long history has had several names. The first name of the Turkish city was Byzantium, after which the most famous name appeared - Constantinople. So the current Istanbul was called about 1600 years and only in 1930 it acquired a name that it bears to this day.
