Historical Country Names - Nations Online Project
Historical Country Names
keywords: geography, historical country names, former country names, history, place name changes, historical maps
List of formerly used country names and names of countries which have ceased to exist.
Name changes of countries, dependencies, geographical and other regions of particular geopolitical interest.
 
Today
Abyssinia
The Ethiopian Empire spans a geographical area of today Ethiopia, Eritrea , and Djibouti ,and included parts of Northern Somalia , Southern Egypt , Eastern Sudan , Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia . Abyssinia was an empire that existed for more than 800 years, from circa 1137 (beginning of Zagwe Dynasty) until 1974 when the Ethiopian monarchy was overthrown in a coup d'etat.
 
 
Afars and Issas Territory
formerly known as French Somaliland, the French colony was renamed to the French Territory of Afars and Issas (1967 - 1977),the territory became independent in 1977, known today as Djibouti.
formerly a British protectorate became independent in 1966 as the Kingdom of Lesotho.
 
formerly a British protectorate became independent in 1966 as Republic of Botswana.
 
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Benadir
a coastal region of Somalia; covering most of the Indian Ocean coast of the country, from the Gulf of Aden to the Juba River, formerly part of Italian Somaliland.
 
Biafra, Republic of (named after the Bight of Biafra) today part of
 
Bophuthatswana - nominal republic and homeland for Tswana-speaking people, 1949 reincorporated into
 
British Bechuanaland (region) incorporated into the Cape Colony (1895)
 
British East Africa or East Africa Protectorate
British protectorate from 1890 until 1920
 
Kenya , Tanzania , Uganda , and parts of Somalia (Jubaland)
Cape Colony, 1795-1797 British colony, 1803-1806 colony of the Batavian Republic (Netherlands), since 1910 part of
 
Central African Republic
Kenya Colony
The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya was part of the British Empire in Africa. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British crown colony in 1920.
 
Ciskei (Republic of Ciskei)- homeland for Xhosa-speaking people, 1994 reincorporated into
 
Dahomey ; (the Republic of Dahomey; in French: République du Dahomey), was a former French colony andpart of French West Africa until independence in 1960, in 1975 the Republic of Dahomeychanged its name in Benin.
Dan Ho Me was an ancient Kingdom located in the south of today Benin.
 
French Guinea was a French protectorate in West Africa, after independence from France in 1958 it became today
 
Mali
French West Africa
was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia and Niger, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire, Upper Volta and Dahomey .
 
Mauritania , The Gambia , Senegal , Niger , Mali , Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Burkina Faso and Benin.
German East Africa (German: Deutsch-Ostafrika)
a German colony from 1885 until 1919 which included Burundi, Rwanda and Tanganyika (the mainland part of present Tanzania), an area almost three times the size of Germany today. German East Africa colony ended with the defeat of Imperial Germany in World War I. With the Treaty of Versailles the territory was divided between Britain (Tanganyika.), Belgium (Ruanda-Urundi), and Portugal (to become part of Mozambique).
 
Hausaland, consisted of seven independent city-states: Biram, Daura, Gobir, Kano, Katsina, Rano, and Zaria.
 
Italian East Africa (former name for Italian possessions in eastern Africa)
 
Kaffraria, former name for Transkei
 
Katanga - 1960, Belgium granted independence to the Congolese province of the
 
Mali Federation, was a country in West Africa 1959-1960, formed by a union between
 
Malawi
Portuguese East Africa (Província Ultramarina de Moçambique)
Mozambique or Portuguese East Africa (officially the State of East Africa) for almost 500 years a Portuguese Colony, 1498–1975. See also: Portugal
 
Sahara Occidental, Spanish name for
 
Senegambia (region; former name of the confederation of Senegal and Gambia)
 
Songhay (Songhai), in the 16th century a major empire of the Western Sudan, in the region of
 
South-West Africa (SWA, German: Deutsch-Südwestafrika), a German colony from 1884-1915
 
Spanish West Africa (former name for Ifni and Spanish Sahara)
 
Stellaland, Republic of; annexed by the Boers later British Bechuanaland, incorporated into the Cape Colony (1895)
 
Tanganyika Territory, united with the islands Zansibar and Pemba it became
 
Togoland (British Togoland), since 1957 part of
 
Transkei (former Kaffraria and one of ten "black homelands" and nominal republic, in Southeast of )
 
Transvaal or ZAR - Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek; today the Province Limpopo of
 
Ubangi-Shari (Oubangui-Chari) a former French territory in central Africa, whith independence on 13 August 1960 the country became the
 
Central African Republic
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa was formed on 31 May 1910 as a parliamentary union of the four self-governing British colonies: the Cape of Good Hope Province (Cape Province; previously Cape Colony), Natal Province (Natal Colony), the Orange Free State Province (Oranje Vrij Staat/Orange River Colony) and the Transvaal Province (Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek/Transvaal Colony). The Union came to an end in 1961with a new constitution and became the "Republic of South Africa".
 
Zaire, changed its name in 1997 to
 
Zanzibar (island, east off the coast of Tanzania) a former protectorate of Britain. Zanzibar gained independence in1963 united with Tanganyika, today it is a semi-autonomous part of
 
Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) or Transvaal colony;  today the Limpopo province of
 
Abkhazia (Region name is still in use)
 
Bactria (Bakhtria)
historical region of Greater Iran, located between the Hindu Kush mountain range and the Amu Darya (Amu river). The region was the birthplace of Zoroastrianism (Mazdaism) and later, also hosted Buddhism before becoming Muslim after the 7th century. The Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley are a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Afghanistan with the remains of two huge standing Buddha statues which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
 
Circassia
was located east of the Black Sea and west of the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region, it was the mountainous territory of the Circassians (Adyghe), it was wiped from the map in the late 19th century whenRussia conqueredthe Caucasus region. All Circassians were displacedfrom their homeland. Historians refer to the displacement of the Adyghe people by the Russian Empire to "the inventing of the strategy of modern ethnic cleansing and genocide".
 
Circassia was situated north of today Georgia in the southern half of Russia's Krasnodar Krai, south of Kuban River,as well as in the Beshtau, an isolated mountainous region in Stavropol Krai, and in todays Russian Republics of Adygea, Karachay–Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, and North Ossetia–Alania, in south west Russia .
East Turkestan; Eastern Turkestan; Chinese Turkestan
 
Part of western China (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region )
Kashmir (region)
is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the Vale of Kashmir, the valley between the GreatHimalayas (in northeast) and the Pir Panjal mountain range (in southwest). Today the term Kashmir refers to a larger area that includes the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (including the Kashmir valley and Jammu and Ladakh), the Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan and the Azad Kashmir provinces, and the Chinese-administered regions of Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract.
state during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, it is the ancient name of
 
Cyprus
Dilmun,
mentioned in ancient texts as a trade partner of Mesopotamia, although the exact location of Dilmun is unclear, it is associated with
 
Bahrain , the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia , Qatar , Oman and nearby coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf.
Galilee, Galilea
is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. See: Map of Israel
 
Judea, Judäa,(region)
Hebrew: יהודה
was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BC (Assyrian rule) to the 2nd century AD, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.
 
Muscat and Oman, Sultanate of Muscat and Oman until  1970
 
North Yemen or Yemen Arab Republic
was a country from 1962 to 1990 in the western part of what is now Yemen.
 
Ottoman Empire
the Turkish empire, established in northern Anatolia by Osman I (Osman Gazi Khan) at the end of the 13th century and expanded by his successors to include all of Asia Minor and much of southeastern Europe. After setbacks caused by the invasion of the Mongol ruler Tamerlane (Timur) in 1402, the Ottomans captured Constantinople (today Istanbul) in 1453, and the empire reached its zenith under Suleiman the Magnificent (ruled 1520 to 1566). At the height of its power, in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman Empire controlled territory in southeastern Europe, southwestern Asia, and North Africa. It had greatly declined by the 19th century and collapsed after World War I.
 
also known as the Trucial States, Trucial Oman, and the Trucial Shaykdoms
 
Tylos, was referredby the Greeks to today
 
Bahrain
United Arab Republic (UAR)
The United Arab Republic or U.A.R., was a union between Egypt and Syria. The union began in 1958 and existed until 1961, when Syria seceded from the union. Egypt continued to be known officially as the "United Arab Republic" until 1971. The President was Gamal Abdel Nasser. During most of its existence (1958–1961) it was a member of the United Arab States, a confederation with North Yemen.
 
Egypt , Syria , Yemen
Yemen Arab Republic (YAR)
The Yemen Arab Republic, also known as North Yemen, was a country from 1962 to 1990 in the western part of what is now Yemen, its predecessor was the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1962), also known as the Kingdom of Yemen, its capital was at Taiz (Ta'izz).
Yemen
__Eastern Asia
Cathay, (English) Cathay is the Anglicized version of "Catai" the name used for northern China, and an alternative name for:
 
Choson, Chosen
 
the Korean peninsula today split into Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)
 
Formosa (island)
Dutch Formosa,
period of a colonial Dutch government (1624–1662), the Dutch East India Company established its presence on Formosa to trade with China and Japan and to prevent Portuguese and Spanish trade and colonial activities in East Asia.
Spanish Formosa,
a Spanish colony established in the north of of the island (1626–1642).
 
Taiwan
Great Korean Empire
was the name of the Korean empire that existed on theKorean Peninsula, from the Proclamation of the Korean Empire in October 1897 to the Annexation of Korea by Japan in 1910. The Great Korean Empire was an absolute monarchy with a constitution.
 
Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)
Kingdom of Tungning
(1662 - 1683) The kingdom was founded by Koxinga (official name: Zheng Chenggong),on the island of Formosa. Koxinga was born in Hirado, Japan to Zheng Zhilong, a Ming dynasty admiral-pirate-merchant, and his Japanese wife. The Kingdom of Tungning was run by the Zheng family, supporting the Ming Dynasty in mainland China which was replaced by the Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty in 1644. Koxinga wanted to use the island as a base of operations to train its Ming military forces and recapture the mainland from the Manchus. Hedied in 1662 six month after the conquest of Formosa. His son Zheng Jing ruled the next 20 years from its court at Tainan.
 
Annam, Anam (1883-1954) French protectorate in
 
Central Vietnam
Ayutthaya, Kingdom of; (Siam)
covered Thailand , half of Cambodia ,  most of Laos and large areas of present day Myanmar  (Burma)
 
Bengal, region in the northeast of South Asia
today divided between Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), and the India n federal stateWest Bengal.
 
Balochistan or Baluchistan
a region on in the Iranian Plateau in Southwest Asia, named after the local Baloch tribes of Persian origin.
 
part of the region is now the province Balochistan in Pakistan , other areas of the region were part of today's Iran and Afghanistan .
Baluchistan States Union existed between1952 and1955 in southwest
 
British North Borneo, former British protectorate  and crown colony, occupies the northern tip of the island of Borneo.
 
Burma, changed its name in 1989 to
 
 
Ceylon
in 1972 thename of the country was changed to "Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka", in 1978 the name was changed to "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka"
 
Map of Sri Lanka
Dutch East Indies (Netherlands East Indies)
was the Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalized colonies of the former Dutch East India Company that came under the administration of the Netherlands in 1800.
 
Indonesia
East Pakistan, a former province of Pakistan.
East Pakistan was created from Bengal Province based on the 'Mountbatten Plan' in what was then British India in 1947. Eastern Bengal was given to the Dominion of Pakistan and became a province of Pakistan by the name East Bengal. East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan in 1956 and later became the country of Bangladesh after the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, which took place after the General Elections of 1970.
 
British West Indies - the colonies of the British  in the Caribbean:
today the term refers to the British Caribbean overseas territories which are:
Anguilla , Bermuda , British  Virgin Islands , Cayman Islands, Montserrat , Turks  and Caicos Islands.
 
Danish West Indies or "Danish Antilles",
were a colony of Denmark - Norway in the Caribbean. They were sold to the United States in 1916 in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies and became the United States Virgin Islands in 1917.
 
US Virgin Islands
French West Indies, the French overseas departments
Guadeloupe and Martinique ,  as well as the French Caribbean Départments d'Outre Mer, include  the Guadeloupe dependencies of the French part of the island St. Martin and the  islands Saint-Barthélemy, Les Saintes, Marie-Galante and La Désirade.
 
Haiti, the Arawaks name for the island of Hispaniola
 
New Spain (Nueva España) colonial territories  of the Spanish Empire in North and Central America, including
 
Somers Islands is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean better kown as
 
New Spain (Nueva España) colonial territories  of the Spanish Empire in North and Central America, including
 
Mexico , Guatemala , Belize , El Salvador , Honduras , Nicaragua , Costa Rica and parts of South-West USA
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch,
was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America.
The settled areas are now part of the Mid-Atlantic States of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut, with small outposts in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The provincial capital, New Amsterdam, was located at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan on upper New York Bay.
 
Today
British Guiana
was a British colony on the northern coast of South America, what is now the independent nation of Guyana. Capital was Georgetown .
 
Guyana
Dutch Guiana (Netherlands Guyana)
Dutch colonization of the Guianas began in the beginning of the 17th century. The colonies of Essequibo and Demerara (Demerary), Surinam, and Berbice were Dutch settlements, trading posts and plantations in the coastal areas ofthe north eastern part of South America, a region which is known as the Guianas, today divided into the countries of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and the north eastern part of Brazil. Capital city was Fort Zeelandia ( Paramaribo )
 
Venezuela , Guyana , Suriname , French Guiana , and the Amapá province of Brazil.
Gran Colombia (1819-1830), the former republic consisted  ofthe territories of present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama, northern Peru and northwest Brazil.
 
Inini, an inland territory of French Guiana, its capital was Saint-Élie.
 
New Holland (2), Nieuw  Holland, or also known as Dutch Brazil, was a former dutch colony on the northeast coast of Brazil 1630 - 1654. Capital city was Mauritsstad, today part of the city of Recife .
 
Province of Pernambuco, Brazil
Terra de Santa Cruz , in the early 16th century when the Portoguese realized it was not an island but part of a continent they were about to conquer, they renamed it from 'Ilha de Vera Cruz' (Island of the True Cross) to Terra de Santa Cruz (Land of the Holy Cross). Today the region is known as Brazil.
Map of Moldova
Pridnestrovia (Transnistria)
formerly part of the  Soviet Union ( Russia ), today a breakaway state of Moldova also known as  Transnistria,  which claims  territory between the Dniester river and the eastern border of Moldova with Ukraine . It declared independence in 1990 but is unrecognised by any United Nations member state.
Transnistria is one of four post-Soviet "frozen conflict" zones. (see: Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia)
After the dissolution of the USSR, tensions between the newly created Moldova and the de facto sovereign state of Pridnestrovia escalated into a military conflict. Unlike the rest of Moldova Pridnestrovia had not wanted to separate from the Soviet Union. Because of the Russian military contingent present in Transnistria, the European Court of Human Rights considers Transnistria "under the effective authority or at least decisive influence of Russia".
Map of Moldova
Prussia, Preussen
a former kingdom of the German  Empire.Originally a small country on the south eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, under Frederick the Great it became a major European power covering much of modern northeast Germany and Poland. Capital city was Königsberg (today Kaliningrad, Russia), later Berlin .
 
(region; former name for Carpatho-Ukraine)
 
Map of Ukraine
Silesia,
(in German: Schlesien) historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts in the Czech Republic and Germany, its largest city and capital was Wrocław(Breslau).
 
Poland , the Czech Republic and Germany .
Soviet Union (1922 - 1991)
short form of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics   (USSR), a former federation of Communist republics occupying the northern half of Asia and part of eastern Europe, capital city was Moscow .
12 constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 as independent post-Soviet states.
 
Armenia , Azerbaijan , Belarus , Estonia , Georgia , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Latvia , Lithuania , Moldova , Russian Federation (Russia) , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , Ukraine , Uzbekistan
Scotland,
the former independent kingdom is today  one of four constituent nations which form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, capital city is Edinburgh