WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The Pacific Island country of Nauru has changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, its president said, matching the spelling and pronunciation in the national language.
The country’s international code will change from NRU to NRO and its people will be known as dei-Naoero instead of Nauruan. Commonly known abroad by the pronunciation of Now-roo, the new name is spoken as Now-ero.
The move would return the remote South Pacific island nation to its traditional name, a statement posted Thursday to the government’s Facebook account said.
The country became known internationally as Nauru only because its local name was difficult for foreigners to pronounce and was a matter of convenience rather than one of choice, according to an earlier government statement.
“This proposed change seeks to more faithfully honor our nation’s heritage, our language, and our identity,” President David Adeang said when he proposed the move to Parliament in January.
With 12,000 residents, Nauru is the world’s third-smallest country by population size, after Tuvalu and Vatican City. The tiny coral limestone atoll was colonized by Germany and later administered by Australia before becoming an independent republic in 1968.
With the adoption of the name Naoero, the country becomes the latest nation to signal a shift away from a colonial past by changing its name.
The tiny African kingdom of Eswatini reverted to its historic name from Swaziland in 2018. Other countries have sought the switch as a sort of rebrand, as Turkey did when Ankara asked the United Nations in 2022 to begin calling the country Türkiye, which the nation had long gone by at home.
Graham-McLay writes for the Associated Press.
