Alternative History:Alternate Names

You will find here alternative name for countries in OTL that could be used in alternative histories. These were either briefly used or proposed around the time of creation but discarded. Feel free to add entries but try to refrain from adding personal suggestions.

Argentina

 * Rio de La Plata
 * the Argentine, archaic English language name.

Armenia

 * Hayastan or Hayk, Armenian names.
 * Arministān (Persian), Ermenistan (Turkish).
 * Somxet’i, Georgian name.

Commonwealth of Australia (Official name)
Alternative names:


 * Aussieland, Oz, local informal names.
 * New Holland, historical name for the continent of Australia.
 * Terra Australis, original Latin name
 * Land Down Under or Down Under - What many have referred to as Australia. Can also apply to New Zealand as well. See here for more info.

Austria

 * United States of Greater Austria was proposed in 1906.
 * Ostmark (East March) - medieval name, and the name under Nazis.

Bangladesh

 * East Pakistan, until 1971

Belarus

 * Byelorussia, older variant of the name
 * White Russia, literal translation
 * Biela Rus’, in Old Slavic

Belize

 * British Honduras, until 1973

Benin

 * Dahomey, until 1975

Botswana

 * Bechuanaland, until 1966
 * Matabele, Ndabele, 19th-century kingdom in the region

Brazil

 * Brasil - Portuguese name
 * Ilha de Vera Cruz - name by Portuguese captain Pedro Álvares Cabral, after discovery of the land
 * Terra de Santa Cruz - renamed of above after finding out its not an island.
 * Terra di Papaga - name by Italian merchants after interviewing returned crews
 * Terra do Brasil
 * Brasileiros

Burkina Faso

 * Upper Volta, until 1984

Cambodia

 * Khmer Republic, 1971-1975
 * Kampuchea, 1975-1991

Canada

 * Acadia, the French colony.

The names proposed for the Dominion formed in 1867:

In addition, "Kingdom of Canada" was the prefered name among Canadians. "Dominion" was chosen largely as a result of American objections.
 * Albertsland (after Prince Albert).
 * Albionora ("northern Albion").
 * Borealia (from a latin word meaning north).
 * Britannia
 * Cabotia (after John Cabot, one of the early european navigator to land in modern day Canada).
 * Colonia
 * Efisga (a combination of the first letters of England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and Aboriginal lands).
 * Hochelaga (a name used on early map to represent a large part of modern day central Canada, also former name of Montreal).
 * Norland
 * Superior
 * Transatlantia ("over the atlantic" from the british point of view).
 * Tupona (an acrostic for the United Provinces of North America).
 * Ursalia ("land of bears")
 * Vesperia ("land of the evening star")
 * Victorialand (after Queen Victoria)
 * Vinland

China

 * Zhonghua, Zhongguo, Chungkuo Mandarin Chinese.
 * Sin, Sinae, Hebrew and Latin respectively.
 * Kina, Hina, Shina, variants of "China".
 * Ser, Seres, the ancient Greek and Roman name for the north-western part of China; the word "silk" ultimately comes from it).
 * Cathay (English), Cataya, Kitai (Latin), Kitad (Mongolian), Kitay (Russian), from the Khitan people who lived in Northern China, introduced by Marco Polo.
 * Chuka, Chugoku, Kara, Morokoshi, Japanese names.
 * Junggwok or Zunggwok (Cantonese), Tsonkoh (Wu), Tiong-kok (Hokkien), Chung-koet (Hakka), Dung-gwok (Fuzhounese), vernacular names.

Central African Republic

 * Ubangi-Shari or Oubangui-Chari (French), until 1958 (under the French)

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

 * Zaire, in 1971-1997

Congo, Republic of the

 * Middle Congo, until 1960

Colombia

 * New Granada, until 1819
 * New Granada (Nueva Granada in Spanish).
 * Gran Colombia Name of the federation of Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.

Czech Republic

 * Česká republika - Czech/Slovak name
 * Česko
 * Czechia
 * Bohemia - traditional name
 * Boiohaemum - Latin name
 * Boi-heim - Germanic name

Côte d'Ivoire

 * Ivory Coast, until 1985

Djibouti

 * French Somaliland
 * Afars and Issas, in 1967-1977

Ecuador

 * Quito

Egypt

 * Misr (Arabic), Masr (Egyptian Arabic)
 * Kemet, Ancient Egyptian name.

Estonia

 * Estland, Estlandia (Russian), older names of the territory.

Ethiopia

 * Abyssinia name for the Ethiopian Empire which in OTL existed between 1270-1975.

Finland

 * Suomi, Finnish name.
 * Finlandia, Russian name.
 * Finnia, Finnonia, Fennia, Latin names.

France

 * Celtica, Roman province comprising most of northern and central Gaul
 * Gaul, Gallia, Roman name.
 * Neustria, a name for modern France in the Carolingian era
 * West Francia, a name for modern France in the Carolingian era

Georgia

 * Sakartvelo (in Georgian).
 * Gurj, Gurjistan (in Persian), Gürcistan (in Turkish) (the name "Georgia" is derived from the same source).
 * Gruzia or Gruziya (in Russian, after Gurjistan).
 * Vrastan (in Armenian)
 * Colchis (in Greek), K'olxeti (in Georgian), ancient state in the Western Gerogia.
 * Iberia or Iveria (in Latin), ancient name of the central Georgian region.
 * Kartli, Georgian name of the same region, after which currently whole country is named.

Germany

 * Alemannia, Allemagne, Almaniya etc., the names adopted in most Romance and Muslim languages.
 * Austrasia, a name for modern Germany in the Carolingian era
 * Deutschland, the name in German.
 * Dutchland, English rendering of the name above, later applied to the Netherlands only. See also: Low Countries.
 * East Francia, a name for modern Germany in the Carolingian era.
 * Germania, the name in Latin.
 * Holy Roman Empire, the Union of the German states in the Middle Ages.
 * Hunnic Empire, an ancient empire traditionally associated with the Germans.
 * Niemcy, Nimechchyna etc. (literally "the country of the mute"), the names adopted in most Slavic languages.
 * Prussia, the dominating state in the 19th century; the name was informally applied to the German Empire.
 * Saxony, one of the dominating states, whose name is applied to whole Germany in some Finnish languages.
 * Suðrvegr (i.e. "south way"), the name used by Vikings (opposite to Norway)
 * Swabia, after an important ancient tribe, informal name in some South Slavic languages.
 * Tedeschia, informal name in Italian (after tedesco, the adjective for "German").
 * Teutonia, alternative name in Latin, perceived as Latinate form of Deutschland.
 * Union of German Countries was proposed for a confederation in 1948.

Ghana

 * Ashanti - kingdom occupying approximately same area as Ghana.
 * Gold Coast former European name for Ghana, until 1975.

Greece

 * Hellas, Hellada - Greek Name
 * Byzantine Empire - From mediaeval ages.
 * Graecia - Latin Name

Guinea Bissau

 * Portuguese Guinea, until 1974

Guyana

 * British Guiana, until 1966

India

 * Bharat - name in Hindi
 * British Raj - until 1947
 * Hindustan
 * Tenjiku - An obsolete Japanese word to refer to ancient India
 * Tianzhu - What chinese have referred to India pre-modern

Indonesia

 * Netherlands East Indies, until 1945

Iran

 * Aryana, "land of the Aryans". Identical in meaning to "Iran".
 * Persia

Ireland

 * Éire, Irish name.
 * Erin, Anglo-Irish name derived from Éire, used poetically
 * Hibernia, Latin name.

Israel

 * Palestine, the name of the territory as opposed to the name of the people (Israel).
 * Eretz Yisrael, "Land of Israel" in Hebrew.
 * Judea, ancient Jewish kingdom.
 * The Zionist State

Italy

 * Apennine Peninsula, the one Italy is in.
 * Hesperia, Esperia, "western land" (from Greek point of view).
 * Graecia Magna, Latin name of the Greek colonies in southern Italy.
 * Rome, Roman Empire, dominating state in ancient times.
 * Sicily, Trinacria, Naples, dominating kingdom in southern Italy in 1130-1861.

Japan

 * Nippon or Nihon - Japanese Name
 * Land of the Rising Sun - Translation of both Nihon and Nippon.
 * The Sun's Origin - Literal translation of Nippon and Nihon.
 * Wakoku or Wa - Before Nihon came into official use.
 * Yamato - Alternate name of the above.
 * Iaponia - Latin name

Jordan

 * Transjordan, in 1921-1946

Kazakhstan

 * Qazaqstan, Kazakh name
 * Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in 1920-1925 (not to be confused with Kyrgyzstan)
 * Alash, ancient tribal union.

Korea

 * Hanguk or Chosŏn - South and North Korean names of Korea, respectively.
 * Joseon - Old name of Korea
 * Han or Samhan - Alternative, from old Kingdom of Korea
 * Goryeo - Another alternative name
 * Baekje, Silla - fomer kingdoms, alt names of Korea.
 * Cauli - Italian transliteration of Goryeo.
 * The Land of the Morning Calm - nickname, orginally from Chinese Characters of Joseon translated
 * Hermit Kingdom - Nickname of when it was isolated during Joseon dynasty.
 * Kankoku and Kita-Chōsen  - name for South Korea and North Korea in Japanese, respectively
 * Chōsen - Japanese name to refer to Korea as a whole
 * Solongos - Mongol name of Korea
 * Corea - spelling variant in English
 * Baedal - Ancient reference of Korea
 * Asadal - Old Korean form of Joseon.
 * Cháoxiǎn - PRC name before establishing relations South Korea
 * Hánguó - Taiwanese name to refer to all of Korea in the past.

Kyrgyzstan

 * Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast, in 1920-1925

Kiribati

 * the Gilbert Islands, the name in English, "Kiribati" is corrupted version of this name
 * Kingsmill Islands, Kingsmill Islands, older name of the islands

Latvia

 * Courland, Kuršas (Lithuanian), Kurlandia (Russian and Polish), Kurland (German), Curonia or Couronia (Latin), a large historical region in present-day Latvia and Lithuania.
 * Letland, Lettland, Lettonia (Latin).
 * Livonia, Liflandia or Liflyandiya (Russian), Livland (Swedish), Inflanty (Polish), a duchy and later a Russian province in Latvia and southern Estonia.

Lesotho

 * Basutoland

Lithuania

 * Litva, Łotwa, in Slavic languages.

Low Countries

 * Batavia, name derived from an old tribe that lived in the northern Low Countries. Historically used by the Dutch "Batavian Republic".
 * Belgica, historical Latin province. Later used as Latin name for the Low Countries. After 1830 solely referring to the southern parts of which.
 * Belgium, België, Belgique, Respectively the Anglicized, Dutch and French versions of "Belgica".
 * Benelux, acronym of Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. First formally used in 1955.
 * Dietsland, Dietschland, derived from a Middle Dutch word for "Dutch" that has fallen into disuse. Was popular among Dutch and Flemish National Socialists during World War II. Still used by right wing advocates of Greater or Whole Netherlandism.
 * Dutchland, Thiogne, Anglicized and French versions of "Dietsland". See also: Germany.
 * Flanders, until the Dutch revolts the dominant region in the Low Countries. Then often erroneously applied to the whole of the Low Countries. Unlikely candidate to be formally adopted as such without outside interference. Currently applied to the Dutch speaking halve of Belgium.
 * Holland, dominant region in the Northern Netherlands after the Dutch revolts. Often erroneously applied to the whole of the Northern Netherlands. Unlikely candidate to be formally adopted as such without outside interference (e.g. the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland).
 * Lower Lotharingia, Lothier, early medieval name for the Low Countries, including parts of the German Rhineland and Palatinate.
 * Netherlands, synonymous with "Low Countries". After 1830 solely referring to the Northern Netherlands. Translation of the original French phrase: Pays-Bas.
 * Nederland, most often used Dutch language name for the Netherlands. Notice the fact that, contrary to usage in many other languages, the name is singular.
 * Nederlanden, plural Dutch language name for the Netherlands. Often used in historical context to refer to the Low Countries as a whole or, more recently, to refer to the Netherlands, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles.
 * Wallonia, name referring to the francophone part of the Low Countries.

Macau

 * Macao - Alternative spelling.
 * Àomén - Hanyu Pinyin (Mandarin Chinese)
 * Haojing - Before Portuguese settlement.
 * Jinghai - Alternative name from above.

Malawi

 * Nyasaland, until 1964

Malaysia

 * Malaya, until 1963

Mali

 * French Sudan, until 1960

Mexico

 * México or Méjico, the name in Spanish, after the name of the City of México-Tenochtitlan.
 * Mēxihco ("Place where Mextli (god of the moon) lives" or "Place at the center of the Lake Moon") or Meshiko (rough rendering of the pronunciation into English), original name of city of México-Tenochtitlan in Nahuatl.
 * Aztlán (in Spanish), Aztlān (in Nahuatl), the legendary ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, the name used by various Mexican nationalist and indigenous movements, also was applied to the lands ceded by Mexico to the United States.
 * New Spain, until 1821

Moldova

 * Bessarabia, large region comprising all of Moldova and parts of Romania and Ukraine
 * Moldavia, until 1991

Montenegro

 * Crna Gora, the Montenegrin (Serbo-Croatian) name.
 * Black Mountain, translation of the name.
 * Praevalitana, Roman province.
 * Zetska Banovina, a banovina (province) of the Yugoslavian Kingdom.

Myanmar

 * Burma, until 1988; many sources still refer to the country by this name.
 * Pagan, former empire before British colonization

Namibia

 * South-West Africa

New Zealand

 * Aotearoa, Maori name
 * Staten Landt, Abel Tasman's original name for the country
 * Nova Zeelandia, Nieuw Zeeland, the Latin and Dutch versions in use before their anglicisation.

Norway

 * Noreg, Norge - Norwegian Name
 * Denmark-Norway - name of the union with Denmark.
 * Union between Sweden-Norway - another name.

Peru

 * Birú, Pirú early names from which the current name is derived, before the Spanish conquest

Poland

 * Lechia, from Lendian tribe that inhabited Poland around the 9th Century. Variants of this are used throughout the Middle East.
 * Polska, Polish name.
 * Polonia, Latin name.
 * Rzeczpospolita (Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów), Res Publica Serenissima (Latin), Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish-dominated union in 1569-1795.

Portugal

 * Lusitania, after the Roman province.
 * Olissiponia, after Olissipo, the Roman name of the city of Lisbon.

Russia

 * Rus or Rus’, the oldest name (since pre-Christianity times).
 * Ruscia or Ruthenia, Latinate forms of the oldest name.
 * Urus, Oros, Urys, Orys etc., the name used by the Mongol and Tatar conquerors in 13th-15th centuries.
 * Muscovy or Moscovia, the centralised principality/kingdom with the centre in Moscow since 14th century eventually conquering whole Russia, as opposed to the other Russian states.
 * Great(er) Russia, Russia Magna or Russia Major (in Latin), Makra Rosia (in Greek), Velikorossia or Velikorossiya (in Russian), as opposed to other Russian nations (Ukraine ("Small Russia") and Belarus) in English, Latin, Greek, and Russian respectively.
 * Black Russia, Russia Nigra, as opposed to Belarus ("White Russia").
 * White Russia, Russia Alba, sometimes, probably as opposed to the areas occupied by the Poles and Lithuanians.
 * Rossia or Rossiya, the name in Russian.
 * Hyperborea, Scythia, antique names sometimes applied to Russia in poetry.
 * Siberia, Sibir (in Russian), the name of the largest region of Russia (Asian part of Russia).
 * Tartaria, the mediaeval name for the vast scarcely know lands to the east from Europe
 * The Soviet Union, the Soviets, the names of the Communist state that existed in Russia in the 20th century.

Samoa

 * Western Samoa, until 1997

South Africa

 * Suid-Afrika (in Afrikaans), Zuid-Afrika (in Dutch).
 * Azania, term used in place of "South Africa" by some opponents of the white-minority rule.
 * The Boer Republics: Transvaal, Orange Free State or Oranje Vrystaat, Stellaland, Utrecht, Waterboer's Land, Philippolis or Adam Kok's Land, Goshen, Griqualand, Natalia, the states created by the Boers and Griquas.

Spain

 * Iberia, after pre-Roman inhabitants of the peninsula.
 * Hispania, Latin name.
 * Al-Andalus, Spain under Arabs.
 * Castile, the largest kingdom until it united with Aragon.
 * Asturias, León, Navarra, Aragón, other mediaeval kingdoms.
 * Baetica or Hispania Baetica or Hispania Ulterior ("Farther Spain") (Southern Spain); Hispania Tarraconensis or Hispania Citerior ("Closer Spain") (North-East Spain); Gallaecia (North-West Spain), the names of the Roman provinces in Spain
 * Visigothic Kingdom, covered most of the present-day Spain (418–721).
 * Pyrenean Peninsula, alternative name of the peninsula.
 * España, Spanish name.

Sri Lanka

 * Ceylon, until 1972

Sweden

 * Sverige, Swedish name.
 * Suecia, Latin name.
 * Svea Rike

Taiwan

 * Formosa - As it was known in the past (comes from Portuguese 'Ilha Formosa')
 * Fúěrmóshā - Hanyu Pinyin (Mandarin Chinese)
 * Tayouan or Teyowan - Name by Dutch East India Company, see here for info

Tanzania

 * Tanganyika and Zanzibar, two lands, whose unification created Tanzania.

Thailand

 * Siam, until 1949
 * Ayuthaya, Sukhothai, various early kingdoms in the region, named after cities

Turkey

 * Asia Minor, an ancient Greek Phrase.


 * Pontus, an ancient kingdom.
 * Cappodocia, the Roman Provence.

Tuvalu

 * The Ellice Islands, until independence in 1978

United Kingdom

 * Albion, name applied to Great Britain by Pliny the Elder. All the islands of Britain were known as "the Britanniae".
 * Britain, Britannia.
 * Great Britain

England

 * Anglia, Latin name.
 * Engla Land, Old English (Anglo-Saxon) name

Northern Ireland

 * Ulster, Uladh (in Irish Gaelic), after one of the four provinces of Ireland.

Scotland

 * Caledonia, Latin name.
 * Alba, Albania (in Latin), Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland.

Wales

 * Cymru, Welsh name.
 * Cambria, Latin name.

United States

 * Vinland
 * Columbia
 * Fredonia
 * Appalachia
 * Amerigo Vespucci-land
 * Usonia
 * Gringoland
 * Washingtonia
 * USONA (United States Of North America)
 * Hesperia ("Land of Evening/Sunset"), as one of the countries the Romans located beyond the Ocean).
 * New England

Ukraine

 * Ukrayina, the name in Ukrainian
 * Small Russia or Small Ruthenia, Little Russia or Little Ruthenia, Malorossia (in Russian/Ukrainian), Mikra Rosia (in Greek), Russia Minor or Russia Parva (in Latin), Mala Rus’ (in Old Slavic), as opposed to Russia (Great Russia)
 * Zaporozhia, Zaporozhzhya (in Ukrainian), Zaporozhye (in Russian) ("The land below the rapids (of the Dnieper River)"), the land of the Ukrainian Cossacks (south-eastern Ukraine).
 * Rus’, self-name in the Middle Ages (shared with Russia).
 * Galicia, Halychyna (in Ukrainian), the most influential Ukrainian principality in the middle ages; later the name of the Ukrainian region within the Austrian Empire, and a Ukrainian entity that existed during the German Occupation in 1941-1944 (north-western Ukraine).
 * New Russia, Novorossia, Novorossiya (in Russian), Novorosiya (in Ukrainian), the land of the southern Ukrainian (formerly Crimean) lands, colonised by the Russian Empire in the 18th-19th centuries.
 * Scythia, Sarmatia, after the names of the ancient peoples that dwelt in the region.

Crimea

 * Krym, Russian and Ukrainian name
 * Qırım, Crimean Tatar name
 * Cimmeria, ancient name
 * Tauris, Taurica, old Greek name; Tavrida, one of the Russian names in 18-19th centuries

Vanuatu

 * New Hebrides, until independence in 1980

Venezuela

 * El Libertador, after Simón Bolívar the Liberator, proposed name.
 * Klein-Venedig (Little Venice), failed German colony.

Vietnam

 * Indochina, colonial name under French rule in conjunction with Laos and Cambodia
 * Yuenan, Chinese

North Vietnam

 * Tonkin, former name of the north under French rule
 * Nam Viet, Dai Viet former names

Central Vietnam

 * Annam, formerly used for central Vietnam
 * Champa, former kingdom in central-south Vietnam, distinct culture from Vietnamese culture

South Vietnam

 * Cochinchina, former name of the south under French rule

Western Sahara

 * Spanish Sahara

Yugoslavia

 * Illyria, Roman province roughly concurrent with Yugoslavia
 * Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, in 1918-1929
 * Serbia and Montenegro, in 2003-2006

Zambia

 * Northern Rhodesia, until 1964

Zimbabwe

 * Southern Rhodesia, until independence in 1965.
 * Rhodesia, name used during white-minority rule in 1965-1979.