March 16, 2024
Saigon was the former name of Ho Chi Minh City. The name change happened in 1975 after the Vietnam War ended. The city was named after Ho Chi Minh, a former communist prime minister of North Vietnam.
The city has undergone several name changes throughout history. In 1914, during World War I, the city's name was changed from Sankt-Petersburg (or St. Petersburg) to Petrograd because the original name was seen as "too German." After the leader Vladimir Lenin's death in 1924, the city was renamed Leningrad. Finally, in 1991, the city returned to its original name, St. Petersburg.
New York City was originally called New Amsterdam by Dutch colonists in the 17th century. The English captured the city in 1664 and renamed it after the Duke of York and Albany, James II.
Mumbai was formerly known as Bombay. The name change happened in 1995. The new name, Mumbai, is the city's Marathi name, which is the language spoken by the majority of the state's population.
The capital of Turkey was formerly known as Constantinople. The city was renamed Ankara in 1923 after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Constantinople is a Greek name, and Ankara reflected the country's new identity as a Turkish republic.
Istanbul was formerly known as Byzantium. The city was renamed Constantinople after the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great in 330 AD. Then, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, the city's name was changed back to Istanbul, its historical Turkish name.
Pretoria was formerly known as Transvaal. It was renamed Pretoria in 1855 after Andries Pretorius, a Boer leader.