Nauru changes its name to Republic of Naoero

United Nations, Australia, New Zealand, U.S. and China already list country as Naoero

The Pacific Island country of Nauru has changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, President David Adeang said, a move that brings the nation’s international designation in line with the spelling and pronunciation of the name in its national language. Commonly known abroad by the pronunciation of Now-roo, the new name is spoken as Now-ero.

The country’s international code changes from NRU to NRO, and its people will be known as dei-Naoero instead of Nauruan. The decision will also prompt the renaming of national aircraft and ships.

The change returns the remote South Pacific island nation to its traditional name, according to a statement posted Thursday to the government’s Facebook account. The country became known internationally as Nauru only because its local name was difficult for foreigners to pronounce, a matter of convenience rather than one of choice, according to an earlier government statement.

Adeang proposed the move to Parliament in January. “This proposed change seeks to more faithfully honor our nation’s heritage, our language, and our identity,” he said at the time. The suggested constitutional amendment has been endorsed by lawmakers in the requisite two rounds of voting, though it was not immediately clear whether the document had been formally amended.

When the government last voted for the move in May, Adeang announced a referendum to confirm it. In a statement last week, the government said that after “extensive discussions,” lawmakers had decided a public vote was not needed. “While a referendum is intended to determine the will of the people, the name Naoero has never been lost, but rather waiting to be fully embraced,” the statement said. The designation “is already the identity of the people, is on the national coat of arms, and spoken in the community; and importantly is allowed by the Constitution,” it added.

Adeang called the change “the beginning of renewed national pride” in his latest announcement.

Nauru is the world’s third-smallest country by population size, with 12,000 residents, 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.

Phosphate mining created wealth on the island in the 1970s before the industry collapsed, and the country’s economy declined sharply in the 1990s. Today Nauru is among the world’s countries most at risk from rising seas due to climate change, a threat that prompted the government to seek overseas investment through a paid citizenship program intended to fund the movement of people and infrastructure away from the encroaching ocean.

The change places Nauru among countries that have altered their international names in recent years. Eswatini reverted to its historic name from Swaziland in 2018. Turkey asked the United Nations in 2022 to begin calling the country Türkiye, a name the nation had long gone by at home.

The government said it was seeking to have other countries and international institutions recognize the shift. The website of the United Nations records the country by its new name, noting that the government requested the change in June. Australia and New Zealand’s foreign ministries, along with the U.S. and Chinese embassies in the region, also designate the country as Naoero on their websites.