This article lists times that items were renamed due to political motivations. Such renamings have generally occurred during conflicts: for example,

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

gave rise to anti-German sentiment among Allied nations, leading to disassociation with German names. Liberty Steak Cartoon

Asia

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

: In response to

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379, adopted on 10 November 1975, "''Determines'' that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination" with 72 votes in favour, 35 votes against, and 32 abstentions. It was revoked by Resoluti ...

, adopted in 1975, Israel renamed avenues called "UN Avenue" in Haifa, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv to "Zionism Avenue". *

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

: During the

Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy The Muhammad cartoons controversy (or Muhammad cartoons crisis, ) began after the Danish newspaper published twelve editorial cartoons on 30 September 2005 depicting Muhammad, the founder of Islam, in what it said was a response to the deb ...

in 2006, several Iranian groups advocated changing the name of the

Danish pastry A Danish pastry (sometimes shortened to danish; , ) is a multilayered, laminated sweet pastry in the '' viennoiserie'' tradition. Like other ''viennoiserie'' pastries, such as croissants, it is a variant of puff pastry made of laminated yeast- ...

to "Roses of the Prophet Muhammad". *

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

: On September 12, 2012, the Philippine President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Aquino III (; born Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines ...

signed Administrative Order No. 29 renaming parts of the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

"West Philippine Sea". The renamed portions of the sea are within the

exclusive economic zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

of the Philippines and contain the islands of Spratlys and Scarborough Shoal, which are disputed among five other countries.

Indian subcontinent

Oceania

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

: During

, jam-filled buns known as Berliners were renamed Kitchener buns, and a sausage product known as "Fritz" was renamed "

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

" (or "luncheon meat"). *

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

: In 1998, while the French government was testing nuclear weapons in the Pacific, French loaves were renamed Kiwi loaves in a number of supermarkets and bakeries.

Europe

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

: Greek-Cypriots began to market

Turkish delight Turkish delight, or lokum () is a family of confectionery, confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios, hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are often fl ...

as Cyprus delight after the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish Cy ...

. *

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

: ** French Revolution: The Committee of Public Safety went so far as to banish all words associated with royalty. A major example of their work was taking '' Kings'' and ''

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

'' out of playing cards and replacing them with Committee members. It lasted less than a year. It is commonly believed that this was also the time when Aces earned their status as being both the highest card and the lowest card. Furthermore, over a thousand towns and villages were renamed - an example is

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, which was renamed to ''Commune-Affranchie'' ("Free Commune" or "Emancipated Commune"). **World War I: Coffee with whipped cream, previously known as ''Café Viennois'' (Vienna coffee), was renamed ''Café Liégeois'' (Coffee from

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

) due to the state of war with Austria-Hungary. This appellation is still in use today, mainly for ice creams (''chocolat liégeois'' and ''café liegeois''). *

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

: In 1915, after

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

entered World War I, restaurants in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

stopped serving Italian salad. *

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

: ''Ellinikos kafes'' 'Greek coffee' replaced ''Turkikos kafes'' ' Turkish coffee' on Greek menus in the 1960sLeonidas Karakatsanis, ''Turkish-Greek Relations: Rapprochement, Civil Society and the Politics of Friendship'', Routledge, 2014, , p. 111 and footnote 26: "The eradication of symbolic relations with the 'Turk' was another sign of this reactivation: the success of an initiative to abolish the word 'Turkish' in one of the most widely consumed drinks in Greece, i.e. 'Turkish coffee', is indicative. In the aftermath of the Turkish intervention in Cyprus, the Greek coffee company Bravo introduced a widespread advertising campaign titled 'We Call It Greek' (''Emeis ton leme Elliniko''), which succeeded in shifting the relatively neutral 'name' of a product, used in the vernacular for more than a century, into a reactivated symbol of identity. 'Turkish coffee' became 'Greek coffee' and the use of one name or the other became a source of dispute separating 'traitors' from 'patriots'." and especially after the 1974 Cyprus crisis. *

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

: **During World War I,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

was renamed 'Petrograd', amounting effectively to a translation of the name from German to Russian. **At a meeting on November 16, 2016, with the prime ministers of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, Russia's prime minister Dmitry Medvedev suggested that Americano coffee should be renamed "Rusiano coffee". Also, in 2014, following Moscow's annexation of Crimea, several cafes on the peninsula changed their menus to read "Russiano" and "Crimean", in place of Americano coffee. *

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

: After the triumph of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

, ''filete imperial'' ("imperial beef") became a

euphemism A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...

for ''filete ruso'' ("Russian beef"), "ensaladilla nacional" ("national salad") for "ensaladilla rusa" ( Russian salad) and ''Caperucita Encarnada'' ("

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" () is a fairy tale by Charles Perrault about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th-century European Fable, folk tales. It was later retold in the 19th-century by the Broth ...

") for ''Caperucita Roja'' (which has the same meaning but loses its hypothetical connotations). *

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

: see

Decommunization in Ukraine Decommunization in Ukraine started during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and expanded afterwards. Following the 2014 Revolution of Dignity and beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian government ap ...

, Derussification in Ukraine, List of Ukrainian toponyms that were changed as part of decommunization in 2016 and List of streets renamed due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine *

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

: **World War I: ***The

German Shepherd The German Shepherd, also known in Britain as an Alsatian, is a German Dog breed, breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various Old German herding dogs, traditional German herding dog ...

was renamed the "Alsatian", and German biscuits were renamed Empire biscuits due to strong anti-German sentiment. ***The members of the British royal house, a branch of the German

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ( ; ) is a European royal house of German origin. It takes its name from its oldest domain, the Ernestine duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and its members later sat on the thrones of Belgium, Bulgaria, Portugal ...

, severed ties with their German cousins following several bombing raids on England by the first long-range bomber, the Gotha G.IV starting in March 1917. On July 17, 1917, King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

changed the family's name to the

House of Windsor The House of Windsor is the reigning house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The house's name was inspired by the historic Windsor Castle estate. The house was founded on 17 July 1917, when King George V changed the na ...

North America

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

: ** World War I: the Ontario city of Berlin was renamed Kitchener and the Saskatchewan town of Strassburg was renamed

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. ** Cold War: the Ontario Stalin Township was renamed by Ontario legislature in 1986 to Hansen Township. ** In 2025, due to the 2025 United States trade war with Canada and Mexico, many cafes begun renaming the " americano" as "canadiano". *

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

: ** World War I: *** The German Spitz was renamed the American Eskimo Dog. *** In 1918, the town of Germania, Iowa, was renamed Lakota, Iowa. *** In 1918, the town of New Berlin, Ohio, was renamed North Canton, Ohio. ***

Sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , ) is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferment the sugar ...

was marketed in the US as "liberty cabbage." *** Salisbury steak was used as an alternative name for

hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...

s. **

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

: In 1928, during the last months of the

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

administration, Congress approved the construction of a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

on the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

southeast of

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. The press referred to it as "Boulder Dam" as a reference to the construction site, Boulder Canyon. While in Nevada in 1930, Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur referred to the project as "

Hoover Dam The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado, Black Canyon of the Colorado River (U.S.), Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. Constructed between 1931 and 1936, d ...

", a reference to Republican

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

. Following Hoover's defeat by Democrat

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, Wilbur's successor, Harold L. Ickes, declared in 1933 that the dam should be called "Boulder Dam". In 1947, the Republican-controlled Congress changed the name back to "Hoover Dam". ** War on Terror: During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, freedom fries was a short-lived political euphemism for

French fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...

, used by some to express their disapproval of the French opposition to the invasion. Republican Chairman on the Committee of House Administration Bob Ney renamed French fries "Freedom Fries" in three Congressional cafeterias and the change was originally supported and followed by some restaurants. Usage has since reverted to the original term. ** List of name changes due to the George Floyd protests, mainly names considered to honor people with allegedly racist views, or which are racially offensive. ** 2025 Presidential

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...

Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness Executive Order 14172, titled "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness", is an executive order signed by Donald Trump, the 47th president of the United States, on January 20, 2025, the day of his Second inauguration of Donald Trump, secon ...

, changing the name of the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

to the Gulf of America and changing the name of

Denali Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helm ...

back to Mount McKinley.{{Cite wikisource, title=Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness

Notes