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Did Turkey change its name?

Published in Country Names 1 min read

Yes, Turkey changed the spelling of its name as recognized internationally.

While the official name of Turkey, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Republic of Turkey), has been in place since the declaration of the republic on October 29, 1923, the country requested a change to its spelling in English to "Türkiye" at the United Nations. This change was officially adopted in 2021. This means while the name in Turkish hasn't changed, the internationally recognized spelling has.

Here's a summary:

Aspect Details
Official Name (Turkish) Türkiye Cumhuriyeti
Official Name (English) Before 2021 Republic of Turkey, Turkey
Official Name (English) After 2021 Türkiye
Date of Spelling Change Recognition 2021 (via the UN)

The motivation behind the name change was, in part, to better represent the country's cultural values and distance itself from any negative connotations associated with the English spelling of "Turkey."