Renaming of cities in India has taken place since 1947 following the end of the British imperial period. Several changes have been controversial, and not all proposed changes have been implemented. Each has required approval by the Government of India in Delhi.
Some renaming of states and territories in India has also taken place, with substantial name changes in both local language and in English such as the old British state name of Travancore–Cochin to Kerala (1956). The most notable exceptions are Indian English spelling-changes of Orissa to Odisha (2011)India and the World Bank: The Politics of Aid and Influence - Page 126 Jason A. Kirk - 2011 "Orissa (Note: This state was officially renamed Odisha in March 2011)" and the union territory of Pondicherry (which includes the city of Pondicherry) to Puducherry (2006).
History A key aspect of Post-independence Political integration of India was the harmonization of names and territories of both states and cities. Some changes to nomenclature were introduced in the early years itself. For example, 'Jubbulpore', 'Jajesmow', 'Cawnpore' were renamed to Jabalpur, Jajmau and Kanpur in 1947–48. 'United Provinces' was renamed to Uttar Pradesh in 1950.
A major development occurred when the Government of India brought the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of India and the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. Together, these Acts dispensed with the erstwhile four-fold classification of States and also made major changes to the various state boundaries. The reorganization enhanced administrative convenience and also quelled movements demanding establishment of 'linguistic states'.
Later, Madras (the capital of Tamil Nadu) was officially renamed Chennai in 1996. The name of Calcutta, which was amongst the first cities to be settled by the British, was changed to Kolkata (reflecting the local Bengali pronunciation) in 2001.
Causes for renaming Need for standardisation of spelling India has various local languages. Even (Romanised) English spellings in long and wide use often vary depending upon which government department or agency uses them. To the point, a few examples are Quilandy versus Koyilandy (Malayalam: കൊയിലാണ്ടി), Cannanore versus Kannur (Malayalam: കണ്ണൂർ), and Rangiya versus Rangia (Assamese: ৰঙিয়া). Different departments of the government may have used official spellings in use at the time, while locations associated with Indian railways mostly maintained British-era spellings. The confusion inherent in such variations has often resulted in serious consequences like people having two "different" addresses (theoretically designating the same place) in their official records leading to legal disputes, or one house having residents of different house addresses due to differing place names. Many people argue that such confusion can lead to indeterminate and/or unintended consequences.
Renaming in local languages In the post-colonial era, several Indian states' names were changed. Some of these changes coincided with the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, a major reform of the boundaries of India's states and territories that organized them along linguistic lines. At this time, for example, Travancore-Cochin was renamed Kerala (Malayalam: കേരളം). Later state name changes include the reorganization of Madhya Bharat into Madhya Pradesh (Hindi: मध्य प्रदेश) in 1959;The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics, 1925 to the 1990s. - Page 134 Christophe Jaffrelot 1999 - "The new state included Madhya Bharat, the Bhopal region, the former Vindhya Pradesh, Mahakoshal and Chhattisgarh (the last two regions forming the Hindi-speaking parts in the former Madhya Pradesh; see map, pp. xxii-xxiii)." and the renaming of the Madras State to Tamil Nadu () in 1969, of the Mysore State to Karnataka (Kannada: ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ) in 1973, and of Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand () in 2007.
Name changes have varied with respect to the levels of language at which they have been applied, and also accepted. Some of these local name changes were changes made in all languages: the immediate local name, and also all India's other languages. An example of this is the renaming of predominantly Hindi-speaking Uttaranchal () to a new local Hindi name ( ). Other changes were only changes in some of the indigenous languages. For example, the renaming of the Madras Presidency to Madras State in 1947 and then Tamil Nadu in 1969 required non-Tamil speakers to change from an approximation of the British name ( Madras Presidency, then Madras State ) to a native Tamil name ( , 'Tamil country').
In general, changes to the local names of cities in the indigenous languages are less common. However, a change in English may sometimes also be a reflection of changes in other Indian languages other than the specific local one. For example, the change of Madras () to Chennai () was reflected in many of India's languages, and incidentally in English, while the Tamil endonym had always been Chennai and remained unaffected by the change.
Renaming in English Change in official English spelling The renaming of cities is often specifically from English to Indian English in connection with that dialect's internal reforms. In other words, the city itself is not actually renamed in the local language, and the local name (or endonym) in the indigenous languages of India does not change, but the official spelling in Indian English is amended. An example is the change from English Calcutta to English Kolkata – the local Bengali name ( ) did not change. Such changes in English spelling may be in order to better reflect a more accurate phonetic transliteration of the local name, or may be for other reasons. In the early years after Indian independence, many name changes were affected in northern India for English spellings of Hindi place names that had simply been Romanized inconsistently by the British administration – such as the British spelling Jubbulpore, renamed Jabalpur () among the first changes in 1947. These changes did not generate significant controversy. More recent and high-profile changes – including renaming such major cities as Calcutta to Kolkata – have generated greater controversy.Mira Kamdar Planet India: How the Fastest Growing Democracy Is Transforming ... 2007 Author's introduction Page xi "India's information-technology capital's new name, should it be adopted, will mean "town of boiled beans." The name changes are not without controversy among Indians. In several instances, the name change represents a struggle between a cosmopolitan elite and a local, regional-language populace over defining the city in ways that go far beyond a simple change of name." Since independence, such changes have typically been enacted officially by legislation at local or national Government of India level, and may or may not then be adopted by the media in India, particularly the influential Indian press. In the case of smaller towns and districts which were less notable outside and inside India, and where a well known English name (or exonym) could not be said to exist, older spellings used under British India may not have had any specific legislation other than changes in practice on the romanization of indigenous Indian language names.
Realignment of the official Indian English name to an alternative local name Aside from changes to the official English spellings of local names there have also been renaming proposals to realign the official name, hence the English name with an alternative local name.
Notable examples
States Travancore–Cochin → Kerala (Malayalam: കേരളം) (1 November 1956) Madhya Bharat → Madhya Pradesh (Hindi: मध्य प्रदेश) (1 November 1959) Madras State → Tamil Nadu () (14 January 1969) North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) → Arunachal Pradesh (20 January 1972) Mysore State → Karnataka (Kannada: ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ) (1 November 1973) Uttaranchal → Uttarakhand () (1 January 2007) Orissa → Odisha (Odia: ଓଡ଼ିଶା) (4 November 2011) Kerala → Keralam (24 February 2026)
Cities Notable city names that were officially changed by legislation after independence include:
Jubbulpore → Jabalpur (), respelled in 1947 Jajesmow → Jajmau (), respelled in 1948 Cawnpore → Kanpur (), respelled in 1948 Kaira → Kheda (), respelled in 1948 Baroda → Vadodara (), respelled in 1974 Trivandrum → Thiruvananthapuram (), renamed in 1991 Bombay → Mumbai (), renamed in 1995 Cochin → Kochi (), respelled in 1996 Madras → Chennai (), renamed in 1996 Calcutta → Kolkata (), respelled in 2001 Daltonganj → Medininagar (), renamed in 2004 Cuddapah → Kadapa (), respelled in 2005 Pondicherry → Puducherry (), renamed in 2006 Bangalore → Bengaluru (), respelled in 2007 Belgaum → Belagavi (), renamed in 2007 Tumkur → Tumakuru (), renamed in 2007 Hubli → Hubballi (), renamed in 2007 Shimoga → Shivamogga (), renamed in 2007 Hospet → Hosapete (), renamed in 2007 Mysore → Mysuru (), renamed in 2007 Gulbarga → Kalaburagi (), renamed in 2007 Chikmagalur → Chikkamagaluru (), renamed in 2007 Bijapur → Vijayapura (), renamed in 2007 Bellary → Ballari (), renamed in 2007 Mangalore → Mangaluru (), renamed in 2007 Rajahmundry → Rajahmahendravaram (), renamed in 2015 Gurgaon → Gurugram () renamed in 2016 Allahabad → Prayagraj (), renamed in 2018 New Raipur → Atal Nagar (), renamed in 2018 Hoshangabad → Narmadapuram (), renamed in 2021 Aurangabad → Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (), renamed in 2023 Osmanabad → Dharashiv (), renamed in 2023 Ahmednagar → Ahilyanagar (), renamed in 2023 Karimganj → Sribhumi (), renamed in 2024 Cuttack → Kataka () renamed in 2026 Islampur → Ishwarpur () renamed in 2026 Jalalabad → Parashurampuri () renamed in 2026
For others, by state order, see list of renamed Indian cities and states.
Alleppey → Alappuzha () Balasore → Baleshwar () Barahanagore → Baranagar () Gauhati → Guwahati () Indhur → Indore () Kāñci-pura And Conjevaram → Kanchipuram () Cannanore → Kannur () Quilon → Kollam () Quilandi → Koyilandy () Calicut → Kozhikode () Kudanthai → Kumbakonam () Mayavaram/Mayuram → Mayiladuthurai () Nerbudda → Narmada () Nowgong → Nagaon () Palghat → Palakkad () Panjim → Panaji () Poona → Pune () Ramnad → Ramanathapuram () Saugor → Sagar () Simla → Shimla () Tellicherry → Thalassery () Tanjore → Thanjavur () Tannah → Thane () Tuticorin → Thoothukudi () Trichur → Thrissur () Tinthirivanam → Tindivanam () Trichinopoly → Tiruchirapalli () Tinnevelly → Tirunelveli () Triplicane → Tiruvallikeni () Ootacamund → Udhagamandalam () Vizhupparaiyar And Vizhimaa Nagaram → Viluppuram () Banaras → Varanasi () Badagara → Vatakara () Vriddhachalam → Virudhachalam () Bejawada → Vijayawada (), anciently Vijayavatika in Mahabharata Vizagapatam (short form: Vizag) → Visakhapatnam ()
Town names that derive from ancient names:
Mandi (), derived from Mandav NagarTemples and legends of Himachal Pradesh - Page 38 Pranab Chandra Roy Choudhury - 1981 "Mandi takes the name from Mandavya. The name of the place was first Mandav Nagar and then corrupted into Mandi." Nellore (), in ancient times SimhapuriGazetteer of the Nellore District: Brought Up to 1938 - Page 151 Government Of Madras Staff, Government of Madras - 1942 "... of the Ramayana (2000 — 1500 BC) was a dense jungle, while the town of Nellore, which came into existence only several centuries later, was known as Simhapuri (Lion's town), from the supposed existence of lions in the adjacent forests."
Proposed changes Several other changes have been proposed for states and towns.
States and union territories Andhra Pradesh to Telugu Naadu
Cities
Andhra Pradesh Chavataputtedu to Brindavanam Guntur to Gartapuri Nellore to Vikrama Simhapuri or Simhapuri Sunnipenta/Sundipenta to Vishnugiri
Bihar Patna to Pataliputra
Gujarat Ahmedabad to Karnavati Veraval to Somnath
Himachal Pradesh Shimla to Shyamala
Telangana Adilabad to Edulrapuram or Adlapur Gadwal to Gadpala