List of renamed Indian cities and states

Many names of places were changed during the British, apart from earlier name changes during Muslim rule. Ever since the British left India in 1947, many cities, streets, places, and buildings throughout India were assigned to their original names and in some cases new Indian names. Certain "old" names, however, continue to be popular.

Renamed or respelled

States

• East Punjab to Punjab (change effective from 26 January 1950; state later trifurcated into modern-day Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966; Chandigarh becomes a Union Territory and the shared capital city of Punjab and Haryana)^[1][2]
• United Provinces to Uttar Pradesh (change effective from 26 January 1950)
• Hyderabad to Andhra Pradesh (change effective from 1 November 1956; the state was divided again in 2014 with original left out Hyderabad State as Telangana. Andhra region which was merged from Madras state now remains Andhra Pradesh)
• Travancore-Cochin to Kerala (change effective from 1 November 1956)
• Madhya Bharat to Madhya Pradesh (change effective from 1 November 1959)
• Madras State to Tamil Nadu (change effective from 14 January 1969)
• Mysore to Karnataka (change effective from 1 November 1973)
• Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand (change effective from 1 January 2007)
• Orissa to Odisha (official as of November 2011)^[3][4]

Change not yet effective

• West Bengal to Bengal (approved by West Bengal state legislature during August 2016).^[5]
• Assam to Asom (renamed in response to an appeal made by Assamese litterateur and former president of the Assam Sahitya Sabha, Chandra Prasad Saikia by Minister of State for Planning and Development.^[6])

Union territories

• Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands to Lakshadweep (change effective from 1 November 1973)
• Pondicherry to Puducherry (change effective from 1 October 2006)

Cities

Andhra Pradesh

• Garthapuri to Guntur
• Kandenavolu to Kurnool
• Ellore to Eluru (change effective 1949)
• Waltair to Vizagapatam to Visakhapatnam
• Bezawada to Vijayawada
• Cuddapah to Kadapa to YSR district
• Ongole district to Prakasam
• Nellore district to Sri Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore district
• Cocanada to Kakinada
• Masulipatam to Machilipatnam
• Sikkolu to Srikakulam
• Rajamahendravaramu to Rajahmundry to Rajamahendravaramu
• Vikrama Simhapuri to Nellour

Assam

• Nowgong to Nagaon
• Gauhati to Guwahati (change effective 1983)
• Sibsagar to Sivasagar

Gujarat

• Viravati to Chandravati, Chandravati to Vadpatra, Vadpatra to Baroda, Baroda to Vadodara (change effective 1974)
• Broach to Bharuch
• Karnavati to Ahmedabad
• Cambay to Khambhat
• Bulsar to Valsad
• Suryapur to Surat
• Bhavena (Gohilwad) to Bhavnagar

Haryana

• Gurgaon to Gurugram^[7]

Himachal Pradesh

• Simla to Shimla
• Mandav Nagar to Mandi

Goa

• Panjim to Panaji^[8]
• Sanquelim to Sankhali^[9]
• Rivona to Revana

Karnataka

Effective from 1st Nov 2014

• Bangalore to Bengaluru, the settlement was originally called Bendakalooru.
• Mangalore to Mangaluru, the settlement was originally called Mangalooru.
• Mysore to Mysuru, the settlement was originally called Mahishasooru.
• Hubli to Hubballi, the settlement was originally called Hoobhalli
• Tumkur to Tumakuru
• Shimoga to Shivamogga, the settlement was originally called Shivana Mogga.
• Belgaum to Belagavi
• Bellary to Ballari
• Gulbarga to Kalaburagi
• Marcera to Madikeri, the settlement was originally called Madanayakana Keri.
• Bijapur to Vijayapura
• Hospet to Hosapete
• Chikmagalur to Chikkamagaluru.

Kerala

• Trivandrum to Thiruvananthapuram (change effective from 1991)
• Cochin to Kochi (change effective from 1996)
• Calicut to Kozhikode
• Quilon to Kollam
• Trichur to Thrissur
• Cannanore to Kannur
• Palghat to Palakkad
• Alleppey to Alappuzha (change effective from 1990)
• Alwaye to Aluva
• Parur to North Paravur
• Cranganore to Kodungallur
• Badagara to Vatakara
• Tellicherry to Thalassery
• Quilandy to Koyilandy
• Palai to Pala
• Verapoly to Varapuzha
• Cherpalchery to Cherpulassery
• Koney to Konni
• Sherthalai to Cherthala

Madhya Pradesh

• Ahilyanagari/Indur to Indore
• Avantika to Ujjain
• Bhelsa to Vidisha
• Rassen to Raisen
• Saugor to Sagar
• Jubbulpore to Jabalpur
• Bhopal Bairagarh to Sant Hirda Ram Nagar, Bhopal
• Bellasgate to Bheraghat
• Ojjain to Ujjaini
• Mandu to Mandavgarh
• Viratnagari to Shahdol

Maharashtra

• Bombay to Mumbai (renamed in 1995)^[10]
• Nasik to Nashik
• Poona to Pune
• Thana to Thane
• Bhir to Beed

Mizoram

• Saiha to Siaha^[11]

Puducherry

• Pondicherry to Puducherry (change effective from 1 October 2006)
• Yanaon to Yanam (change effective from merger with Indian Union)

Punjab

• Jullunder to Jalandhar
• Ropar to Rupnagar
• Mohali to SAS Nagar
• Nawan Shahar to Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar

Rajasthan

• Ajaymeru to Ajmer
• Dhedhi Dhani to Mansanagar(District Sikar). (change effective from 27 April 2011)

Tamil Nadu

• Tinnevelly to Tirunelveli
• Tranquebar to Tharangambadi
• Trichinopoly to Tiruchirapalli (change effective 1971)
• Trinomalee to Tiruvannamalai
• Madras to Chennai (change effective August 1996)
• Tanjore to Thanjavur
• Karuvur to Karur
• Tuticorin to Thoothukudi
• Cape Comorin to Kanyakumari
• Ootacamund to Udagamandalam
• Conjeevaram to Kanchipuram
• Virudupatti to Virudhunagar
• Porto Novo to Parangipettai
• Mayavaram to Mayiladuthurai

Uttar Pradesh

• Allygurh to Aligarh
• Cawnpore to Kanpur (change effective 1948)
• Banaras to Varanasi (change effective 1956)
• Kanpur Dehat to Ramabai Nagar district (change effective 2010) and back to Kanpur Dehat (change effective 2012)
• Prayag to Allahabad
• Muzaffarnagar to Lakshminagar (change effective 1986) and back to Muzaffarnagar

West Bengal

• Calcutta to Kolkata (change effective from 1 January 2001)
• Burdwan to Bardhaman
• Chinsurah to Chuchura

Telangana

• Edlabad to Adilabad
• Bhagyanagaram to Hyderabad
• Elagandla to Karimnagar
• Indur to Nizamabad
• Siddapuram to Metuku seema to Medak
• Palamuru to Mahabubnagar
• Ekasilanagaram to Orugallu to Warangal

References