10 Countries With Names History Forgot

Maps evolve.

Boundaries of countries get altered, moving a few kilometres this way or that.

New countries are born.

The names of nations have changed too. Long before their modern names settled into place, countries were known by titles shaped by ancient empires and colonial rule.

These older names are now forgotten in history books. Do you remember where Abyssinia was? Or Rhodesia?

1. Japan

Japan's earliest formal name, Nihon/Nippon, means 'The source of the sun', a phrase that eventually gave rise to the well-known title Land of the Rising Sun. In much earlier historical accounts, however, the country was identified as Wa or Wakoku.

2. Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was called Silam, during 6th century BC.

By the 9th century, this evolved into Saylan, which Portuguese explorers rendered to Ceilão when they arrived in 1505.

English usage later transformed it into Ceylon, a name that remained in place until 1972, when the nation officially adopted Sri Lanka that means The Radiant Land.

3. Thailand

Siam was the country's historical name until 1939, when it was changed to Thailand, meaning Land of the Free.

4. Iran

For centuries, the country now known as Iran was called Persia, a name taken from Persis. Within the country, however, its inhabitants referred to their homeland as Iran, meaning Land of the Aryans, a name formally recognised on the international stage in 1935.

5. Ethiopia

Abyssinia, the historic name long associated with the region, was formally replaced by Ethiopia in 1930, the year Haile Selassie ascended the throne as emperor.

6. Iraq

Ancient Iraq was Mesopotamia or Land Between Two Rivers (Tigris and Euphrates), one of the world's earliest civilisations.

7. France

In the Roman era, the territory of modern-day France was called Gaul. Following its conquest by the Franks in the 5th century AD, the region came to be called Frankia or Latin Francia, pronounced in English as France.

8. Myanmar

Formally known as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the nation was called Burma in official English usage until 1989.

9. Taiwan

Formosa or Beautiful Island was the title given by Portuguese sailors in the 16th century. The Chinese called it Dayuan which became Taiwan.

10. United Arab Emirates

The Trucial States were a group of sheikhdoms under British protection before forming the UAE in 1971.