Thailand’s Office of the Royal Society (ORST) announced today that the official English name of the country’s capital city will be changed from Bangkok to Krung Thep Maha Nakhon.
While the new city name might look quite long for English speakers, it’s actually a heavily reduced version of the Thai capital’s ceremonial name.
The full name of the city is “Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit,” translating as “the City of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems, seat of the king, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnates, erected by Vishvakarman at Indra’s behest.”
The change has been approved in principle by the country’s political cabinet, yet it still has to be reviewed by a special government committee before taking effect.
According to the ORST, the change was needed to better reflect the “current situation.”
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon is the Thailand’s capital’s name in the Thai language, while the city’s English name ‘Bangkok’ has been in official use since 2001.
The name ‘Bangkok‘ derives from the old city area, known as Bangkok Noi and Bangkok Yai, which now comprises a tiny part of the 50 district-strong megapolis of some 10.5 million people.
The ‘old’ name ‘Bangkok‘ will still be recognized, however, and used alongside with the new official English-language name.
