Games Britannica Quizzes Britannica Menu History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture

It’s All in the Name

Question: What do the people of Albania call their country?
Answer: In the Albanian language, Shqipëria is the name of the country the Romans called "mountainous land"—Albania, that is.
Question: What was another name for Sri Lanka?
Answer: For more than 150 years under British rule the island was known as Ceylon. Its original name, Sri Lanka, was restored in 1972.
Question: What is another name for Burma?
Answer: Myanmar is another name for Burma. The country is officially called Myanmar, although many English speakers still use the old name.
Question: What is Abyssinia now called?
Answer: Abyssinia was the old name for the kingdom of Ethiopia, a country in East Africa.
Question: What Indonesian city was originally named Batavia?
Answer: Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, was founded by the Dutch as Batavia in the early 1600s and was renamed on independence in 1949.
Question: What is another name for Mount Everest?
Answer: Mount Everest is known in Tibetan as Chomolungma, meaning “Goddess Mother of the World.”
Question: Which of these cities was once called Madras?
Answer: Chennai was once called Madras. It is the capital of Tamil Nadu state, in southern India.