Georgia keeps its English name as talk of “Sakartvelo” slows

In short: The country of Georgia is still officially called “Georgia” in English, and a push to switch to “Sakartvelo” has largely stalled.

What's going on

People searching online for “Georgia” often get results for the US state, not the country in the Caucasus. Commentators say this makes it harder to find information about the country and frustrates many Georgians.

Even so, the country’s official English name remains “Georgia.” The English text of Georgia’s constitution says “Georgia is the name of the state of Georgia,” and the full official name is simply “Georgia,” not “Republic of Georgia.”

Inside the country, people call it “Sakartvelo” (საქართველო), which roughly means “the place of the Kartvelians (Georgians).” From time to time, writers and members of the Georgian diaspora have suggested adopting “Sakartvelo” in English to reduce mix-ups, like labeling two different folders with the same name.

What to watch

Changing a country name in global use is slow and politically complicated, and Georgia’s constitution already uses “Georgia” in its English version. In recent years, the government has focused more on persuading other countries to drop Russian-derived names like “Gruziya” and use “Georgia” or a closer local form, rather than convincing English-speaking institutions to replace “Georgia” with “Sakartvelo.” For now, most English-language references handle the problem by writing “Georgia (country)” when they need to be clear.

Source: NYTimes