The Pacific island nation of Nauru has officially changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, reverting to its traditional designation after parliament passed a constitutional amendment in May 2026 and President David Adeang confirmed the change via social media on or about July 30, 2026. Reuters; Al Jazeera

The amendment bill, formally tabled as "Bill 2026," passed unanimously by Nauru's parliament on 12 May 2026 after a mandatory 90-day waiting period between its introduction and the vote. The Nauru Bulletin, an official government publication, reported approval of the amendment in its issue #9, published on 28 May 2026. Taipei Times; Government of Nauru, Nauru Bulletin #9

The country's short-form name is now "Naoero," and citizens will be referred to as "dei-Naoero." The government has notified international organisations and other countries of the change. Al Jazeera

President Adeang announced that plans for a national referendum on the name change had been dropped. He said the decision not to hold a referendum was reached because Naoero is already the identity of the people, appears on the national coat of arms, and is permitted by the constitution. Al Jazeera

The traditional name Naoero was altered to "Nauru" during European colonisation because colonisers found it difficult to pronounce. AFP reported that the name "Nauru" was described as a colonial relic from a time when "foreign tongues" changed the traditional name. Al Jazeera; AFP

Adeang said the renaming was not a political move but centered on heritage, describing it as preserving "the legacy of our ancestors" and strengthening "the future of our children." Al Jazeera

The name change is already reflected in the country's legal and administrative framework. Nauru's official online legal database, RONLAW, lists legislation under the name "Naoero," including the Naoero Citizenship Act. RONLAW The Nauru Government Gazette has been renamed to the "Republic of Naoero Government Gazette," as shown by official gazettes published on the government domain in May and June 2026. Government of Nauru, Gazette No. 187; Government of Nauru, Gazette No. 214

The renaming occurs alongside parallel efforts to preserve and elevate Nauruan cultural identity. The Nauruan language, known as dorerin Naoero, is classified by UNESCO as "severely endangered." In 2025, the government passed a bill to incorporate the Nauruan language into the school curriculum in the future. Al Jazeera

The new name is also appearing in the country's diplomatic engagements. On 20 July 2026, the Government of Naoero and the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen trade and drive investment. The Republic of Naoero Government Gazette No. 260 of 2026, published on 24 July, recorded a Cabinet decision approving the revocation of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Naoero and another republic. Government of Nauru, MOU Media Release; Government of Nauru, Gazette No. 260

The broader context here is one of decolonising nomenclature in the Pacific, where several post-colonial states have periodically revisited names imposed by colonial administration. Nauru's case is distinctive in that the country retained its colonial-era name for decades since independence, making the reversion to Naoero a delayed rather than immediate post-independence correction. The unanimous parliamentary vote and the Adeang government's decision to bypass a referendum suggest a political consensus that the traditional name's legitimacy is self-evident, grounded in its existing presence on the national coat of arms and in constitutional permissibility.

The simultaneous push to integrate dorerin Naoero into formal education, combined with the name change, signals a coordinated policy direction toward cultural revitalisation rather than an isolated symbolic gesture. For international organisations, the practical implications involve updating registries, treaty references, and diplomatic protocols. For a small Pacific island nation, the renaming carries limited immediate economic consequences, but it repositions Nauru's diplomatic identity at a time when Pacific island states are asserting greater agency in regional architecture. The gazette-recorded revocation of diplomatic relations with an unnamed republic, occurring within the same window as the name change's formalisation, adds a layer of diplomatic reconfiguration that warrants monitoring, though the two actions appear substantively unrelated.