Bangkok’s Official Name Announced: Krung Thep Maha Nakhon

Bangkok can now be referred to as “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon,” according to a draft announcement by the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday (Feb 15), which includes one of the key changes proposed by the Office of the Royal Society of Thailand on updated names of countries, territories, administrative districts, and capitals.

The Royal Society had submitted the revised list of names for nations, which included those that had transferred their capitals to a new place and others that had been added to the list, as well as a change in the transcription of foreign terms into Thai spellings, according to the release.

Consequently, before officially announcing the correct, updated spelling, the Society’s committee on the dictionary of international geographic names, which is made up of linguistic experts and representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sent the list to the Prime Minister’s Office for Cabinet approval.

Usage of Bangkok’s official name

A committee in charge of scrutinizing all draft bills will have to approve Bangkok’s official name, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, before it can take effect. The cabinet also instructed the panel to take into account additional remarks from the Foreign Affairs Ministry to take into consideration.

It was announced on Tuesday at the weekly cabinet meeting that specialists from the Foreign Affairs Ministry had changed the spelling of nations, territories, administrative zones and capitals to reflect the present situation by the ORST’s committee on the dictionary of international geographic names. The list was subsequently forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Office, which made the announcement.

The Prime Minister’s statement on the names of nations, territories, administrative zones, and capitals, which was made on November 9, 2001, is also revoked in the draft announcement, which uses the ORST’s announcement on revised names, which was made on September 1, last year.

Krung Thep Maha Nakhon will become the Kingdom of Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok’s official name, according to the ORST’s declaration. The name Bangkok, on the other hand, will appear in parenthesis.

The ORST also modified the official spelling for other nations in the same statement, such as Rome and Roma for Italy’s capital, Myanmar’s capital from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw, and the Kingdom of Nepal to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.

On Wednesday, government deputy spokesperson Ratchda Dhanadirek confirmed the capital’s name had not changed.

Meaning of Krung Thep Maha Nakhon

Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or “Krung Thep,” as most Thais call it, is a shortened form of the capital’s ceremonial name which is:

Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit

….Translating to “City of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems, seat of the king, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Vishvakarman at Indra’s behest.”

With a staggering 168 characters, the whole name is the longest city name in the world, according to the Guinness World Record Book.

In light of its length, it’s easy to see why it’s been abbreviated in everyday use. Although the entire term is seldom used, it may be seen on a few signs throughout Bangkok as part of a tourist marketing. It’s also commonly known as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon among locals, and it’s widely used in official papers, automobile number plates, and other places. However, despite its length, a large percentage of Thais are able to repeat the full name from memory without difficulty. However, many of the terminology are outdated and no longer used in modern Thai, so they wouldn’t necessarily grasp what they imply.

Origin of name Bangkok

Originally from a historic region of the capital currently known as Bangkok Noi and Bangkok Yai, the term “Bangkok” has been in use since November 2001.

There are a few theories as to why the city is currently known as Bangkok.

One theory is that the name is derived from the Thai terms Bang and Ko, which signify ‘island’ and ‘settlement on a stream’. This name makes sense because Bangkok has a notably wet topography, with water, bridges, and islands making up the whole metropolis.

It might also be a shortened version of the phrase Bang Makok, which means “settlement on a stream” and refers to the Elaeocarpus hygrophilus, an olive-like plant that flourishes in the area and across Southeast Asia.

Other changes

Apart from the addition of the name Krung Thep Maha Nakhon to Bangkok, the following are some of the other changes:

– Roma is another name for Rome, Italy’s capital.

– Myanmar’s capital has been moved from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw.

– Nepal’s Kingdom has been renamed the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (FDRN).

– The State of Palestine has been recently added to the list of nations

There has also been a change in the Thai spelling for the Channel Islands (UK territory) and Saint Pierre (French territory).

On its Facebook page on Tuesday, the Royal Society stated that it did not recommend that Bangkok’s name be changed to Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, and that both names are appropriate when referring to the Thai capital.

In addition to listing the official Thai spellings for other cities like Kuala Lumpur and Rome, Thailand’s Office of the Royal Society recently released a statement on the name change.