Czech Republic: Refer to Us as 'Czechia'

Leaders of the Czech Republic have chosen the one-word name 'Czechia' to facilitate its use by politicians, companies, and athletes. According to Reuters, on Thursday, April 15, the President, Prime Minister, parliamentary leaders, and ministers of foreign affairs and defense of the Czech Republic reached an agreement on the new name. However, before the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs the United Nations of this change and it becomes the official name of the country, it must be approved by the government. Following the peaceful dissolution of the former Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovakia were formed. Yet, until now, a concise and standardized name in English for this country had not been established, something akin to France, which is essentially a shortened version of its full name, the French Republic. This issue has sometimes caused confusion. A large part of the country is known in English as Bohemia (in Czech 'Čechy'). However, this country also has two other regions named 'Moravia' and 'Silesia'. Therefore, a name needed to be chosen that would encompass these two historical regions as well. Supporters of the name 'Czechia' claim that its usage in English dates back to the 19th century, and shortly after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Czech mapping authority proposed it as a one-word option for the new country’s name. However, this name has not attracted much attention so far, and even after its official registration, it may take a long time to become widely used. Some consider this name unattractive. Others, including the regional development minister in the current government, believe that 'Czechia' is too close to 'Chechnya' and may be misleading. Karla Slechtova tweeted on Thursday that the Czech Republic has spent over $40 million on an advertising campaign and tourism boost using the full name of the country and should retain that name. In some languages other than English, including French and German, a one-word title has been created for the Czech Republic. However, in the Czech language, the name 'Česko' has been slowly gaining acceptance since 1993, and the majority of people still use the word 'Čechy' (or Bohemia) to refer to the entire country.