Every so often , a place sees a regime modification or a faulting in mindset leads to a major rebrand . Some of the most well - lie with city in the existence have gone through at least one name change . The new cognomen often parade transfers of power , or may abide by a specific person . Here are eight metropolis that were once know by other name .

1. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Saigon became Ho Chi Minh Cityin 1975when it unite the Gia Dinh Province of Vietnam after the end of the Vietnam War . It was renamed after a premature communist flower minister , as the new moniker was representative of the north ’s succeeder . However , many people still refer to the urban center by its original name .

2. Mumbai, India

The city formerly eff as Bombayofficially became Mumbaiin 1995 when the Shiv Sena political party rose to mogul . The Shiv Sena party saw Bombay asa relicof Britain ’s colonial bequest , and Mumbai was justone of many placesin the country to receive a non - British name .

3. Istanbul, Turkey

Constantine the Great originally leave the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire the name of Constantinople , or “ City of Constantine . ” The city went by this name or variation of it even after the Ottomans captured it in 1453 ; it was formallyrenamed Istanbul in 1930 , not long after the Republic of Turkey was make .

4. Oslo​​, Norway

A fervidness destroy the city of Oslo in 1624 , during King Christian IV ’s reign . When the colony was being rebuild , King Christian IV insist on rename Norway ’s large urban center after himself , dubbing it Christiania ( which later became Kristiania).In 1925 , the city ’s original name was restored to Oslo .

5. New York, New York, United States

It ’s hard to conceive of the Big Apple as anything other than New York City . But in the 17th century , the Dutch settled in southerly Manhattan , calling their territoryNieuw Amsterdam(New Amsterdam ) . In 1664 , the British gather the acres , renaming it to New York after the Duke of York .

6. Toronto, Canada

When the British settle in the Toronto realm in 1793 , they changed the name of the territoryfrom Toronto to Yorkto honor the Duke of York . But shortly after , residents began petitioning to return the growing city ’s name back to Toronto . They were finally successfulin 1834 .

7. St. Petersburg, Russia

In 1914 — at the start ofWorld War I — Sankt - Petersburg ( also known as St. Petersburg ) became Petrograd because the city ’s original namewas intend to be“too German . ” In 1924 , the city was briefly rename to Leningrad after Vladimir Lenin died ; it returned to its original name in 1991 .

8. Dushanbe, Tajikistan

In1929 , Tajikistan ’s largest city was transformed from Dushanbe to Stalinbad in pureness of Joseph Stalin . But the name change was suddenly - lived . In 1961 , the metropolis revert back to its original name as part of the region’sde - Stalinizationinitiative .

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon.

Turkey - Istanbul - Aerial view of city with the Suleymanie Mosque and Golden Horn in foreground

Toronto skyline