40 Cities That Had Different Names in Medieval Times

Cities can be as changeable as the empires that once ruled them. A glance at a medieval map reveals familiar places hiding under very different names—Constantinople instead of Istanbul, Edo instead of Tokyo, Ragusa instead of Dubrovnik. These shifts can surprise modern readers, especially when they stumble across older names in chronicles, history books, or medieval maps.

There are many reasons why city names changed over time. Some were officially renamed in the modern era, often to reflect political change, new national identities, or border realignments. Others were known in medieval Europe by Latinised or foreign names that differ from the ones now commonly used in their local languages. Together, these changes show how history, language, and power shaped the way we know the world’s cities today Here are forty examples:

Constantinople → Istanbul

Founded as Byzantium and renamed Constantinople in 330 by Emperor Constantine, the city remained known by that name throughout the Byzantine Empire and long after the Ottomans captured it in 1453. In fact, “Constantinople” continued in widespread use for more than four centuries under Ottoman rule, alongside the colloquial “Istanbul.” It was only in 1930, as part of Turkish language reforms, that the government officially adopted Istanbul as the city’s name. This is one of several names on this list that were changed in Turkey after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

Ragusa → Dubrovnik

Known across medieval Europe as Ragusa (from the Latin Ragusium), the Adriatic port became a powerful maritime republic and rival to Venice. Locally, however, the Slavic name Dubrovnik was also in use, meaning “oak grove.” After the fall of Austria-Hungary in 1918, the new Yugoslav state officially adopted Dubrovnik as the city’s name.

Königsberg → Kaliningrad

Founded by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century, this Baltic city became known as Königsberg and later served as the capital of East Prussia. After the Second World War, the city was annexed by the Soviet Union, and in 1946 it was officially renamed Kaliningrad in honour of Soviet leader Mikhail Kalinin.

Danzig → Gdańsk

In the Middle Ages, this major Baltic port was known as Danzig, a German name reflecting its role in the Hanseatic League and later under Prussian rule. The Polish name Gdańsk was also long in use but not internationally recognised. Following the end of the Second World War in 1945, when the city was incorporated into Poland, Gdańsk became the official name.

Canton → Guangzhou

This great port city in southern China was long known to Europeans as Canton, a name that developed from the Portuguese pronunciation of Guangdong, the surrounding province. In Chinese, however, the city itself was always called Guangzhou. During the 20th century, Guangzhou was established as the official name, though Canton is still sometimes used in English for historical references.

Salonika → Thessaloniki

The Byzantine and later Ottoman city of Thessalonica was widely known in medieval and modern Europe as Salonika, a simplified version of its Greek name. After Greece achieved independence in the 19th century, the older Greek form Thessaloniki was gradually restored. It became the official spelling in the 20th century, reflecting modern Greek usage.

Nicaea → İznik

Best known as the site of the great Church councils of 325 and 787, Nicaea remained a prominent Byzantine city into the Middle Ages and was captured by the Ottomans in 1331. While European sources continued to call it Nicaea, the Turkish form İznik became dominant locally. In 1930, as part of Atatürk’s language reforms, İznik was made the city’s official name.

Reval → Tallinn

Known in medieval Europe as Reval, this Hanseatic port city on the Baltic Sea took its name from the surrounding county of Revala. The Estonian name Tallinn, meaning “Danish town,” was used locally but rarely appeared in international sources. After Estonia declared independence in 1918, Tallinn became the official name.

Pressburg → Bratislava

In the Middle Ages and into the modern period, this city was known by the German name Pressburg, while Hungarians called it Pozsony. The Slovak name Bratislava only came into official use in 1919, after the creation of Czechoslovakia, as part of efforts to emphasise Slovak national identity. Since then, it has remained the recognised name of Slovakia’s capital.

Iconium → Konya

Known to medieval Europeans as Iconium, the city was a major centre of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in the 12th and 13th centuries. Under Ottoman and later Turkish rule, the local form Konya gradually replaced the older name. It was officially standardised in the 1920s–1930s during the reforms of the Turkish Republic.

Antioch → Antakya

One of the great cities of the Byzantine world and later a Crusader stronghold, Antioch was a key centre of Christianity in the Middle Ages. After centuries under Byzantine, Arab, and Ottoman control, the city remained widely known as Antioch in European sources. When the Hatay region was annexed to Turkey in 1939, the city was officially renamed Antakya.

Dorpat → Tartu

This important university town in present-day Estonia was long known to Germans and much of medieval Europe as Dorpat. The Estonian name Tartu was in local use but remained secondary until the 20th century. Following Estonia’s independence in 1918, Tartu was officially adopted as the city’s name.

Leghorn → Livorno

On medieval and early modern maps, this Tuscan port appeared as Leghorn, the Anglicised version of its Italian name. The English form remained common in international trade well into the 19th century. In Italy, however, the city has always been called Livorno, which is now the official and universally recognised name.

Smyrna → İzmir

In medieval and early modern times, this major Aegean port was widely known in Europe as Smyrna, a name inherited from antiquity but still current through the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. Locally, however, the Turkish name İzmir was increasingly used. With the language reforms of the Turkish Republic, the government officially standardised the name as İzmir in 1930.

Tyre → Ṣūr

This ancient Phoenician city was still widely known in medieval Europe by its classical name Tyre, especially during the Crusades, when it was a key stronghold in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. In Arabic, however, it was called Ṣūr, a form that eventually became the official name. Today, Ṣūr is standard in Lebanon, while Tyre continues in English and other Western languages.

Stettin → Szczecin

Known in medieval and early modern Europe as Stettin, the city was part of the Duchy of Pomerania and later came under German rule. The Polish name Szczecin was older but rarely used beyond local contexts. After the territorial changes that followed the Second World War in 1945, the city officially became Szczecin under Polish administration.

Scutari → Üsküdar

On the Asian side of the Bosporus opposite Constantinople, this town was known in medieval and early modern Europe as Scutari. It was an important crossing point for armies and travellers heading to or from the Byzantine and later Ottoman capital. Locally, however, the Turkish name Üsküdar was used, and this became the official name in modern Turkey during the 20th century.

Acre → Akko

During the Middle Ages, this port city was known in Europe as Acre, most famously as the chief stronghold of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem until its fall in 1291. In Arabic it was called Akka, a name that remained in use through the Ottoman period and under the British Mandate. After the city’s annexation by Israel in 1948, the Hebrew form Akko became the official name.

Adrianople → Edirne

Known in antiquity as Hadrianopolis, the city was widely referred to in medieval Europe as Adrianople. It became a major Byzantine stronghold and later the second capital of the Ottoman Empire after its capture in 1369. Over time, the Turkish name Edirne came into common use, and it was officially standardised in the 20th century with the reforms of the Turkish Republic.

Breslau → Wrocław

During the Middle Ages, this Silesian city was widely known by its German name, Breslau, reflecting centuries of rule under the Holy Roman Empire and later the Kingdom of Prussia. Its Polish name, Wrocław, comes from an early Slavic duke, Vratislav, but it was rarely used outside the region. After the borders of Poland shifted westward in 1945, the city was officially renamed Wrocław.

Bombay → Mumbai

The region that became Bombay was a cluster of small fishing villages during the Middle Ages, known locally by names linked to the goddess Mumbā Devī. In 1534, the Portuguese took control and called it Bombaim, which the British later anglicised to Bombay after 1661. The city kept this name until 1995, when it was officially changed to Mumbai to reflect its older local heritage.

Philippopolis → Plovdiv

This important city in the Balkans was widely known in medieval Europe as Philippopolis, a name inherited from antiquity but still used in Byzantine and Western sources. Under Slavic and later Bulgarian control, the local form Plovdiv became more common. After Bulgaria’s independence in the 19th century, Plovdiv was established as the city’s official name.

Nidaros → Trondheim

Founded as Nidaros around 997, the city became the seat of Norway’s archbishopric and an important pilgrimage centre in the Middle Ages. After the Reformation, the name gradually shifted to Trondheim, though Nidaros lingered in religious and historical contexts. In 1930, following a brief official attempt to restore Nidaros, the modern form Trondheim was confirmed as the city’s name.

Cologne → Köln

In the Middle Ages, this important German city was known internationally by its Latin name Colonia Agrippina, which evolved into Cologne in French and English usage. Locally, however, the German form Köln was always used. Today, Köln is the official name in Germany, while Cologne remains the common form in English and other languages.

Scutari → Shkodër

In medieval Latin and Venetian sources, this city in northern Albania was called Scutari, reflecting its importance as a fortress and trade hub on the Adriatic. Locally, however, the Albanian name Shkodër was always in use. With the rise of an independent Albanian state in 1912, Shkodër became the official name.

Lemberg → Lviv

Founded in the 13th century as Leopolis, the city became widely known as Lemberg under Austrian rule and as Lwów in Polish sources. The Ukrainian name Lviv was also in use locally but less common in international contexts. After the Second World War in 1945, when the city became part of the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union, Lviv was established as the official name.

Candia → Heraklion

During the Middle Ages and Venetian rule, the chief city of Crete was known across Europe as Candia, a name that also came to refer to the entire island. Locally, however, the Greek name Heraklion (or Iraklio) persisted. After Crete united with Greece in 1913, the official name was changed to Heraklion.

Monastir → Bitola

In medieval and Ottoman sources, this Macedonian city was widely known as Monastir, a name used by both Europeans and Turks for centuries. Locally, however, the Slavic name Bitola was also in use. Following the creation of Yugoslavia after the First World War, Bitola became the city’s official name, and it has remained so in modern North Macedonia.

Durrës → Durazzo

This Adriatic port in present-day Albania was long known in medieval Latin and Italian sources as Durazzo. The local Albanian name Durrës was in use but rarely appeared outside the region. Following Albanian independence in 1912, Durrës became the official name.

Mitau → Jelgava

This city in present-day Latvia was known in medieval German and Baltic sources as Mitau, reflecting the long influence of the Teutonic Order and later German-speaking communities. The Latvian name Jelgava was in local use but not widely recognised outside the region. Following Latvian independence in 1919, Jelgava became the city’s official name.

Memel → Klaipėda

Founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1252, the city was known throughout the Middle Ages by its German name, Memel. It remained under German and Prussian control for centuries, making the name familiar in European sources. After the Second World War in 1945, the city was returned to Lithuania and officially renamed Klaipėda, its historic Lithuanian name.

Emesa → Homs

Known in antiquity and medieval European sources as Emesa, the city was an important centre in Roman and Byzantine Syria. After the Islamic conquest in the 7th century, the Arabic name Ḥimṣ (Homs) came into use locally and gradually replaced the older form. Today, Homs is the official name, while Emesa survives only in historical references.

Edessa → Şanlıurfa

Known in Byzantine and Crusader sources as Edessa, the city was a major centre of early Christianity and the site of a famous Crusader county. Under Islamic rule, the local name Urfa became common. In 1984, the Turkish government officially renamed it Şanlıurfa (“Glorious Urfa”), while Edessa survives in medieval history books.

Edo → Tokyo

Known as Edo (“estuary”), the city grew into one of the world’s largest urban centres under the Tokugawa shogunate from the early 17th century, though its roots as a fortified town stretch back into the late medieval period. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, when the emperor moved his court there, the city was renamed Tokyo, meaning “Eastern Capital.”

Peking → Beijing

During the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), the city was known as Khanbaliq or Dadu, but European travellers like Marco Polo popularised the name Peking, derived from an older pronunciation of “Beijing.” This form remained common in Western languages for centuries, even after the Ming dynasty renamed it Beijing (“Northern Capital”) in 1403. In the 20th century, China standardised Beijing internationally, and today it has replaced Peking in nearly all official usage.

Nicomedia → İzmit

Once an important Byzantine city, Nicomedia was frequently mentioned in medieval chronicles as a key stronghold in northwestern Anatolia. After the Ottoman conquest in the 14th century, the local Turkish form İzmit gradually replaced the older name. In the 20th century, the Turkish Republic officially standardised İzmit as the city’s name.

Åbo → Turku

In medieval and early modern times, Finland’s oldest city was widely known by its Swedish name, Åbo, reflecting centuries of Swedish rule. The Finnish name Turku, meaning “marketplace,” was used locally but not commonly recognised abroad. With the rise of Finnish nationalism in the 19th century, Turku came into official use, while Åbo remains the Swedish-language name.

Tiflis → Tbilisi

The Georgian capital was known throughout the Middle Ages and well into the 20th century in European sources as Tiflis, a name that derived from its medieval usage under Byzantine, Persian, and later Russian influence. Locally, however, the Georgian form Tbilisi was always used. In 1936, during the Soviet period, Tbilisi became the city’s official name, replacing Tiflis.

Sidon → Ṣaydā

One of the great Phoenician cities, Sidon was still commonly referred to by its classical name in medieval European and Crusader sources. In Arabic, however, the city has long been known as Ṣaydā, a name that remained dominant under Islamic and Ottoman rule. Following the independence of Lebanon in 1943, Ṣaydā became the city’s official name, though Sidon is still used in English.

Christiania → Oslo

Norway’s capital was originally called Oslo, but after a devastating fire in 1624, King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway rebuilt it and renamed it Christiania in his own honour. That name remained in official use for centuries, though Oslo survived in local memory. In 1925, the city was officially restored to its medieval name, Oslo.

See also: How Did Medieval Dynasties Get Their Names?