WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The Pacific Island country formerly known as Nauru has officially changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, aligning with the spelling and pronunciation in its national language.

The change, announced by President David Adeang, also includes updating the country’s international code from NRU to NRO and renaming its people from Nauruan to dei-Naoero. While the country was commonly pronounced as "Now-roo" internationally, the new name is pronounced "Now-ero."

According to a statement posted on the government’s Facebook account, this move returns the remote South Pacific island nation to its traditional name. The previous international name, Nauru, was adopted primarily because the local name was difficult for foreigners to pronounce and was chosen out of convenience rather than preference.

President Adeang proposed the name change to Parliament in January, stating, “This proposed change seeks to more faithfully honor our nation’s heritage, our language, and our identity.” He later described the change as “the beginning of renewed national pride.”

With a population of approximately 12,000 residents, Nauru is the world’s third-smallest country by population, following Tuvalu and Vatican City. The island, a coral limestone atoll, was colonized by Germany and later administered by Australia before gaining independence in 1968. Nauru experienced significant economic fluctuations, notably from phosphate mining wealth in the 1970s to near economic collapse in the 1990s after the industry declined.

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