Thailand’s Office of the Royal Society (ORST) has announced the change of the official name of Thailand’s capital, from “Bangkok” to “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon”. The name “Bangkok” will, however, still be recognised by officials.
The Thai cabinet approved the change, in principle, yesterday (Tuesday) and the new official name will not come into effect until it is vetted by a committee in charge of scrutinising all draft bills, with additional observations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Bangkok” has been in use since November 2001. It came from an old area of Bangkok, which is now a part of the greater metropolitan area of the capital, Bangkok Noi and Bangkok Yai districts.
In the same announcement, the ORST listed the official Thai spelling for other cities, namely the Thai names for Kuala Lumpur, Rome, Nay Pyi Taw, Kathmandu, and the Thai spelling for the State of Palestine.
