Endonym

An endonym is the name by which a place, group, or language is known to its own inhabitants. The term is derived from the Greek endon, meaning within, and onoma, meaning name. In linguistics and geography, endonyms are contrasted with exonyms, which are names used by outsiders, and with autonyms, the self-designations used by a group for itself.

Endonyms may or may not align with the names used in other languages. An autonym is a specific type of endonym—the name a group uses for itself. In practice, the terms endonym and autonym are related but not always interchangeable; an endonym covers names for places, peoples, or languages as used by insiders, while an autonym emphasizes self-designation.

Common examples illustrate the distinction. Japan is known endonymically as Nippon or Nihon in Japanese. Germany is Deutschland in German, while Spain is España in Spanish. China’s endonym is Zhōngguó, and Hungary’s is Magyarország. India uses Bharat as a formal endonym in its constitution and official usage, alongside the English exonym India. Turkey’s official endonym is Türkiye, a name promoted in international contexts in recent years.

The use of endonyms can carry political and cultural significance. Governments and international organizations sometimes adopt endonyms to reflect sovereignty or linguistic heritage, while exonyms persist in historical or cross-cultural contexts. Changes to endonyms or preferred spellings can provoke diplomatic and translational considerations in mapping, media, and diplomacy.