rangon

Rangon is a historical or variant spelling associated with Yangon, the largest city of Myanmar. In English-language sources from the colonial era, the city was commonly rendered as Rangoon; Rangon appears as a less common transliteration that persists in older maps and some non-English texts. In modern usage, the city is officially known as Yangon.

Geography and significance: Yangon lies on the eastern bank of the Yangon River in southern Myanmar, near the Gulf of Martaban. It has long been the country’s principal economic and cultural center, with a port, commercial districts, educational institutions, and a historic downtown that retains many colonial-era buildings alongside traditional Burmese landmarks such as the Shwedagon Pagoda.

Naming history: In 1989, the military government ordered a shift to Myanmar-based spellings for many place names, replacing Rangoon with Yangon in official use. Because of this, Rangoon and its variant Rangon remain mainly historical or literary forms, appearing in older texts, maps, and some regional languages that retain traditional transliterations. The name Yangon is now the standard reference in contemporary contexts.

See also: Yangon; Rangoon.