# Nauru sets referendum on renaming itself Naoero
Nauru has announced plans to hold a referendum on whether to change the island nation’s official name to Naoero, a proposal the government describes as a way to move away from a colonial-era label.
The event date is 2026-05-12. On that date, the country signaled it would put the question to voters after characterizing the current name as a relic from a time when outside powers reshaped local language and identity. The public move is the clearest sign yet that the government intends to seek a constitutional change rather than make a unilateral switch.
The source packet is limited, but the core facts are straightforward: Nauru plans a referendum, the proposed new official name is Naoero, and the change is being presented as part of a wider effort to reclaim language and identity. The announcement also implies that an amendment to the constitution would be needed before any renaming could take effect.
For a small Pacific state with a history shaped by colonial administration and outside economic pressures, the symbolism of the name matters. Nauru’s government is not only proposing a new label for official use; it is asking voters to decide whether the country should continue under the name that has been internationally recognized for decades or adopt a term closer to the local language.
The referendum route suggests officials want the change to carry political legitimacy. Rather than treating the issue as administrative housekeeping, the government has framed it as a national decision tied to memory, culture and sovereignty. That framing is also what makes the proposal notable beyond Nauru: in the Pacific, questions of language and naming often carry the weight of history.
The announcement does not in itself settle what form the referendum will take, when it will be held, or how the constitutional process will proceed. But it does establish that the government is prepared to test whether public support exists for a formal break with the island’s colonial naming legacy.
If the vote is successful, Nauru would become one of the few countries in the region to rework its official identity through a popular constitutional process. If it fails, the announcement still marks a public effort to elevate language, self-definition and political symbolism in a country better known internationally for its diplomatic outsizedness than for constitutional reform.
Either way, the move puts the question of national naming squarely before voters.
