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Since 1994, numerous locations in South Africa have been renamed. The following article covers the name changes in South Africa by province since the 1994 South African general election. National place names, such as towns, suburbs, and natural landforms, are decided by the South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC), and provinces have their own geographical names committees.[1] Among the South African public, there is broad agreement that locations which are named after British or Afrikaner military personnel who fought against Black South Africans or contain racial slurs should be renamed, but efforts since 2005 to replace inoffensive names, such as Lydenburg (which African National Congress politicians claimed are necessary to "address the legacy of colonialism and apartheid") have faced opposition on the grounds of excessive costs and perceived bias in favour of honouring ANC members.[2][3][4] Although many name changes have taken place officially since the end of apartheid in 1994, many of the previous names are still common in use, and some name changes have been officially reverted.
As of March 2014, the Eastern Cape has changed the name of 134 places, placing it third nationally after Mpumalanga and the Limpopo provinces.[6] Most name changes have been correcting misspellings in the former homelands of Transkei and Ciskei (see below). There have also been a number of name change proposals in the western half of the province for place names of Afrikaans or English origin. [citation needed]
Settlements
Bisho → Bhisho (2004; former capital of Ciskei)[7]
Gauteng, South Africa's most urbanised province, has seen a number of name changes. Probably the most controversial name change in South African history has been that of Pretoria, where there have been proposals to change the city's name to Tshwane (already the name of the metropolitan area it lies in).
The first name change in post-1994 South Africa. The town was originally named Lyttelton, but was renamed Verwoerdburg in 1967 in honour of Hendrik Verwoerd, the so-called "architect of Apartheid" and was deemed offensive to many people and was changed to the neutral name of Centurion.
In 2006 the suburb of Triomf had its name restored to Sophiatown. Before 1954 the area (then named Sophiatown) was mostly occupied by blacks but were forcibly moved due to it being near local white suburbs. The area was rezoned as Triomf (Afrikaans for "Triumph") with the original name restored 52 years later.
Streets
Johannesburg
In 2001 The Johannesburg City Administration changed the name of DF Malan Drive to Beyers Naudé Drive. Also it changed the name of the Library Gardens to Beyers Naudé Square in order to commemorate Beyers Naudé.
In 2007 the Johannesburg Development Agency changed two street names named after apartheid era ministers:[36]
In 2013, every street of the R24 route in the Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni municipalities specifically was renamed after Albertina Sisulu.[37][38] Every street on this section of the R24 is now named Albertina Sisulu Road (with the exception of the westwards one-way street in Johannesburg CBD).[37][38]
In 2014 the city administration continued the renaming of important streets in the city in order to "celebrate the city's shared past".[39]
On 26 September 2022, William Nicol Drive (which forms the entire M81 route and part of the R511 route) was renamed to Winnie Mandela Drive.[40][41][42][43][44]
The KwaZulu-Natal province was formed in 1994 from the merger of the then province of Natal and former bantustan of KwaZulu. The process in Durban has been criticized the Democratic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party and the Minority Front, who have expressed concerns that the process lacks participation from non-ANC parties and presents a partisan view of the anti-apartheid struggle.[49]
Old N1 sign showing the city of Polokwane's former name PietersburgN1 sign showing Polokwane's new name
The most northerly province of South Africa, the Limpopo province saw some of the earliest name changes and to date more than any other province. The province was carved out of the former Transvaal and initially named the Northern Transvaal until the following year when it was known simply as the Northern Province. It kept this name until 2002[62] when it was renamed after the Limpopo River which forms South Africa's border with Zimbabwe. Settlement name changes especially targeted places of Afrikaans origin, such as Pietersburg (Polokwane), Nylstroom (Modimolle) and Ellisras (Lephalale), while avoiding places with Bantu or English names such as Northam, Alldays, Tzaneen and Thabazimbi. The Limpopo is the most ethnically black province in South Africa (96.7% as of 2011) and is likely to have made the name changes go more smoothly because of a lack of opposition from minority groups which are usually against name changes.
Unlike most name changes, Duiwelskloof kept the Afrikaans suffix "-kloof" (meaning valley) in its new name. The name "Ngoako Ramalepe" was also proposed.
Mpumalanga, itself renamed in 1995 from the Eastern Transvaal, has seen the entire northern half of the province renamed since 2005. As with the Limpopo province, most of the changes have affected names of Afrikaans origin, but also some with British links. These have included the capital, Nelspruit (Mbombela) as well as Witbank (eMalahleni) and Lydenburg (Mashishing). Unlike the Limpopo, the name changes in Mpumalanga have largely (as of 2011) been ignored and apart from the city of Witbank, road signs and usage of the new names has been rare.[68] Some names of Bantu origin have also been changed, because they were misspelled by early settlers, due to errors in transcription, such as Malelane, which was corrected to Malalane.
In May 2013 North West province premier Thandi Modise said the province needed to be renamed and not just be referred to as a "direction on a compass".[76] One of the suggestions has been to rename North West after politician and activist Moses Kotane. There is, however, already a municipality in the province named after him.
Helen Suzman Boulevard in Cape Town, renamed from Western Boulevard in 2011
With the exception of Cape Town, the Western Cape has experienced only a few minor street name changes in the largest cities. There have, however, been a number of suggested name changes, particularly on the southern coast of the province, such as for the towns of George or Mossel Bay. The Economic Freedom Fighters have sought to expand the number of locations renamed within the Western Cape, stating that "Black South Africans are reminded of the oppression every day by names and statues that cannot be changed or removed".[82]
↑ Duminy, James (April 2014). "Street Renaming, Symbolic Capital, and Resistance in Durban, South Africa". Environment and Planning D: Society and Space. 32 (2): 310–328. Bibcode:2014EnPlD..32..310D. doi:10.1068/d2112. S2CID143940799.
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