Geographical Place Names

Geographical features and places are named through a need to identify and relate to the landscape. Geographical feature names serve as fundamental elements of geospatial data.

Place names are also a significant contributor to, and source, of historical, linguistic and cultural heritage in South Africa. It is the intention of ECPGNC to honour this need to relate to the landscape, this functional purpose and this heritage function, in its deliberations and recommendations.

Criteria for consideration for standardisation of place name

In considering the report the ECPGNC follows the following guiding criterion:

  • The object of the empowering act ‘To establish a permanent body known as the South African Geographical Names Council to advise the Minister responsible of Arts and Culture on transformation and standardisation of geographical names in South Africa

  • The SAGNC handbook on policies for standardisation which states that Standardisation is based on the current orthographic(spelling) rules of the language from which the name is derived.

  • The wishes of the local population provided they are not in conflict with the principles of the SAGNC.

  • The historical use of the name

  • Redress, where a name is changed based on historical considerations

  • United Nations resolutions on the standardisation of geographical names

  • Any other factor that the SAGNC may identify.