Ivory Coast or Côte d’Ivoire?
The country’s name has always been Côte d’Ivoire, French for “Ivory Coast”. In October 1985 its government decreed that it should not be translated: in every language, including English, it is Côte d’Ivoire. International bodies switched, but plenty of English speakers, and this site’s games, still say Ivory Coast.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 30 September 2026Suggest a correction
- Côte d’Ivoire (in French; “Ivory Coast” in English)Colony from 1893, independent from 1960
- Côte d’Ivoire (in every language)1985–
A coast named for a trade
Until the 19th century Europeans knew only the coast, where French and Portuguese traders came for slaves and ivory.[5] France signed treaties with coastal chiefs from the 1830s, claimed the territory as a colony in 1893, and fixed its borders in 1898.[5] The name stuck: in French the colony, and then the country that became independent in 1960, was Côte d’Ivoire, and in English it was Ivory Coast, a straight translation.[1]
“Do not translate”
In October 1985 the Ivorian government decreed that the country’s name should be rendered as Côte d’Ivoire in every language, and it asked other countries to stop using “Ivory Coast”.[1][2] It informed the United Nations the same year, and the UN lists it as Côte d’Ivoire.[3] The US State Department’s historians date the change to 1986.[4]
Unlike most renamings, nothing new was chosen: the name stayed exactly the same, and only the translations were dropped. Even so, Ivory Coast is still widely used in English.[1]
Timeline
1893
French colony
France claims Côte d’Ivoire as a colony.[5]
19607 August 1960
Independence
The Republic of the Ivory Coast, Côte d’Ivoire in French, becomes independent.[2][4]
1985
Name decree
The government says Côte d’Ivoire must not be translated.[1][2]
1985
The UN is told
The country informs the UN of its name.[3]
Sources
- [1]Côte d’Ivoire · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- [2]Republic of Côte d’Ivoire · AACRAO EDGE (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers)
- [3]Member States: Côte d’Ivoire · United Nations
- [4]A Guide to the United States’ History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations: Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) · Office of the Historian, US Department of State
- [5]Côte d’Ivoire: Precolonial kingdoms · Encyclopaedia Britannica
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.