Name change from Belgaum to Belagavi
[edit]If there is a reason to change the name, lets discuss it here, before a decision is made. Road signs in the city are split between 'Belgaum', 'Belgaon', 'Belagavi'.
Belgaum is the name used by most of the Marathi population, and older residents. Belgaon is also another name used by most of the Marathi, as well as Konkani (Goan) population. Belagavi is the official name, used by most of Kannada population, and used officially (its the name of the district and the city, used on cantonment boards, corporation boards, and train stations).
Seeking some clarification on this matter... (I have visited the city recently)
Thanks, Globetrotter30 (talk) 09:52, 22 March 2026 (UTC)
- Do you have an opinion about which name is most often used in English? That's the most relevant question, per Wikivoyage:Naming conventions. Ikan Kekek (talk) 10:07, 22 March 2026 (UTC)
- Googlemaps, Brittanica uses Belagavi, most major news networks use Belagavi (Times of India, NDTV, Indian Express, The Hindu, India Times). The name change has been official since 2014 (so 12 yrs this year). The last article which used Belgaum was 2yrs ago.
- On the other hand, Belgaum is used by Wikipedia, tripadvisor, holidify, bing maps.
- Another bit of weird info: the main site in this city: 'All about Belgaum' uses the word Belgaum, but then it says on its main site: 'All about Belagavi'????? Really confusing stuff
- Belgaon is almost never used on the internet. Globetrotter30 (talk) 16:05, 22 March 2026 (UTC)
- Thanks. It sure sounds like we should change the name soon, but it's unclear that now is the time. Keeping in mind the discussion at w:Talk:Belgaum/Archive 3#Requested move 12 March 2023, you'd have to demonstrate that things have changed sufficiently in the last 3 years to establish that Belagavi is used more often in English than Belgaum, and I think we should wait for strong evidence if we are going to change the name faster than Wikipedia. Ikan Kekek (talk) 21:12, 22 March 2026 (UTC)