Why Country Names Far Outnumber UN Member States

Lori Dorn
September 21, 2026

Patrick Foote of Name Explain investigated how many country names there are, using the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names as a reference. He explained that short, formal names, abbreviations, and linguistic variations push the total far beyond the 193 UN Member States.

According to the United Nations, there are 193 countries, so that must mean there is 193 country names too, right? Well it’s not that simple. In today’s video, we look into the truth behind country names, and how many there really are.

A Year by Year Accounting of Every Country Name Change Within the First Quarter of the 21st Century

Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.