An overview of the history of ideologically motivated place-name changes in Hungary

The history of ideologically motivated place-name changes in Hungary can be traced back almost two centuries and has been influenced by a number of factors, including patriotic movements, legal acts and government policies. Place names have been changed intermittently, and these changes could be explicitly linked to political courses. This paper identifies and describes seven distinct periods in the last two hundred years during which ideologically motivated place-name changes were particularly intense. It is evident that political power has played a dominant role in the decision-making process regarding official names, especially those for public places, throughout these periods. However, the alternative use of names by local communities in informal communication and the occasional struggle to retain familiar names could also be detected. The paper presents a number of illustrative examples to support the above observations.