Google "Czechia" and you'll find my article in Forbes. Although it has about 200,000 views, a few outliers are still resisting the name Czechia. They cling to The Czech Republic name as stubbornly as they cling to their Czech beer in a pub.

In this WanderLearn episode (#112), I talk with two Czechs:

1. Petr Pavlinek: Professor of Geography at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. 
2. Václav J. Šulista: Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic to the Swiss Confederation (or Honorary Consul of Czechia to Switzerland, for you short-form name fans).

We discuss:

• Why Czechia is a good name.
• Who dislikes the name.
• Why they dislike the name.
• How long will it take for the world to adopt the name.
• Why it matters.

You can watch most of the interview on YouTube:

Here is my article on Forbes:

Czechia Has Won The Czech Republic Name Debate

Quick: Paris is the capital of which country?

You probably said, “France.”

However, technically, it’s “the French Republic.” But who says that? Only a petulant Frenchman.

Now try this: what’s the name of the country that drinks more beer per capita than any other country?

If you’re feeling petulant, it’s the Czech Republic. If you want to be cool, it’s Czechia (pronounced Che-ki-ya).

Cheers to Czechia. (Photo credit: FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images)

Nearly every country has a long-form name and a short-form name. The People’s Republic of China is the long-form name, while China is its short-form name. The United States of America is also a mouthful, so there are alternatives: America (which many Latin Americans object to), the USA, the US, the States, or Gringoland.

For the last 100 years, the Czechs have been unable to develop an accessible name for English speakers to call their country. In 1918, when they first formed their nation, the Czechs named their country Czechoslovakia. That tongue-twister was ridiculed by National Geograph-ic, which called the new country’s name “awful” and an “unfair handicap for the young state.”

In 1993, following Slovakia’s Velvet Divorce with Czechoslovakia, the Czech bureaucrats once again failed to promote a catchy English name for their new country. The Czech Republic is all they could come up with. It became both the long-form and short-form name of their new country. Why couldn't they come up with a short-form name? They were obviously too busy doing more important activities, like drinking their legendary beer.

After American entrepreneurs tried Czechia's Budweiser Budvar Brewery beer, they named their version of Budweiser in Czechia's honor. Most beer connoisseurs believe that the American Budweiser is inferior to Czechia's Budweiser. A Czechia proverb says: "It takes only a sip to know a good beer, but it is best to be sure." (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

You can’t fault the Czechs for being unable to realize that what their nation’s name is a mouthful for English speakers. These are the same guys who have phrases like “Prd krt skrz drn, zprv zhlt hrst zrn.”

I asked a Czech how you’re supposed to say that, he said, in complete seriousness, “Just like it’s written.”

After I tried and comically failed, I asked him what it meant. He said, “A mole farted through grass, having swallowed a handful of grains.”

Suddenly, calling their country "the Czech Republic" didn't feel so cumbersome anymore.

The Czech Republic was one of the few countries that insisted on having a definite article in front of their country’s name: the Netherlands and the Gambia also annoyingly demand that. Sensing the frustration of English speakers who have to say “the Netherlands,” the Dutch offer the informal “Holland” alternative.

It’s a bit easier to say, “I’m going to Holland,” instead of, “I’m going to the Netherlands.” It sounds weird to say, “I’m going to Netherlands.”

Strangely, it doesn’t sound weird to say, “I’m going to Gambia.” Perhaps the Netherlands has been simply better than Gambia at demanding that we put a definite article before their name. Insisting on saying the Gambia implies that there are many Gambias. “Hey buddy, I’m not going to just any Gambia, I’m going to the Gambia.”

In an effort to improve the linguistic lives of all English speakers, the Czech Republic registered its short-form name, Czechia, on July 5, 2016. How’s it catching on nearly a year later?

On the one hand, there’s been little change. Some official Czech government websites still refer to "the Czech Republic." Because they're official government sites, it's not that surprising that they use the formal name, just like the United States government websites often spell out the long-form name of the USA.

Czechia has yet to update its national athletic uniforms. Pavel Maslak celebrates on March 4, 2017.... [+]

A few months after Czechia was officially registered in the United Nations databases and Czech leaders started to encourage English-speaking governments to use it, some quickly declared that Czechia was dead on arrival. Part of the “proof” that Czechia wasn't catching on was an unscientific survey of people in Prague’s Wenceslas Square. However, most Prague pedestrians aren’t native English speakers. Although some must have passionate opinions on the matter (and they’ll surely comment on this article), most Czechs probably don't care that much what English speakers call their country, as long as we don’t come up with an insulting name. The Czechs call their country Česko.

Imagine asking New Yorkers what they think of Les États-Unis? Most New Yorkers aren’t fluent French speakers and are way too busy to worry about what the baguette eaters call their country.

Consider the Finns. Nearly every language calls their country something that sounds like “Finland.” But what do the Finns call their own country? Suomi.

This hockey star is happy to score goals for either Suomi or Finland. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty... [+]

Albanians do the same thing. Almost everyone calls their country something that sounds like “Albania.” Meanwhile, Albanians call their own land Shqipëria.

Neither the Finns nor the Albanians are trying to change what the world calls their country nor do they seem concerned about what people call their motherland.

The Czechs, on the other hand, want to make life easier for English speakers, which is why they’re encouraging us to say Czechia.

It takes years for new names to catch on. As anyone who has changed their name knows, getting your friends to adopt it is difficult. Ten years ago, my wife changed her name from Binta to Rejoice. Her old friends and family still call her Binta.

Similarly, when Burma became Myanmar, Leningrad became St. Petersburg and Peking became Beijing, the world took years to adapt.

It would have saved cartographers and the rest of us English speakers plenty of trouble if China had just called their capital Beijing from the beginning. For whatever reason, they asked English speakers to start calling their big city Beijing. We complied.

Prague, Czechia is arguably Europe's most beautiful city. Just don't tell that to the French. (Photo... [+]

Czechia is an old name. The name Czechia first appeared in Latin about 400 years ago. The first English text to mention it was in 1841.

Czechia’s party poopers say that it’s a lousy name because it sounds like Chechnya. However, it’s hard to avoid naming confusion. When I was writing my book about Eastern Europe, I discovered that most people confuse Slovakia and Slovenia (it doesn’t help that their flags are similar too). The poor folks who live in Seattle must spend their lives clarifying that they live in Washington state, not Washington, DC. And what were the people in Paris, Arkansas thinking when they came up with their city’s name? Compared to these cases, Czechia is clear as a watered-downed ale.

Czechia has won the war against the Czech Republic . The October 2016 reports of Czechia's death recall a famous quotation:

The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. - Mark Twain

More and more people are using the word Czechia. The CIA World Factbook uses Czechia. Similarly, the US State Department refers to Czechia.

In September 2018, the European Union's official style guide proclaimed that Czechia should be used just like we use France. Had you searched for "Czechia" on Eurostat last year, you would have gotten zero results. Today, their databases have over 5,000 entries. On the European Union's list of member states, the EU refers to Czechia, not the Czech Republic.

In addition, Google Maps uses Czechia. Apple iOS 11 uses Czechia in its maps and system settings.

As usual, the British are slower to change than the Americans: the UK government still clings to the long-form name. No wonder the Yanks wanted independence.

Had you Googled “Czechia” in February 2016, you would have gotten 460,000 hits. Today, you'll get 12.5 million hits.

Google Trends indicates that when the Czech government announced that "Czechia" would be their short-form name in mid-April 2016, there was a surge of Internet chatter about the Czechia name. One month later, the chatter collapsed. However, since then, usage has steadily grown, albeit with some ups and downs. GOOGLE TRENDS

Instagram had 10,000 #Czechia mentions in 2015, but now it's nearly 300,000.

In 2015, Twitter and Pinterest had negligible hits when you searched for #Czechia. In 2017, Twitter (300,000 hits) and Pinterest (200,000 hits) have seen a surge of #Czechia usage.

Length matters: shorter country names are sexier than long ones. (Photo was taken in 2010 by MARK... [+]

Czechia is encouraging English speakers to use its new short-form name. Try it out next time you fly to Europe’s two most beautiful cities: Prague, Czechia, and Paris, the French Republic.

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