The Welsh national football teams have always been known internationally by the English name Wales. According to news reports this week, the Welsh Football Association now intends to change the teams’ official name to the Welsh name Cymru. The Welsh FA plans to make this change after the men’s World Cup in Qatar, which starts this month.
In a similar move earlier this year, the Turkish state changed its official English name from Turkey to Türkiye (the Turkish form). Reportedly, one motive for this change was to eliminate disparaging comparisons with other meanings of the English word Turkey: (1) the bird; and (2) a failure or flop.