Travel with Rick Steves · Saturday, September 5, 2026
The small South Pacific island nation of Nauru has officially changed how its name is spelled and pronounced. The government wants to ensure the rest of the world knows the correct way to refer to their island home.
“You might have missed the recent news about one of the smallest countries in the world.”
“The South Pacific island nation that you would have seen listed as Nauru has just changed how you spell and say their name.”
“The people of the Republic of Nauru, that's N-A-U-R-U, want the rest of us to know how they pronounce and spell their island home.”