The Gambia country The Gambia
Etymology
The name "Gambia" is derived from the Mandinka term Kambra/Kambaa, meaning Gambia River (or possibly from the sacred Serer Gamba, a special type of calabash beaten when a Serer elder dies). Upon independence in 1965, the country used the name the Gambia. Following the proclamation of a republic in 1970, the long-form name of the country became Republic of the Gambia. The administration of Yahya Jammeh changed the long-form name to Islamic Republic of the Gambia in December 2015. On 29 January 2017 President Adama Barrow changed the name back to Republic of the Gambia.The Gambia is one of only two existing countries for which the definite article is commonly used in its English-language name (the other is The Bahamas), aside from cases in which the name is plural (the Netherlands, the Philippines) or includes the form of government (the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic). The article is also officially used by the country's government and by international bodies. The article was originally used because the region was named after "the Gambia [River]." In 1964, shortly prior to the country's independence, the Prime Minister Dawda Jawara wrote to the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use requesting that the name the Gambia retain the definite article, in part to reduce confusion with Zambia which had also recently become independent. At present, both Gambia and the Gambia are in common use.
Nation State Land Territory