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Last reviewed: 16 August 2026

Who gets to name a place?

A GIS usually wants one label.

A place may carry many names.

Some names are official. Some are recorded but unofficial. Some are old. Some belong to a particular kōrero, event, hapū or period of occupation. Some were replaced through colonisation. Some have been restored. Some have changed spelling. Some are known locally but have never appeared in a government gazetteer.

The GIS problem is not simply finding the correct name. It is keeping the provenance and authority of each name visible.

Official does not mean original​

Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board maintains the New Zealand Gazetteer and has statutory responsibility for many official geographic names.

That matters. Official names are important for public communication, emergency management, government records and consistent mapping.

But official status answers a particular question: what name has formal recognition under the official naming system?

It does not necessarily answer:

  • What name do local whānau use?
  • What name was used before colonisation?
  • Which hapū relationship does the name carry?
  • Were several names used in different periods?
  • Is the official geometry the same place the kōrero refers to?

The Gazetteer itself notes that not all names it contains are official and not all Māori names have been reviewed for spelling.

One place can legitimately have several names​

Do not force every name into a winner-and-loser model.

A useful GIS name table can keep several records for one place:

FieldExample purpose
place_idstable internal place reference
namethe name as recorded
name_statusofficial, recorded, local, historical, alternative, proposed
languagelanguage or naming context if needed
sourceGazetteer, iwi archive, oral source, historic map, publication
source_datedate or period of source
authority_contextwho has authority for this use
use_notewhere this name should or should not be used

The map can then choose which name to display for a particular audience without deleting the others.

Local authority matters​

If an ingoa wāhi comes from iwi, hapū, kaumātua, whānau or an iwi-led cultural mapping project, treat that provenance as meaningful.

Do not quietly overwrite the local source with a government record merely because the government record is easier to cite.

Likewise, do not assume a name heard in one setting can be republished everywhere. The right to hear a name, record a name and publish a name may not be the same.

Historical maps require care​

Older maps can preserve Māori names that later disappeared from common use. They can also contain:

  • misspellings
  • names recorded phonetically by non-Māori surveyors
  • names attached to the wrong feature
  • colonial terminology
  • inconsistent spacing
  • several versions of the same name

Treat the historic map as evidence of how the name was recorded at that time, not automatic proof of the definitive spelling or meaning.

Useful sources include old survey plans, Māori Land Plans, early topographic maps, Crown purchase deeds and tangata whenua place-name maps.

See Historical Māori maps.

Treaty settlement names​

Place names can form part of cultural redress in Treaty settlements. Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa notes that original Māori names can be restored or corrected through settlements, and that overlapping and neighbouring iwi are consulted on proposed Treaty place names.

In GIS, record the status and source of a settlement name rather than simply replacing one text field with another.

Useful fields might include:

  • settlement legislation reference
  • effective date
  • previous official name where relevant
  • alternative-name status
  • source Gazette notice or Gazetteer record

This helps future users understand why a name changed.

Do not use names only as labels​

An ingoa wāhi may carry information about:

  • an event
  • a person
  • an environmental feature
  • an activity
  • a resource
  • a journey
  • a warning
  • a relationship

A label alone often loses that.

Where publication is appropriate, consider linking the name to:

  • an approved short narrative
  • an archive reference
  • a source citation
  • audio pronunciation
  • related places
  • a historical map or image

Kā Huru Manu is a strong example of iwi-led cultural mapping where place names are treated as part of a much larger relationship with landscape and history.

Naming public maps​

For a public-facing map:

  1. Decide whether the map should follow official names, local names or both.
  2. Check spelling and macrons with the appropriate source.
  3. Record the provenance separately from the display label.
  4. Avoid silently standardising away legitimate variation.
  5. Use alternative or dual labels only where they remain readable.
  6. If local names are not approved for public release, do not publish them simply because they exist in the internal GIS.

Proposing or correcting an official name​

The official naming process is separate from maintaining local GIS names.

Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa accepts proposals for geographic names and requires evidence supporting the connection between the proposed name and place. Its guidance also requires evidence of consultation with mana whenua and, for populated places, the relevant council.

That process may be useful when formal recognition is part of the kaupapa. It is not necessary for every locally held ingoa wāhi to have meaning or legitimacy within a Māori knowledge system.

Sources​

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