The use of geographical names in the national atlases of Hungary (1967–2021)

Abstract

The paper presents the use of place names in the first National Atlas of Hungary published in Hungarian in 1967, followed by the National Atlas of Hungary published in Hungarian and English in 1989. Then, it evaluates the use of place names in the preliminary national atlas, published in English (Hungary in Maps) in 2009 and as a separate Hungarian volume in Hungarian, which was published with expanded content in 2011. The editorial ideas on the use of geographical names in these atlases could only be established afterwards by their careful comparison. So far, two of the four volumes have been published in the framework of the new National Atlas of Hungary project, in Hungarian and English, in 2018 (Natural Environment) and in 2021 (Society). This paper details and illustrates the naming principles used in all these publications with examples of several geographical names. Finally, summary tables of selected names illustrate the changes in the cartographic representation of place names beyond the borders of Hungary and the English equivalence of Hungarian physical geographical names over the last half century.