Editing Aotearoa

{{Short description|Māori name for New Zealand}}
{{for-multi|the country it refers to|New Zealand|other uses|Aotearoa (disambiguation)}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
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 | audio1 = [https://web.archive.org/web/20180128215526/https://www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz/assets/Lions-Tour/Aotearoa.mp3 Pronunciation] at Kōrero Māori, the Māori Language Commission website 
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'''''Aotearoa''''' ({{IPA|mi|aɔ.ˈtɛa.ɾɔa|lang}})<ref name="bauer-warren"/> is the [[Māori language|Māori]] name for [[New Zealand]]. The name was originally used by [[Māori people|Māori]] in reference only to the [[North Island]], with the whole country being referred to as ''Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu'' – where ''Te Ika-a-Māui'' means North Island, and ''Te Waipounamu'' means [[South Island]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Ngāi Tahu leader: Let's not rush name change |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/452781/ngai-tahu-leader-let-s-not-rush-name-change |work=[[RNZ]] |date=2 October 2021 |access-date=13 November 2021 |archive-date=12 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112184828/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/452781/ngai-tahu-leader-let-s-not-rush-name-change |url-status=live }}</ref> In the pre-European era, Māori did not have a collective name for the two islands.<ref>{{cite book |last1=King |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_GcDwAAQBAJ&q=In%20fact%20in%20the%20pre-European%20era,%20Maori%20had%20no%20name%20for%20the%20country%20as%20a%20whole.%20Polynesian%20ancestors%20came%20from%20motu%20or%20islands%20and%20it%20was%20to%20islands%20that%20they%20gave%20names. |title=The Penguin History of New Zealand |date=13 October 2003 |publisher=Penguin Random House New Zealand |isbn=9781742288260 |pages=23 |language=English |oclc=1100850063 |quote=In fact in the pre-European era, Maori had no name for the country as a whole. Polynesian ancestors came from motu or islands and it was to islands that they gave names. |access-date=17 April 2022 |archive-date=29 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829231830/https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Penguin_History_of_New_Zealand/9_GcDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=In%20fact%20in%20the%20pre-European%20era,%20Maori%20had%20no%20name%20for%20the%20country%20as%20a%20whole.%20Polynesian%20ancestors%20came%20from%20motu%20or%20islands%20and%20it%20was%20to%20islands%20that%20they%20gave%20names. |url-status=live }}</ref>

Several meanings for Aotearoa have been proposed; the most popular translation usually given is "land of the long white cloud",<ref name="McLintock"/> or variations thereof. This refers to the cloud formations which are believed to have helped early [[Polynesians|Polynesian]] navigators find the country in [[Māori mythology|Māori oral tradition]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Morrison |first1=Stacey |last2=Morrison |first2=Scotty |date=15 November 2021 |title=Why Referring to New Zealand as Aotearoa Is a Meaningful Step for Travelers |url=https://www.cntraveler.com/story/why-referring-to-new-zealand-as-aotearoa-is-a-meaningful-step-for-travelers?redirectURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cntraveler.com%2Fstory%2Fwhy-referring-to-new-zealand-as-aotearoa-is-a-meaningful-step-for-travelers |access-date=29 June 2023 |website=[[Condé Nast Traveler]]}}</ref>

Beginning in the late 20th century, ''Aotearoa'' has become widespread in the bilingual naming of national organisations and institutions. Since the 1990s, it has been customary for particular parties to sing the New Zealand national anthem, "[[God Defend New Zealand]]" (or "Aotearoa"), in both Māori and English,<ref name="anthem">{{cite web |title=God Defend New Zealand/Aotearoa {{!}} Ministry for Culture and Heritage |url=http://www.mch.govt.nz/nz-identity-heritage/national-anthems/god-defend-new-zealandaotearoa |website=mch.govt.nz |publisher=[[Ministry for Culture and Heritage]] |access-date=29 April 2017 |language=en |archive-date=7 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507152654/http://www.mch.govt.nz/nz-identity-heritage/national-anthems/god-defend-new-zealandaotearoa |url-status=live }}</ref> which further exposed the name to a wider audience.

[[New Zealand English]] speakers pronounce the word with various degrees of approximation to the original Māori pronunciation, from {{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɑː|ə|t|eɪ|ə|ˈ|r|ɔː|ə}} {{IPA|en|ˌɐːɘtæeɘˈɹoːɘ|generic=yes}} at one end of the spectrum (nativist) to {{IPAc-en|ˌ|eɪ|ə|t|iː|ə|ˈ|r|oʊ|ə}} {{IPA|en|ˌæeɘtiːɘˈɹɐʉɘ|generic=yes}} at the other.<ref name="bauer-warren">{{cite book|last1=Bauer|first1=Laurie|author1-link=Laurie Bauer|last2=Warren|first2=Paul|year=2004|chapter=New Zealand English: phonology|editor1-last=Schneider|editor1-first=Edgar W.|editor2-last=Burridge|editor2-first=Kate|editor3-last=Kortmann|editor3-first=Bernd|editor4-last=Mesthrie|editor4-first=Rajend|editor5-last=Upton|editor5-first=Clive|title=A Handbook of Varieties of English|volume=1: Phonology|location=Berlin|publisher=Mouton de Gruyter|pages=580–602|doi=10.1515/9783110197181-038|isbn=978-3-11-017532-5|s2cid=242118647}}</ref> Pronunciations documented in dictionaries of English include {{IPAc-en|ˌ|eɪ|ə|t|eɪ|ə|ˈ|r|oʊ|ə}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2b.c0.abc.net.au/abcpronunciation-external/Search.aspx#?S=Aotearoa|title=Aotearoa|work=ABC Pronounce|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=2007-12-21|access-date=2021-10-07|quote=pron. as per [[Macquarie Dictionary|Macq. Dict.]]|archive-date=2019-02-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219030919/https://www2b.c0.abc.net.au/abcpronunciation-external/Search.aspx#?S=Aotearoa|url-status=live}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|aʊ|ˌ|t|eɪ|ə|ˈ|r|oʊ|ə}},<ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Aotearoa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007004814/https://www.lexico.com/definition/Aotearoa |url-status=dead |archive-date=2021-10-07 |title=Aotearoa |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> and {{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɑː|oʊ|t|iː|ə|ˈ|r|oʊ|ə}}.<ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref>

==Origin==
The original meaning of {{lang|mi|Aotearoa}} is not known.<ref name="Orsman">{{cite book|author-last=Orsman|author-first=Harry|title=The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195583489|editor-last1=Robinson|editor-first1=Roger|publication-date=1998|chapter=Aotearoa|year=1998|doi=10.1093/acref/9780195583489.001.0001|editor-last2=Nelson|editor-first2=Wattie}}</ref> The word can be broken up as: {{lang|mi|ao}} ('cloud', 'dawn', 'daytime' or 'world'), {{lang|mi|tea}} ('white', 'clear' or 'bright') and {{lang|mi|roa}} ('long'). It can also be broken up as {{lang|mi|[[Aotea (canoe)|Aotea]]}}, the name of one of the [[Māori migration canoes|migratory canoes]] that travelled to New Zealand, and {{lang|mi|roa}} ('long'). The most common literal translation is 'long white cloud',<ref name="McLintock">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Aotearoa |encyclopedia=[[An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand]] |date=1966 |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/aotearoa |editor-first=A. H. |editor-last=McLintock |editor-link=Alexander Hare McLintock |access-date=19 July 2020 |via=[[Te Ara]] |archive-date=3 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503192156/https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/aotearoa |url-status=live }}</ref> commonly lengthened to 'the land of the long white cloud'.<ref>{{cite news |title=Swirling cloud captured above New Zealand — 'The Land of the Long White Cloud' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/4315307/Swirling-cloud-captured-above-New-Zealand-The-Land-of-the-Long-White-Cloud.html |access-date=29 April 2017 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=22 January 2009 |archive-date=18 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418115106/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/4315307/Swirling-cloud-captured-above-New-Zealand-The-Land-of-the-Long-White-Cloud.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Alternative translations include 'long bright world' or 'land of abiding day', possibly referring to New Zealand having longer summer days in comparison to those further north in the Pacific Ocean.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/light/1 |title=Light -Experiencing New Zealand light |encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |editor=Jock Philips |access-date=2012-05-19 |archive-date=2012-10-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026115735/http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/light/1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Mythology===
In some traditional stories, ''Aotearoa'' was the name of the canoe ({{lang|mi|[[waka (canoe)|waka]]}}) of the explorer [[Kupe]], and he named the land after it.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Percy Smith |first1= Stephenson |title=History and traditions of the Maoris of the West Coast, North Island of New Zealand, prior to 1840 |date=1910 |publisher=[[Polynesian Society]], New Plymouth |page=77 |edition=First |url= http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-SmiHist-t1-body1-d5.html#n103 |access-date=14 March 2021 |quote=The first we hear of this Uenuku in Maori story is, that he was living at a place named Aotea-roa (the same name as New Zealand—a point worth noting) which, from what follows was Tahiti, where indeed his grandfather and great-grandfather held lands, until the former was expelled by Tu-tapu at the point of the spear; but even then the great-grandfather, Kau-ngaki (Kahu-ngaki in Maori), remained there and no doubt kept "the fire burning" on their ancestral lands. |archive-date=10 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210230328/http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-SmiHist-t1-body1-d5.html#n103 |url-status=live }}</ref> Kupe's wife [[Kūrāmarotini]] (in some versions, his daughter) was watching the horizon and called {{lang|mi|"He ao! He ao!"}} ('a cloud! a cloud!').<ref>{{cite web |author=Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal |title=First peoples in Māori tradition – Kupe |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/first-peoples-in-maori-tradition/page-6 |website=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date= |archive-date=21 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821031335/https://teara.govt.nz/en/first-peoples-in-maori-tradition/page-6 |url-status=live }}</ref> Other versions say the canoe was guided by a long white cloud in the course of the day and by a long bright cloud at night. On arrival, the sign of land to Kupe's crew was the long cloud hanging over it. The cloud caught Kupe's attention and he said "Surely is a point of land". Due to the cloud which greeted them, Kupe named the land ''Aotearoa''.<ref name="McLintock"/>

==Usage==
It is not known when Māori began incorporating the name into their [[oral lore]]. Beginning in 1845, [[George Grey]], [[Governor-General of New Zealand|Governor of New Zealand]], spent some years amassing information from Māori regarding their legends and histories. He translated it into English, and in 1855 published a book called ''Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Race''. In a reference to [[Māui (Māori mythology)|Māui]], the [[culture hero]], Grey's translation from the Māori reads as follows:

{{blockquote|Thus died this Maui we have spoken of; but before he died he had children, and sons were born to him; some of his descendants yet live in [[Hawaiki]], some in ''Aotearoa'' (or in these islands); the greater part of his descendants remained in Hawaiki, but a few of them came here to ''Aotearoa''.<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-GrePoly-c1-2.html
 |title        = Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Race
 |last         = Grey
 |first        = Sir George
 |publisher    = New Zealand Texts Collection, Victoria University of Wellington
 |access-date  = 27 April 2013
 |archive-date = 11 November 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111143446/http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-GrePoly-c1-2.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>}}

[[File:ElsdonBest and PercySmith 1908.jpg|thumb|left|[[Elsdon Best]] and [[Percy Smith (ethnologist)|Stephenson Percy Smith]] of the Polynesian Society, who did much to popularise the use of ''Aotearoa'' in Edwardian school books, pictured in 1908]]
The use of ''Aotearoa'' to refer to the whole country is a post-colonial custom.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Holmes |first1=Paul |title=Michael King talks moa, flightless geese and the name Aotearoa – 1ZB Interview with Michael King – co-recipient of the inaugural Prime Minister's Awards for literary achievement. |url=https://www.thebigidea.nz/node/167772 |website=The Big Idea |access-date=14 March 2021 |date=10 October 2003 |quote=The other thing you talk about in your book is the word, the name "Aotearoa" and you say that in fact pre European, Maori did not actually call this place Aotearoa?  King: There were some Maori tribes that had a tradition that the North Island had been called Aotea and Aotearoa but the two writers who popularised the Aotearoa name and the story of Kupe associated with it, were a man called Stephenson Percy-Smith and William Pember-Reeves and in a school journal in particular, it went into every school in the country in the early 20th century, they used Percy-Smith's material and the story about Kupe and Aotearoa said this is a wonderful name and its a wonderful story, wouldn't it be great if everybody called New Zealand, Aotearoa. And the result was that Maori children went to school.. We had a pretty extensive education system both in general schools and in the native school system.. And they learnt at school that the Maori name of New Zealand was Aotearoa and that's how it became the Maori name. |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313175340/https://www.thebigidea.nz/node/167772 |url-status=live }}</ref> Before the period of contact with Europeans, Māori did not have a commonly used name for the entire [[List of islands of New Zealand|New Zealand archipelago]]. As late as the 1890s the name was used in reference to the North Island (''Te Ika-a-Māui'') only; an example of this usage appeared in the first issue of ''Huia Tangata Kotahi'', a Māori-language newspaper published on 8 February 1893. It contained the dedication on the front page, "''He perehi tenei mo nga iwi Maori, katoa, o Aotearoa, mete Waipounamu''",<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-00---off-0niupepa--00-0----0-10-0---0---0direct-10---4-------0-1lpa--11-mi-50---20-about-Huia+tangata+kotahi+aotearoa--00-0-41-00-0--4----0-0-11-00-0utfZz-8-00&cl=&d=34_1_1.1&gg=full| title= Huia Tangata Kotahi| publisher= New Zealand Digital Library, University of Waikato.| access-date= 7 April 2019| archive-date= 7 November 2017| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171107110825/http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-00---off-0niupepa--00-0----0-10-0---0---0direct-10---4-------0-1lpa--11-mi-50---20-about-Huia+tangata+kotahi+aotearoa--00-0-41-00-0--4----0-0-11-00-0utfZz-8-00&cl=&d=34_1_1.1&gg=full| url-status= live}}</ref> meaning "This is a publication for the Māori tribes of the North Island and the South Island".

After the adoption of the name New Zealand ([[anglicisation|anglicised]] from ''Nova Zeelandia''<ref name="NZ name">{{cite encyclopedia|first=Malcolm|last=McKinnon|author-link=Malcolm McKinnon|title=Place names – Naming the country and the main islands|encyclopedia=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand|date=November 2009|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/place-names/1|access-date=24 January 2011|archive-date=13 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613111940/https://teara.govt.nz/en/place-names/page-1|url-status=live}}</ref>) by Europeans, one name used by Māori to denote the country as a whole was ''Niu Tireni'',<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Robinson |editor-first1=Roger |editor-last2=Nelson |editor-first2=Wattie |chapter=Niu Tirani |title=The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature |year=1998 |publication-date=1998 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195583489.001.0001 |isbn=9780195583489}}</ref>{{refn|name=spelling|group=note|The spelling varies, for example, the variant ''Nu Tirani'' appears in the Māori version of the [[Declaration of Independence of New Zealand]] and the [[Treaty of Waitangi]]. Whatever the spelling, this name is now rarely used as Māori no longer favour the use of transliterations from English.}} a [[respelling]] of New Zealand derived from an approximate pronunciation.

The expanded meaning of ''Aotearoa'' among ''[[Pākehā]]'' became commonplace in the late 19th century. ''Aotearoa'' was used for the name of New Zealand in the 1878 translation of "[[God Defend New Zealand]]", by Judge [[Thomas Henry Smith (poet)|Thomas Henry Smith]] of the Native Land Court<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.mch.govt.nz/nz-identity-heritage/national-anthems/history-god-defend-new-zealand| title= History of God Defend New Zealand| publisher= Ministry for Culture and Heritage.| date= 27 October 2011| access-date= 26 September 2012| archive-date= 20 October 2012| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121020101938/http://www.mch.govt.nz/nz-identity-heritage/national-anthems/history-god-defend-new-zealand| url-status= live}}</ref>—this translation is widely used today when the anthem is sung in Māori.<ref name="anthem"/> Additionally, [[William Pember Reeves]] used ''Aotearoa'' to mean New Zealand in his history of the country published in 1898, ''The Long White Cloud Ao-tea-roa.{{refn|''The long White Cloud Ao-tea-roa'' can be viewed online at [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12411 Project Gutenberg].|name=reeves|group=note}}''

[[File:National Library of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand (49).JPG|210px|thumb|A bilingual sign outside the [[National Library of New Zealand]] uses ''Aotearoa'' alongside ''New Zealand''.]]
Since the late 20th century ''Aotearoa'' is becoming widespread also in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the [[National Library of New Zealand|National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa]].<ref>{{cite web |title=National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) Act 2003 |url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2003/0019/latest/DLM191962.html |website=legislation.govt.n |publisher=Parliamentary Counsel Office |access-date=5 December 2018 |date=5 May 2003 |archive-date=5 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205003740/http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2003/0019/latest/DLM191962.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The New Zealand province of the [[Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia|Anglican Church]] is divided into three cultural streams or {{lang|mi|[[tikanga]]}} (Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia), with the ''Aotearoa'' tikanga covering Māori-speaking congregations within New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web |title=Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia |url=https://www.oikoumene.org/member-churches/anglican-church-in-aotearoa-new-zealand-and-polynesia |website=World Council of Churches |date=January 1948 |access-date=9 June 2022 |language=en |archive-date=20 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820052631/https://www.oikoumene.org/member-churches/anglican-church-in-aotearoa-new-zealand-and-polynesia |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2015, to celebrate [[Te Wiki o te Reo Māori]] (Māori Language Week), the [[New Zealand national cricket team|Black Caps]] (the New Zealand national cricket team) played under the name ''Aotearoa'' for their first match [[New Zealand cricket team in Zimbabwe in 2015|against Zimbabwe]].<ref name="Aotearoa">{{cite web |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-new-zealand-2015/content/story/903551.html |title=New Zealand to play as Aotearoa |access-date=27 July 2015 |work=ESPNCricinfo |archive-date=30 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150730011806/http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-new-zealand-2015/content/story/903551.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Music===
* ''[[Aotearoa (overture)|Aotearoa]]'' is an overture composed in 1940 by [[Douglas Lilburn]].<ref name="sounz">{{cite web|title=Overture: Aotearoa|url=http://sounz.org.nz/works/show/12102|website=SOUNZ|access-date=13 October 2016|archive-date=28 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428140358/http://sounz.org.nz/works/show/12102|url-status=live}}</ref> 
* ''The Land of the Long White Cloud'', subtitled ''Aotearoa'', is a piece composed in 1979 by [[Philip Sparke]] for [[Brass band (British style)|brass band]] or [[wind band]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Land of the Long White Cloud |url=http://c-alanpublications.com/land-of-the-long-white-cloud/ |publisher=C. Alan Publications |access-date=19 July 2020 |language=en |archive-date=20 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720022945/http://c-alanpublications.com/land-of-the-long-white-cloud/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* "Aotearoa" is the Māori version of "[[God Defend New Zealand]]", a national anthem of New Zealand.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Swarbrick|first1=Nancy|title=National anthems – New Zealand's anthems|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/national-anthems/print|encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]]|date=June 2012|access-date=18 October 2017|archive-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018133906/https://teara.govt.nz/en/national-anthems/print|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Split Enz]] refers to Aotearoa in its 1982 song "[[Six Months in a Leaky Boat]]".

== Petitions ==
A petition initiated by Danny Tahau Jobe for a [[referendums in New Zealand|referendum]] on whether the official name of New Zealand should change to include ''Aotearoa'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/110309909/petition-for-referendum-to-include-aotearoa-in-official-name-of-new-zealand|title=Petition for referendum to include Aotearoa in official name of New Zealand|work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]]|date=1 February 2019|access-date=5 May 2019|archive-date=5 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505042859/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/110309909/petition-for-referendum-to-include-aotearoa-in-official-name-of-new-zealand|url-status=live}}</ref> received 6,310 signatures.<ref name="petition">{{cite web|url=https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/petitions/document/PET_78333/petition-of-danny-tahau-jobe-referendum-to-include-aotearoa|title=Petition of Danny Tahau Jobe – Referendum to include Aotearoa in the official name of New Zealand|publisher=[[New Zealand Parliament]]|date=23 May 2018|access-date=20 April 2019|archive-date=19 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419220601/https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/petitions/document/PET_78333/petition-of-danny-tahau-jobe-referendum-to-include-aotearoa|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2021, [[Te Pāti Māori]] started a petition to change the name of New Zealand to Aotearoa.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/14/new-zealand-maori-party-launches-petition-to-change-countrys-name-to-aotearoa|title=New Zealand Māori party launches petition to change country's name to Aotearoa|work=The Guardian|date=14 Sep 2021|access-date=15 Sep 2021|archive-date=15 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210915013106/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/14/new-zealand-maori-party-launches-petition-to-change-countrys-name-to-aotearoa|url-status=live}}</ref> The petition reached 50,000 signatures in two days.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/451708/numbers-top-50-000-for-petition-on-name-change-to-aotearoa|title=Numbers top 50,000 for petition on name change to Aotearoa|date=17 September 2021|work=[[Radio New Zealand]]|access-date=17 September 2021|archive-date=17 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917043626/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/451708/numbers-top-50-000-for-petition-on-name-change-to-aotearoa|url-status=live}}</ref>

By early June 2022, Te Pāti Māori's petition to rename New Zealand "Aotearoa" had received over 70,000 signatures. On 2 June, the petition was submitted before Parliament's committee. Party co-leader [[Rawiri Waititi]] argued that the proposed name change would recognise New Zealand's indigenous heritage and strengthen its identity as a Pacific country. Waititi objected to the idea of a referendum, claiming it would entrench the "[[tyranny of the majority]]". National Party leader [[Christopher Luxon]] stated that renaming New Zealand was a constitutional issue that would require a referendum. Māori Development Minister [[Willie Jackson (politician)|Willie Jackson]] expressed concerns that a potential name change would create branding issues for the country's tourism industry.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McConnell |first1=Glenn |title=Māori Party petition to officially call the country Aotearoa gets 70,000 supporters |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/128845298/mori-party-petition-to-officially-call-the-country-aotearoa-gets-70000-supporters |access-date=3 June 2022 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=2 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604110100/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/128845298/mori-party-petition-to-officially-call-the-country-aotearoa-gets-70000-supporters|archive-date=4 June 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Opinion polling ==
A ''[[1News]]''–Colmar Brunton poll in September 2021 found that 58% of respondents wanted to keep the name "New Zealand", 9% wanted to change the name to "Aotearoa", and 31% wanted the joint name of "Aotearoa New Zealand".<ref>{{Cite news|title=1News poll reveals what Kiwis think about changing NZ's name to Aotearoa|work=TVNZ|url=https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/1news-poll-reveals-kiwis-think-changing-nzs-name-aotearoa|access-date=2021-09-28|archive-date=2021-09-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928030354/https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/1news-poll-reveals-kiwis-think-changing-nzs-name-aotearoa|url-status=live}}</ref> A January 2023 ''[[Newshub]]''-Reid Research poll showed a slight increase in support for the name "Aotearoa", with 36.2% wanting 'Aotearoa New Zealand", 9.6% "Aotearoa" only, and 52% wanting to keep "New Zealand" only.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lynch |first1=Jenna |title=Newshub-Reid Research poll: What should country's official name be? |url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/02/newshub-reid-research-poll-what-should-country-s-official-name-be.html |access-date=8 February 2023 |agency=[[Newshub]] |date=5 February 2023 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207223429/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/02/newshub-reid-research-poll-what-should-country-s-official-name-be.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|New Zealand}}
* [[List of New Zealand place name etymologies]]
* [[New Zealand place names]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{reflist|40em|group=note|liststyle=lower-alpha}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{wiktionary inline|Aotearoa}}

{{Māori}}
{{New Zealand topics}}

[[Category:Country name etymology]]
[[Category:Māori words and phrases]]
[[Category:Culture of New Zealand]]