Geographical names

There are over 4,000 official geographical place names in the Northwest Territories that appear on official government maps. To ensure that place names are made official and appear on maps, the Government of the Northwest Territories follows a process from the Geographical and Community Names Policy as well as the place names sections of modern land claims.

The Government of the Northwest Territories administers the process for changing, adopting, or restoring geographical place names in the Northwest Territories. Our mandate includes the naming of geographical features, such as rivers, lakes, hills, mountains, and communities, but it does not include the naming of public infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and buildings.

We represent the Northwest Territories on the Geographical Names Board of Canada, a national advisory and coordinating body for all of Canada’s geographical naming authorities. The board secretariat maintains the Canadian Geographical Names Database, which is the authoritative database for all official place names in Canada.

One of the main reasons for place name proposals in the Northwest Territories is to officially recognize traditional Indigenous names for geographical features and communities. Traditional place names are important to the language, culture, and history of Indigenous peoples.

As the original occupants of the land known today as the Northwest Territories, Indigenous peoples named the geographical features around them. As Europeans settled in the Northwest Territories, they introduced place names that reflected their own culture and history. Most official names in the Northwest Territories were given by English or French-speaking travelers, missionaries, or government officials, even though the local Indigenous peoples had already named the features in their own languages.

The Geographical and Community Names Policy promotes the official recognition and preservation of traditional Indigenous names for geographical features and communities.

Another common reason for place name proposals is to commemorate or honour a person or event associated with a specific place. When considering a proposal for a commemorative name, we apply the following guiding principles for commemorative naming:

• A proposed name will only be considered for persons posthumously (after the person has passed away); a minimum of five years must elapse from the date of death before a commemorative name will be considered. For events, at least 25 years must have elapsed since the occurrence of the event.
• A commemorative name will only be considered for subjects with a strong association with the area or geographical feature, or of high significance to the cultural legacy or development of the area or territory.
• A proposed name must be supported by local communities.
• A commemorative name will not be used to memorialize victims or mark the locations of accidents or tragedies.
• A commemorative name will not be considered for adoption if a well-established name already exists for the geographical feature, including official or unofficial traditional names for the feature.
• Ownership of land does not confer the right or entitlement to apply a commemorative name to a geographical feature. The use of commemorative names in publications, or in landscape dedications or markers, is no assurance that they will be adopted into official geographical names records.