Bangkok: The history and meaning behind Thailand's capital name

The name ‘Bangkok’ is not used by local Thai residents in their native language. Instead, locals refer to the capital as ‘Krung Thep’, meaning ‘City of Angels’, or more formally as ‘Krung Thep Maha Nakhon’ in official administrative documents and news broadcasts.

Historically, ‘Bangkok’ originated from an 18th-century fishing village located along the Chao Phraya River. In ancient Thai, ‘Bang’ refers to a riverside village, while ‘Makok’ is a type of wild plum. The name was adopted by Western merchants for international trade and mapping. When King Rama I established the city as the capital in 1782, a new royal name was designated, though the international community continued using ‘Bangkok’ for convenience.

In February 2022, reports circulated regarding a decision to officially change the capital's name. However, the Royal Council of Thailand clarified that the proposal was merely a punctuation adjustment in official Latin character guidelines. The change involved moving from using a semicolon to using parentheses to clarify that ‘Krung Thep Maha Nakhon’ is the official name while ‘Bangkok’ remains the common international designation.