Nauru's government has tabled a constitutional amendment to revert the country to its traditional name.

President David Adeang has proposed to replace all references of Nauru around the world with its millennia-old, pre-colonial name of Naoero.

The initiative seeks to honour its Indigenous language and also carries the potential to enhance cultural recognition on the global stage, fostering a greater sense of pride and identity among Nauruan people.

In the Austronesian language of Nauran, the name of the country is officially listed as the Repubrikin Naoero.

The etymology of the tiny island's historic name Anáoero literally translates in its language to "I go to the beach", which reflects Naurans' close connection to the sea.

However, the name Nauru has been recognised internationally since the microstate first gained independence from an Australian-led United Nations trusteeship in 1968.

During earlier colonial times, including the three decades under German rule prior to 1914, Nauru was called Pleasant Island.

The latest proposed change, according to Mr Adeang, seeks to mirror the Pacific nation's own heritage, language and identity.

"Nauru emerged because Naoero could not be properly pronounced by foreign tongues, and was changed not by our choice, but for convenience," Mr Adeang said in a statement.

"Other nations have also changed their country names to better reflect and faithfully honour their cultures and languages, and bring their people together.

"Today, we have the opportunity to bring our name home."

The government cited Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Türkiye (Turkey), and closer to Nauru, the island group of Chuuk (Truk) in the Federated States of Micronesia, of returning to their etymological origins in recent years.

Under the presidential proposal, the change would be reflected with the renaming of its national air carrier, Nauru Airlines, and its ships to officially identify, both regionally and internationally including at the United Nations, across national records and symbols.

Any reference to the term Nauru in the amendment would be deemed to signify Naoero.

The amendment will be laid over for 90 days - as per Nauran law - before being returned to the order paper for parliamentary debate in May.

The national parliament requires a two-thirds majority of the country's 19 MPs to vote in favour of the motion for the amendment to go to a referendum.

The final decision on the country's name change will be in the hands of around 8,400 adult voters from the nearly 12,000 residents on the Micronesian island.