Key:old name
- Other languages
- Main article:
Names
The tag
old_name
=*
is used for
old / previous / historic
name(s) for an element.
The tag should typically be combined with the current
name
=*
.
For correct historic context of old names, the key may be suffixed with the
date namespace
. Example:
old_name:1921-1932
=*
(the name from 1921 until 1932)
If the start date of the name is the same as the start date of the feature/object, this can be clarified by instead using:
start_date
=
1921
(feature/object exists since 1921)
old_name:-1932
=*
(the name from the beginning until 1932)
The key can also be combined with the language suffix
old_name:
xx
=*
with
xx
being the
ISO code of the language
. See:
Multilingual names
.
Example:
old_name:en
=
Constantinople
When combined, the language code comes before the date range:
old_name:ru:1925-1961
=
Сталинград
or
old_name:uk:1918-1926
=
С?чеслав
It should be considered that historical objects of which there are no visible traces left do not belong into the OSM database.
was:name
=*
is also used, however in
this discussion
, most of the OSM community would prefer this key over the other.
Values
The general rules as for
name
=*
apply.
Date ranges
The
date ranges
should follow the
ISO 8601
date format.
When only ranges of years are specified (no month or other details), a single hyphen may be used, such as "old_name:1953-1990 = Ernst-Thalmann-Straße".
When full dates are specified or the simple notation is not sufficient, a double hyphen ("--") can separate the
from
and
to
date - e.g. "amenity:1965--1971-12-18 = school".
See also
Possible tagging mistakes