New York was called New Amsterdam under Dutch rule, then New York after the English takeover in 1664, with other local names used by Native peoples and settlers.
You’ve probably heard “New Amsterdam,” and you’re not wrong to pause on it. New York’s name story is a chain of handoffs: Native place-names that describe land and water, Dutch names tied to trade and maps, and English names tied to power and titles. If you want a clean answer you can repeat with confidence, start with this: New Amsterdam is the name most people mean when they ask about New York’s earlier name.
Still, “New York” has never meant just one thing. Sometimes it meant a town at the tip of Manhattan. Sometimes it meant a colony. Sometimes it meant a city, then a state. Names shifted as control shifted, and local names often stuck around even after official ones changed.
| Name Used | Who Used It | What It Referred To |
|---|---|---|
| Manahatta (Manhattan) | Lenape and related Native speakers | The island now called Manhattan (name carried forward in altered form) |
| Lenapehoking | Lenape | Lenape homeland region (includes parts of today’s NYC area) |
| New Netherland | Dutch authorities and settlers | The wider Dutch colony in the Hudson Valley region |
| New Amsterdam | Dutch authorities and settlers | The town on Manhattan that served as the colony’s center |
| Fort Amsterdam | Dutch authorities | The fort at the south tip of Manhattan; a core landmark in records |
| New York | English authorities and settlers | The colony and its main town after 1664 |
| New York City | English authorities and later governments | The city at the mouth of the Hudson, as a distinct civic unit |
| New Orange | Dutch authorities (brief return) | The city name during a short Dutch retake in 1673–1674 |
What Was New York Called? Names By Era
When people type “what was new york called?” they often want a single old name. The most direct match is “New Amsterdam,” the Dutch name for the settlement on Manhattan that later became New York City. Yet the fuller story is easier to follow when you line names up by era and by what each name pointed to.
Native Place-Names Before European Control
Long before “New Amsterdam” or “New York” appeared on a European map, Native groups used place-names tied to daily life: water routes, fishing spots, soil, ridges, and islands. Many of those names were spoken across trade and travel, then heard, misspelled, and reshaped by newcomers.
“Manhattan” traces back to Native language roots often rendered as “Manahatta.” Spellings vary because English and Dutch writers tried to capture sounds that did not fit their spelling rules. That’s why older documents can look inconsistent, even when they point to the same place.
One practical takeaway: Native names were not “old labels” that vanished. Several stayed in altered form as neighborhood, river, and island names. That’s part of why New York’s map still carries words that don’t look Dutch or English.
From Trading Posts To A Dutch Town
In the early 1600s, Dutch traders moved into the region to build a fur trade network. Over time, the Dutch West India Company and colonial officials formalized control, created forts, and kept records that named places in a consistent way for administration.
The colony name you’ll see in many sources is “New Netherland.” Think of that as the umbrella name. Inside that umbrella was “New Amsterdam,” the settlement on Manhattan that grew around Fort Amsterdam and served as the colony’s center of government and trade.
If you want to cross-check the Dutch-to-English shift in a primary city record context, the New York City Department of Records notes that New Amsterdam was surrendered to the English on September 8, 1664 and renamed New York City in English rule-era records. You can read that in the department’s PDF guide to the collection: Guide to the New Amsterdam Records.
Why “New Amsterdam” Was The Name That Stuck In Memory
New Amsterdam is vivid. It sounds like a city. It also fits on souvenirs. “New Netherland” feels broader and less personal, even though it mattered just as much for maps and governance.
Also, “New Amsterdam” ties to a clear location: the town at the tip of Manhattan. When you hear stories about the wall that later became Wall Street, or the fort at the southern end of the island, you’re often in New Amsterdam territory.
The 1664 English Takeover And The Name “New York”
In 1664, English forces took control and renamed the colony and the town. “New York” honored the Duke of York, the title held by James, the brother of King Charles II. From that point, “New York” became the official name used in English administration.
This is the hinge moment most readers care about, because it answers the search question in plain terms: New Amsterdam became New York under English rule. That’s also why so many timelines choose 1664 as a clean marker on the name chart.
For a federal history site overview that connects New Netherland’s arc to the later British colony, the National Park Service has a concise background page here: The Rise and Fall of New Netherland.
A Short Detour: “New Orange”
If you’ve stumbled on “New Orange,” you’re looking at a brief twist. During a later war, the Dutch retook the city for a short span in 1673–1674 and renamed it New Orange. Control flipped back to the English after that, and “New York” returned as the lasting official name.
This matters for readers digging through older maps, family papers, or Dutch-language sources. A single ancestor record can use a name you’ve never seen in school, and it can still point to today’s New York City.
What New York Was Called In Maps, Records, And Daily Speech
Official names and everyday speech don’t always match. A government record might adopt a new name fast, while locals keep the older one for years. That gap shows up in spellings, too. Scribes wrote what they heard, and printers copied earlier spellings, even when pronunciation shifted.
How To Tell Which “New York” A Source Means
When you see “New York” in an old text, check what the document is doing. Is it setting laws? That often points to the colony. Is it describing streets, docks, a fort, or a town council? That points to the city.
Also check the date and the language. Dutch-language documents after 1664 can still use Dutch place-terms for a while, while English records flip to “New York” in official phrasing.
Common Mix-Ups That Trip People Up
- New Netherland vs. New Amsterdam: One is the colony region, the other is the town on Manhattan.
- New York vs. New York City: “New York” can mean the colony or the city, depending on context.
- Manhattan vs. New Amsterdam: Manhattan is the island; New Amsterdam is the settlement centered at the island’s southern end.
- Spelling drift: Older spellings can look “wrong” while still pointing to the right place.
Why The Name Changes Happened
Name changes were not branding exercises. They tracked control, law, and ownership. When a governing power took over, it needed records, taxes, rules, and land grants to match the new authority. A new name made that shift visible on paper.
That’s why the Dutch names cluster around company rule and Dutch administration, while the English names cluster around royal titles and English legal systems.
Where You’ll Still See The Old Names Today
Even with official names settled, older names stick around in street names, school names, sports teams, and local institutions. That doesn’t mean the city is “secretly” still called something else. It means memory and branding like short, punchy names.
| Old Name | Where You Might Spot It | What It Signals |
|---|---|---|
| New Amsterdam | Books, museums, plaques, business names | Dutch-era New York City |
| New Netherland | Academic writing, archives, map collections | The larger Dutch colony region |
| Fort Amsterdam | Historical timelines, record guides | The fortified core at Manhattan’s southern tip |
| Manahatta | Exhibits, educational media, some map projects | Native-root naming tied to Manhattan |
| New Orange | Niche history sources, Dutch retake references | Short Dutch return in 1673–1674 |
| New York (colony) | Colonial records, legal documents, land grants | English rule-era colony governance |
| New York City | City charters, municipal records, civic history | The city as a civic unit |
| Manhattan | Everyday speech, maps, borough references | The island/borough name that endured |
A Fast Way To Answer The Question In One Sentence
If someone asks you at dinner, “what was new york called?” and you want the clean reply, say: “It was called New Amsterdam when the Dutch ran it, then New York after the English took over in 1664.” If they want extra detail, add that “New Netherland” was the colony name, and “New Orange” appeared briefly during a short Dutch return.
Quick Checks When You’re Reading Old Documents
If you’re working through a scanned deed, a church register, or an old map caption, a few quick checks save time.
- Find the date: Pre-1664 sources often use Dutch naming; post-1664 English records usually switch fast.
- Watch the scope: Colony terms (New Netherland, New York colony) differ from town terms (New Amsterdam, New York City).
- Check nearby place-names: Mentions of forts, rivers, or outposts can pin down which “New York” is meant.
- Expect spelling drift: A name can look odd and still be correct for that printer or clerk.
Takeaway You Can Use Right Away
New York’s best-known earlier name is New Amsterdam. The Dutch called the broader colony New Netherland. The English renamed the place New York in 1664, and the city form “New York City” shows up in official use as civic structure developed. Keep those three in your pocket, and most maps, plaques, and textbook lines snap into place.