Most sovereign states have alternative names.
Some countries have also undergone name changes for political or other reasons.
Some have special names particular to poetic diction or other contexts.
This article attempts to give all known alternative names and initialisms for all nations, countries, and sovereign states, in English and any languages that are predominant or official, or historically significant to the country in question.
Countries are listed alphabetically by their description, the most common name or term that is politically neutral and unambiguous.