Place Names in the Northern Territory

Place Naming in the Northern Territory

Within the Northern Territory, the allocation of an official name to a place (be it a locality, suburb, town, community, road, residential park, cemetery, building or natural feature) is the responsibility of the Northern Territory Government under the Place Names Act which allows the Place Names Committee for the Northern Territory to make recommendations to the Minister for Planning and Lands for the naming of a place.

The Act requires the Place Names Committee to add approved place names to the Place Names Register. You can Search the Register for place names in the Northern Territory by name or part name and / or place names type / category.

The Place Names Committee, prior to making a recommendation, seeks the views of the relevant local government Authority and/or the Aboriginal Land Council and where the place is on private land the owner of that land.

The Committee abides by the Committee for Geographical Names of Australia's (CGNA) Toponymic Guidelines and has devised its own policies, procedures, rules and guidelines for when considering a name for a place.

The Committee maintains a list of people (Reserve List) it considers worthy of naming a place after. The Committee welcomes submissions from the public. Submissions can be forwarded to the Committee via Email, Fax, Mail or by completing and submitting a submission form. See also contact details.

The Committee maintains a database of all named places, whether they have been officially named or not. You are invited to search the Register

The Committee does not maintain or hold comprehensive biographical data on persons commemorated in the name of a place.

Further information and material on a name may be found at or in the resources listed.

Links to the Australian Gazetteer and Gazetteers of other nations, including data on UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names and the UN Conference on the Standardisation of Geographical Names.