Naming places in Queensland

• Names should be simple, concise, and easy to recognise, spell and pronounce.
• Names should aim to be 50 characters or less.
  • Locality names should preferably be one word.
  • Feature names should include a generic term (e.g. 'river' or 'bay') to indicate the feature type.
• Numbers must be spelled out (e.g. 'Seventeen Seventy' not '1770').
• Names should not begin with 'The', unless there are strong historical reasons to include it.
• Abbreviations, initials or acronyms should not be used, except for 'St' for 'Saint'.
• Names must not be offensive, racist, derogatory or demeaning.
• Names must not be perceived as advertising or promoting commercial enterprises, such as housing developments.
• Naming a place in honour of a person can only occur after the person has passed away. The person commemorated should have contributed significantly to the area (ownership of land in itself is not sufficient). The spelling of the place name should follow the spelling of the personal name (e.g. 'MacRaes Flat' not 'McRaes Flat', if named after Mrs MacRae).
• Cardinal indicators and similar prefixes or suffixes (e.g. 'Upper', 'New', 'East', 'West') to be avoided. If these terms cannot be avoided, they should appear as suffixes instead of prefixes (e.g. 'Capalaba West' not 'West Capalaba').
• Locality (suburb) names are to be enduring and must not duplicate (or be similar in spelling or sound) to other locality names within the country (e.g. 'Wytmont', 'Whitmont').
• Feature names must not be similar in sound or spelling to any similar feature in the surrounding area - check for possible name duplication using the Gazetteer of Australia.
• Names that are words or acronyms protected by state or Commonwealth legislation need the appropriate Ministerial approval.  For example, words and acronyms in the Commonwealth Defence Regulation.
• Be mindful of intellectual property rights or copyright to the name.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander names

We consider the views of the relevant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and the wider community, for place name suggestions of unnamed features, or when changing the name of an existing feature.

Where names are derived from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander languages, it is accepted that a name which might appear to be complex will, over time, become familiar and easy to use within the community.