GOM - the Global Overlay Mapping System

Spelling Conventions

A wide variety of sources were used to check the correct spelling of each country or regional name, but in some cases, there are almost as many ways to spell a name as there are sources that list them ! English conventional forms are mainly used, though there are a number of examples where no such form exists. Transliteration from Asian, Slavic, and other non-Roman forms causes much controversy. Generally, the Pinyin system has been used for Chinese names, and the Hepburn method for Japanese. Romanization of the Arabic alphabet is by transliteration, with the major French and English sources taken into consideration. The International Organisation for Standardisation is the method adopted for most countries using the Cyrillic alphabet, though some leeway is given with national languages, especially in the Baltic Region.

Name Changes

Take a look at any atlas of even a few years vintage, and you will quickly see how the names of cities, regions, and even countries themselves change to a smaller or greater extent. The GEOnet Names Server (GNS) provides access to the National Imagery and Mapping Agency's database of foreign geographic feature names. The database is the official repository of foreign place-name decisions approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Out of the 5.37 million names in the database, approximately 20,000 are updated monthly. It is thus easy to realise that no set of maps can be completely up to date, and the Global Overlay Mapping System is no different. However, unlike a printed map or atlas, it is much easier to make sure that overlays have the most recent information, and as changes filter through, new overlays will be made available. Click Here to visit the Updates Page.