Belize changed its official name from British Honduras in 1973.
The territory was known as British Honduras during its period as a British colony on the Caribbean coast of Central America. Britain formally made it a Crown colony in 1862, although British settlement and administration in the area had developed earlier through logging activity and agreements with Spain.
On 1 June 1973, the territory was officially renamed Belize. The change reflected growing national identity and the movement toward self-government and independence. “Belize” was an older regional name already used for the territory and its principal river, and it replaced a colonial title that emphasized British rule.
The renaming did not immediately make Belize an independent country. Independence followed on 21 September 1981, after negotiations complicated by Guatemala’s territorial claim. The Bahamas, Jamaica, and Guyana also have British colonial histories, but none was renamed from British Honduras; that former name belongs specifically to Belize.