Cymru not Wales - Welsh public vote for nation name change

More than 10,000 signatures have now been received for a Senedd petition requesting the Welsh Government "abolish the name 'Wales' and make 'CYMRU' the only name for our country".

The petition, which was put forward by Arfon Jones, says: "Wales is a name imposed on Cymru and is essentially not a Welsh word at all.

"The world knows about Wales because of its English connection since 1282.

"Hardly anyone has heard of Cymru or realises that we have our own unique language and culture which is totally different from the other countries within the United Kingdom."

Would you like to see the name Wales scrapped and the nation referred to as just Cymru? (Image: Getty Images)

The petition was only posted last week and has already received the required number of signatures to go to the Petitions Committee for a debate.

You can see the full petition on the Senedd website.

Wales or Cymru? See what the Welsh public (our readers) said

With the petition proving popular we asked out readers what they thought the nation should be referred to - Wales or Cymru.

The majority agree with the petition and think the name Wales should be scrapped and replaced with Cymru.

Our poll showed 59% (2593 votes) of people think the Welsh Government should officially change the name Wales to Cymru.

While only 41% (1784 votes) think the nation should keep the name Wales.

People felt strongly either way, with only 19 people saying they were ok with either.

We even asked our Facebook followers to see what they thought.

One person commented: "It will always be Wales to me, as will Brecon Beacons and Snowdon/Snowdonia."

Another added: "As a small part of the world wales is only known by a few as wales, if it name changed nobody would know where or what it is."

A third person said: "I hate this jingoism. If you’re speaking Welsh, it’s already Cymru. If you’re speaking English, it’s Wales."