What is the world’s tallest mountain called?
One mountain has three widely recognized names — and the most familiar English name is the newest.
Chomolungma
"Goddess Mother of the World" — the Tibetan name used for centuries, long before Western surveyors reached the region. Used officially in China today (珠穆朗玛峰).
Sagarmatha
"Forehead of the Sky" — adopted as Nepal's official name in the 1960s, used in Nepali government and educational materials.
Everest
Assigned in 1865 by the Royal Geographical Society, at the suggestion of British Surveyor General Andrew Waugh, who named it after his predecessor Sir George Everest.
The mountain had names long before it was called Everest. Chomolungma and Sagarmatha reflect regional naming traditions that predate Western surveying by centuries; "Everest" entered Western cartography only in 1865, when the Royal Geographical Society adopted Surveyor General Andrew Waugh's proposal to name the peak after his predecessor, Sir George Everest — who never saw the mountain himself. Everest reportedly objected, arguing that local names should be used wherever they existed, and noted that his own name couldn't be written or pronounced correctly in Hindi or other local languages. The Society adopted it anyway, since no single local name had yet been standardized in Western records at the time.
The name most familiar to you isn't necessarily the oldest or the most local. When a place has more than one name, ask which came first and who chose the one you know.
What name do you know that replaced an older one you’ve never heard?
Explore how “Everest” became the Western name
The Royal Geographical Society adopted "Everest" in 1865 after Surveyor General Andrew Waugh proposed naming the peak for his predecessor, Sir George Everest. Everest himself reportedly objected and favored local names where they existed — an objection the Society didn't act on.
The split persists in official use today: Nepali and Chinese climbing permits and government documents use "Sagarmatha" and "Chomolungma" respectively, while "Everest" remains the name used in most English-language and international contexts — three names, roughly tracking three governments and language communities, the same three-way split you get with an island group claimed by three governments under three different names, minus the live territorial fight.
Related exhibits
Sources: Royal Geographical Society historical records; Nepal Department of Tourism; official Chinese geographic naming standards. Country shapes: Natural Earth 1:10m, stored locally in Hanten Shared Assets.