The petition calls for the country to be known only as ‘Cymru’ in all official use and argues for using the Welsh name only for place names.
Conservative Senedd member Andrew RT Davies, who represents the Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend, has criticised the campaign and warned that it risks excluding non-Welsh speakers.
Mr Davies said: “I was born and brought up in Wales and have lived here my whole life.
“The name Wales is an important part of our history, identity and culture.
“This attempt to scrap it must be resisted.”
The petition claims that ‘Wales’ means ‘foreigners’ and was imposed by outsiders.
It argues that adopting ‘Cymru’ would reflect the nation’s true identity.
At the time of writing, more than 2,000 people had signed the petition.
Mr Davies warned that removing the English-language name would leave many feeling excluded.
He pointed out that more than 80 per cent of people in Wales do not speak Welsh.
Supporters of the petition believe that a rebrand could boost Wales’ international presence.
They cited Turkey’s recent switch to ‘Türkiye’ and the use of Welsh names for national parks as positive examples.
The petition states: “Wales’ position on the international stage is minute in comparison to Scotland and Ireland, and with a new outward-looking government in power, we have an opportunity to change that.”
A previous petition calling for a similar change gathered more than 10,000 signatures but was ignored by the Labour government.
The creator of that original petition, Arfon Jones, said in the petition: “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.”
