What is the former name of Cambodia?

The former name of Cambodia was "Kampuchea," a name the Khmer people of Southeast Asia called their nation for centuries, according to Asia Travel. The English name for the country, Cambodia, is an adaptation of "Kampuja."

When the Communist party, the Khmer Rouge, took over in the mid 1970s, officials began insisting the world use the name Kampuchea; however, the U.S. State Department and much of the rest of the Western world, continued to call the country Cambodia. After the influence of the Khmer Rouge began to wane in the late 1980s, the nation was officially renamed Cambodia, a change that reflected the peoples' desire to distance themselves from the murderous Khmer Rouge.