Invcity Editorial Desk
Bengaluru, Bangalore, or BLR? Why the city has so many names
One official name, one internationally familiar one, and an airport code that turned into shorthand — all pointing to the same city.
Search for information on Bengaluru and you'll find the same city answering to at least three names: Bengaluru on official signage, Bangalore in most international conversation, and BLR increasingly used as shorthand in business and travel contexts. All three point to one place.
The official change
Bangalore was officially renamed Bengaluru in November 2014, part of a broader Karnataka government effort to restore Kannada-language names for the state's cities — Bengaluru reflecting the city's Kannada pronunciation more closely than the anglicized "Bangalore" that had been in use since British-era administration.
Why "Bangalore" is still everywhere
Unlike some renamed Indian cities, Bangalore's international profile as a global technology hub was already well established before 2014 — "Bangalore" had become shorthand worldwide for India's software industry, referenced in business press, company filings, and casual English conversation for decades. That existing global recognition is a large part of why "Bangalore" persisted so strongly in English and international use even after the official name changed, in a way that outpaced the adoption curve seen in some other renamed cities.
Where BLR comes from
BLR is not a name for the city at all — it's the IATA airport code for Kempegowda International Airport, assigned the way every airport gets a three-letter code for logistics and booking systems, not conversation. What makes it worth including here is what happened after: as Bengaluru's tech and travel economy grew, "BLR" started showing up outside the airport context too — in company job postings, relocation conversations, and shorthand references to the city itself, alongside the more informal "Bluru" used in casual Kannada-inflected speech. It became an informal shorthand associated with the city, without ever being an official alternate name for it.
Three labels, one entity — and only two are actual names
Bengaluru and Bangalore are both genuine names for the same city: one official and Kannada-rooted, one the internationally familiar English form built up over decades of global tech-industry references. BLR sits in a different category — a functional code that turned into popular shorthand through sheer repetition, not through any renaming process. Whichever of the three shows up in a search or a conversation, it's the same city underneath.
Frequently asked
- Are Bangalore and Bengaluru the same city?
- Yes. Bengaluru is the official name, adopted in 2014 to reflect the Kannada pronunciation of the city's name. Bangalore is the older, still widely used English form — the same city, not a different one.
- What does BLR mean?
- BLR is Bengaluru's airport code (Kempegowda International Airport), not an official name for the city. It has become an informal shorthand for Bengaluru itself, especially in business, tech, and travel contexts.