Lithuanian lawmakers propose renaming Suvalkija region to Sūduva

A legislative proposal in Lithuania aims to officially rename the ethnographic region of Suvalkija to Sūduva, a move championed by 19 members of parliament. The initiative seeks to replace the current dual designation, 'Suvalkija (Sūduva),' enshrined in the Law on the Fundamentals of State Protection of Ethnic Culture, with a single, historically authentic name.

According to the bill's initiators, "Sūduva" is a name of Lithuanian origin and significantly older than "Suvalkija." They argue that the latter name is of later, administrative origin, linked to the 19th-century Suwałki Governorate, and does not accurately represent the region's ethnic identity or Baltic heritage. "Historically, the name Sūduva is Lithuanian and much older than the name Suvalkija," stated MP Juozas Olekas, a key proponent of the change. "I believe we should strengthen and bring back into everyday use those regional names that originated from Lithuania's history, not those established during the Tsarist Russian era."

The explanatory note accompanying the proposed amendments emphasizes that "Sūduva" is the historically authentic name reflecting the legacy of the Baltic tribes. This historical significance has been previously acknowledged by the Lithuanian Seimas itself. In a 2021 resolution designating 2022 as the Year of Sūduva, the parliament noted the name's first mention in written sources by Claudius Ptolemy around 150 AD and its permanent incorporation into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania through the 1422 Treaty of Melno.

The proposal is supported by the Sūduva regional ethnic culture council, which in 2025 resolved to exclusively use the name Sūduva for the region and refer to its inhabitants as "sūduviai." Currently, the law lists Sūduva alongside other ethnographic regions: Aukštaitija, Dzūkija (Dainava), Žemaitija, and Mažoji Lietuva.

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Historically, the name Sūduva is Lithuanian and much older than the name Suvalkija. I believe we should strengthen and bring back into everyday use those regional names that originated from Lithuania's history, not those established during the Tsarist Russian era.