Washington, D.C. To Be Renamed 'New Columbia' — If It Ever Becomes a State

The 51st state in the union officially has a name, although the day when it becomes a reality may never come.

Washington, D.C., leaders have settled on "New Columbia" to be the new name of the District should it ever achieve statehood, according to a draft constitution posted by the D.C. government that was approved Tuesday evening.

Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, D.C. shadow Sen. Paul Strauss and others on the statehood commission also called for a 21-person state legislature in the draft constitution.

A 1982 campaign for statehood also chose New Columbia as the name for D.C.

Not everyone is happy with the choice. Other names that have been suggested include Anacostia and Potomac.

D.C. officials are continuing their decades-long fight for statehood. The city is a federal district under the direct jurisdiction of the United States Congress, and as a result residents of D.C. don't have a voting representative in Congress.

D.C. is unlikely to achieve statehood anytime soon. Because the District leans overwhelmingly Democratic, Republicans are vehemently opposed to giving D.C. statehood because not only would it mean a guaranteed Democratic U.S. representative, but also two Democratic U.S. Senators.

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