Gender and race representation in Johannesburg’s street renaming initiatives

Introduction

Beyond serving a functional role as navigational tools, placenames or toponyms also serve an important cultural function. Toponyms are a “living archive” (Ehrenreich-Risner 2020: 21) communicating powerful narratives about, inter alia, cultural heritage, history, and socio-political relations. Democratic South Africa inherited many placenames that reflected European personage, history, lore, and culture (Motlanthe 2008). These toponyms also told a patriarchal narrative informed by the assumption of masculine hegemony (Erlank 2017; Smith 1971). Indeed, pre-1994, many geographical features were named in honour of white and male representatives of the erstwhile minority government. They did not reflect names of black figures since black people were “assumed to lack a history worth celebrating or preserving” (Ndletyana 2012: 90). Post-1994, government has changed several place and street names in an attempt to decolonise and transform the urban landscape, commemorate anticolonial and anti-apartheid struggle figures, restore and reclaim indigenous heritage, and represent a post-apartheid society (Donaldson 2025; Dieterich et al 2024; Duminy 2014; Ndletyana 2012).

In June 2023, the GCRO mapped the gender and racial makeup of Pretoria/Tshwane’s renamed streets. We repeat this exercise here, this time focusing on Johannesburg using a partial name-changing database compiled by the authors based on information from Johannesburg officials.

Gender and race considerations in street renaming

Shortly after South Africa’s democratisation, parliament promulgated the South African Geographical Names Act 118 of 1998. This statute, coupled with support from the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN), made it possible to revise place-naming institutions and establish the South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) in 2000 (Ndletyana 2012). In the early 2000s, provincial and local geographical naming committees were also established, and place-naming policies were endorsed provincially and locally.

The SAGNC and sub-national naming committees make (re)naming recommendations either to the national Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture or to relevant political heads in provincial or local government. One of their critical tasks is renaming public places to honour “those who suffered and lost their lives to the achievement of a free and democratic South Africa” (Department of Arts and Culture 2006: 7). Such commemorative name-changing aligns with the 1996 Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendation that symbolic reparation, as opposed to monetary compensation, could reach and compensate countless apartheid victims (Swart 2008).

Some name-changing episodes had already occurred between 1994 and 2000 when the work of the SAGNC and sub-national committees commenced. Post-apartheid South Africa’s first street name-change took place on Heritage Day, the 24th of September 1996 in Braamfontein, Johannesburg (New Zealand Herald 2000). In honour of Enoch Mankayi Sontonga, Showground Avenue became Enoch Sontonga Avenue. A teacher and composer, Sontonga had in 1897 written the words and music of Nkosi Sikelel’ i-Afrika (God Bless Africa), a song which was banned pre-1994 (Balseiro 1997) but today forms part of the country’s national anthem. Since 2000, there has been a large number of name changes across South Africa. At last count, the SAGNC has renamed 1,532 places countrywide (UNGEGN 2024), up from the 1,393 reported in 2017 (Mkhize & Naidoo 2023). In 2024 alone, the SAGNC received 66 name-changing submissions for consideration (Libera 2024).

The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality’s Policy on the Naming of Streets and Public Places was approved in 2001. The policy was “seen as pragmatic, [and] got support from all parties - including vocal name-change process critics such as the Democratic Alliance and Freedom Front Plus'' (Shoba 2007: online). The policy provides for non-discriminatory naming, warning against names that could be discriminatory “from the point of view of race, religion, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or gender, colour, creed, political affiliation or other social factors” (City of Johannesburg 2017: 10). It discourages excessive renaming, due to costs for businesses and other stakeholders, and recommends that naming nameless geographical features should “take precedence and priority over the renaming of streets and other public facilities” (ibid.: 4). Notwithstanding this principle, the policy also provides for name changes that honour “exceptional people … as a way of acknowledging outstanding individuals for their contribution to the development of the city and the country” (ibid.: 8). Additionally, the policy stresses that when features like streets are renamed after individuals, “the prominence of the street or feature should be in proportion to the stature of the person” (ibid.: 9). In other words, higher political figures honoured with name-changes should have their names featured on the metropolitan municipality’s core/major streets (R3, interview, 2022).

The maps and Table 1 below illustrate the outcomes of this policy. They show that Johannesburg’s renaming project has substantially shifted representation toward black and female figures, while still recognising white and male anti-apartheid activists.

Gender representation in Johannesburg’s renamed streets

Table 1 and Figure 1 below show a striking shift in who is represented in 49 renamed streets in Johannesburg. Prior to the City’s name-changing initiatives, only 4% (2) honoured women, while 40% (20) honoured men and 55% (27) were not named after individuals. Post-renaming, 57% (28) of street names now recognise women, while 33% (16) honour men, and only 10% (5) remain unnamed after persons.

Figure 1: Gender of individuals commemorated in Johannesburg’s street names before and after renaming. For more detailed maps, click here.

This change highlights a significant increase in gender representation in Johannesburg's renamed streets, as women were rarely recognised in Johannesburg's toponymy prior to 1994. Smith (1971: 42) observed as far back as the 1970s that Johannesburg street names honouring women were not only scarce, but the origins of many female street names during colonialism and apartheid seemed to “have been lost in the mists of time”. Johannesburg’s place and street naming around this time was dictated by powerful white and male mining magnates, who whimsically named such features after female family members, friends and acquaintances (Smith 1971: 42). A number of authors have observed that oftentimes women “have been honoured only because they were wives or daughters of famous men” (Gnatiuk & Glybovets 2020: 50; see also Rusu 2022; Bigon & Zuvalinyenga 2021; Forrest 2018).

A turning point in gender representation vis-à-vis street renaming in Johannesburg came during the mayoral tenures of Cllr. Amos Masondo (from 2000 to 2011) and Cllr. Mpho Parks Tau (from 2011 to 2016). In 2003, the City proposed renaming 10 Newtown streets after male cultural figures. Following public objections, including a petition signed by 83 people, four female names – Miriam Makeba, Dolly Rathebe, Margaret Mcingana, and Noria Mabasa – were incorporated (Jenkins 2007). Additionally, Hans Strijdom Drive was renamed Malibongwe Drive (shortened from igama lamakhosikazi malibongwe, which translates to “let the name of women be praised”). This was to honour the many women who participated in the 1956 Women’s March (Erlank 2017). Under Mayor Mpho Parks Tau this momentum continued. In 2015, four streets in Johannesburg’s central business district and Newtown were renamed after four leaders of the 1956 Women’s March – Lilian Ngoyi, Rahima Moosa, Helen Joseph, and Sophie de Bruyn (Nyamwanza 2019; Taitz 2015).

Remarkably, Johannesburg’s street name-changing project has included female struggle figures not just on core streets, but also on lengthy arterials across the metropolitan municipality. In 2013, the 45-kilometre-long R24 was renamed to Albertina Sisulu Road, affecting 18 connected streets on the provincial road (Erlank 2017; Table 1). Another lengthy major arterial, William Nicol Drive (29.9 km), became Winnie Mandela Drive. Additionally, late in 2024, the City of Johannesburg tabled the proposal to rename Sandton Drive – a core road running past the Sandton City shopping mall and the US Consulate and stretching from Winnie Mandela Drive to Rivonia Road – after prominent Palestinian activist Leila Khaled (Mkhize & Ngcaweni 2025).

While all renaming has significantly advanced gender representation in Johannesburg’s street toponymy, the policy of matching (re)named streets’ size and scale with honorees’ standing in society (R4, interview, 2022), implemented in a way that has seen women’s names inscribed on core and long arterials, is a further major accomplishment. No longer restricting women’s names to minor streets, but emblazoning them on major arterials, has symbolically reinforced women’s pivotal role in the struggle.

Racial representation in Johannesburg’s renamed streets

Figure 2 below shows a clear racial transformation among Johannesburg’s 49 renamed streets – 39 honour black people; 5 commemorate white people; and 5 are not named after persons. This is a far cry from the pre-renaming racial composition where no streets were named after black people, 45% (22) were named after white persons, and 55% (27) were not named after persons (Table 1).

Figure 2: Race of individuals commemorated in Johannesburg’s street names before and after renaming. For more detailed maps, click here.

Initially, Johannesburg approached the process of renaming its streets with caution (Jenkins 2007) as, inter alia, the City faced a financial crisis following its declaration of bankruptcy in 1997 (R5, interview, 2021). In an interview, a former Johannesburg official said that in the late 1990s and early 2000s, fiscal governance stability was more critical than symbolism, and priority was thus given to renaming streets that had historically honoured figures generally deemed objectionable (R5, interview, 2021). This measured approach explains why arterials immortalising key apartheid leaders like DF Malan, Hans Strijdom, and Hendrik Verwoerd were replaced by the names Beyers Naudé, Malibongwe, and Bram Fischer, as part of the post-apartheid City’s early efforts to rethink its historical narrative. Meanwhile, public places like Vanderbijl Square, Library Gardens, and Sandton Square became Gandhi Square, Beyers Naudé Square, and Mandela Square, respectively (Jenkins 2007). Through this transformation, Johannesburg began to rectify its past injustices and embrace a more inclusive representation of its culturally diverse heritage.

It is noteworthy that in its street and public place renaming initiatives, the City has also paid homage to white anti-apartheid struggle figures. For instance, Minnaar Street was renamed in honour of white playwright Barney Simon, founder of Newtown’s Market Theatre, one of the first multiracial centres during apartheid (Jenkins 2007). Other white opponents of apartheid, including communist activists Joe Slovo and Bram Fischer, activist Helen Joseph, and cleric Beyers Naude, have also replaced Harrow Road, Hendrik Verwoerd, President (named after Paul Kruger), and DF Malan, respectively (R5, interview, 2021; Nyamwanza 2019; Jenkins 2007). Figure 2 depicts these changes, with Johannesburg's central arterials and core streets now predominantly reflecting black struggle figures while also acknowledging white anti-apartheid allies. This confirms the assertion by R4, a Johannesburg official, that the City’s goal has been, more than anything, to represent figures with a broadly anti-apartheid history, regardless of their race (interview, 2022).

Conclusion

This Map of the Month highlights the intersections of race and gender in memory politics in Johannesburg’s ongoing renaming practices. While racial redress is strongly evident (from zero black-honoured streets pre-1994 to 39 today), gender representation, once marginal, now also features prominently, though still unevenly. Recent renaming episodes, such as Winnie Mandela Drive, and proposals like Leila Khaled Drive, show a willingness to recognise women as full political actors, even when their legacies are contested. Erlank, writing in 2017, argued that Winnie Mandela was an “antiheroine” unlikely to be honoured with a major street name-change (2017:49); and Mkhize & Ngcaweni (2025) observe that there are controversies over the proposed renaming of Sandton Drive after Palestinian freedom fighter Leila Khaled. In this way, Johannesburg both reflects global debates about who is remembered, and challenges narratives portraying women as figures who played ancillary roles during the anti-apartheid and anticolonial struggle.

Notwithstanding the significant progress demonstrated in this Map of the Month, there still remains a substantial opportunity to amplify the voices of other marginalised groups, including sexual minorities (Forrest 2018), within the South African toponymic and linguistic landscape.

Table 1: Race and gender of Johannesburg’s streets before and after renaming

Note

This Map of the Month precedes a GCRO Research Report that uses six cases, drawn from Johannesburg and Pretoria/Tshwane, to explore the politics of name-changing in Gauteng post-1994. Two of the case studies are from Johannesburg. Data collection for Johannesburg’s street renaming initiative included interviews with 2 current officials (R3 and R4) and 1 former official (R5). This Map of the Month is based on available information, mainly Johannesburg Metropolitan Council resolutions shared with us by current City officials. We used this information to compile a database (Table 1) and extract spatial data pertaining to Johannesburg’s renamed streets from the OpenStreetMaps dataset. We determined that data from OpenStreetMaps contained the most up-to-date street names across Johannesburg.

However, the City of Johannesburg is not in possession of renaming resolutions predating 2007, and so there may have been other street name changes in the metro that are not reflected here. We kindly urge Johannesburg residents who are aware of renamed streets in the municipality, other than the ones tabled, discussed, and mapped in this exercise, to share them with us via email at info@gcro.ac.za. This will assist us in getting a clearer picture of how street renaming has unfolded.

References

Balseiro, I. (1997). Simunye? Searching for Nationhood in Post-apartheid South Africa. Communicaire, 16(1): 1-18.

City of Johannesburg (2017). Policy on the Naming of Streets and Public Places. Available from: https://joburg.org.za/documents_/Documents/Policy-on-Naming-of-Streets-and-Public-Places.pdf (accessed 03/08/2025).

Department of Arts and Culture (2006). Presentation on Public Hearings on Place Names. Available from: https://www.justice.gov.za/trc/ (accessed 20/10/2022).

Donaldson, R. (2025). ‘If you name a child and then change the name, it is someone else’: opinions of Graaff-Reinet residents on the proposed name change of their town to Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe. South African Geographical Journal, 107(2): 190-217.

Duminy, J. (2014). Street Renaming, Symbolic Capital and Resistance in Durban, South Africa. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 32(2): 310-328.

Ehrenreich-Risner, V. (2020). Reading Geographical Names as Text: Refiguring the “living archive” on postcolonial South Africa. The American Archivist, 83(1): 21-56.

Erlank, N. (2017). From Main Reef to Albertina Sisulu Road: The signposted heroine and the politics of memory. The Public Historian, 39(2): 31-50.

Forrest, C. (2018). What’s in a Name? A feminist reflection on street name changes in Durban. Agenda, 32(2): 53-61.

Gnatiuk, O. & Glybovets, V. (2020). ‘Herstory’ in History: A place of women in Ukrainian urban toponymy. Folia Geographica, 62(2): 48-70.

Jenkins, E. (2007). Falling into Place: the story of modern South African place names. Cape Town: David Philip Publishers.

Libera, M. (2024). ‘All the big name changes for South African cities, towns, and villages in 2024’. BusinessTech, 28 December. Available from: https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/804706/all-the-big-name-changes-for-south-african-cities-towns-and-villages-in-2024/ [accessed 25/07/2025].

Mkhize, T. & Ngcaweni, W. M. (2025). ‘Johannesburg’s Proposal to Change Sandton Drive to Leiula Khaled Drive Smacks of Retributive Renaming’. Daily Maverick, 07 January. Available from: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2025-01-07-johannesburgs-proposal-to-change-sandton-drive-to-leila-khaled-drive-smacks-of-retributive-renaming/ [accessed 29/09/2025].

Mkhize, T. & Naidoo, Y. (2023). Gender and race representation in street renaming in Pretoria/Tshwane. Map of the Month. Gauteng City-Region Observatory. June 2023. Available from: https://www.gcro.ac.za/outputs/map-of-the-month/detail/tshwanes-street-renaming-initiatives/ (accessed 30/08/2025).

Motlanthe, K. (2008). ‘Why name changes are necessary’. Politics Web, 30 November. Available from: https://www.politicsweb.co.za/news-and-analysis/why-name-changes-are-necessary--kgalema-motlanthe

Ndletyana, M. (2012). Changing Place Names in Post-apartheid South Africa: Accounting for the unevenness. Social Dynamics, 38(1): 87-103.

New Zealand Herald (2000). Change is Name of the Game for Victorious ANC. 9 December. Available from: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/change-is-name-of-the-game-for-victorious-anc/HBSEFSFRAVHPLYT4MXKVX3WP5Y/ (accessed 20/02/2023).

Nyamwanza, S. (2019). Assessing Heritage Preservation in Post-apartheid Urban Landscapes: insights from the street names of Newtown. Master’s thesis. Available at: University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Available at: https://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/93d69a5c-057c-492b-8a92-a12e279f71ff/c (accessed 01/09/2025).

Rusu, M. S. (2022). Gendering Urban Namescapes: The gender politics of street names in an Eastern European city. Names: A Journal of Onomastics, 70(2): 12-25.

Shoba, S. (2007). ‘South Africa: Deadline for renaming policy comments’. All Africa, 6 November. Available from: https://allafrica.com/stories/200711060542.html (accessed 20/04/2022).

Smith, A. H. (1971). Johannesburg Street Names: A dictionary of street, suburb and other place-names, compiled to the end of 1968. Wynberg, Cape: The Rustica Press (Pty.) Ltd.

Taitz, L. (2015). Street to Rooftop. In Z. Asmal & G. Trangos (eds.), Movement Johannesburg (pp. 142-167). Cape Town: The City.

UNGEGN [United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names] (2024). The Role of Geographical Names in Preserving Cultural Heritage. Available from: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/ungegn/pubs/Bulletin/UNGEGN_bulletin_no._68.pdf (accessed 28/09/2025).

Zuvalinyenga, N. & Bigon, L. (2021). Urban Pulse - Gendered Urban Toponyms in the global South: a time for de-colonization? Urban Geography, 42(2): 226-239.

Cartography/mapping: Dr Samkelisiwe Khanyile and Jennifer Murray.

Inputs, edits, and comments: Graeme Götz, Christian Hamann, and Dr Laven Naidoo

Suggested citation: Mkhize, T., Khanyile, S., Modiba, M. & Tsoriyo, W. (2025). Gender and Race Representation in Johannesburg’s Street Renaming Initiative. GCRO Map of the Month, September 2025. Gauteng City-Region Observatory, Johannesburg. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36634/BDNZ5973.