How IPinfo stores location names for IP to Location data, addressing Endonyms, Exonyms, Unicode, and Romanization issues.
Retention of Location Names as Exonyms or Endonyms
- Anglicized/Exonym: Anglicized names or exonyms are versions of place names that have been adapted into English or another language, often making them more recognizable or easier to pronounce in that language. For example, “Germany” is the English exonym for “Deutschland,” and “Moscow” is the English exonym for “Москва” (Moskva).
- Endonym: An endonym is the name of a place in its original or native language, used by locals. Using endonyms would mean storing “Deutschland” instead of “Germany” or “Москва” instead of “Moscow.”
We use the Anglicized/Exonym name for locations.
Use of Unicode Characters in Storing Location Names vs. Romanization or Transliteration
We use Unicode characters. Example (using IPinfo’s IP to location data on Snowflake):
SELECT DISTINCT region
FROM IP_geolocation
WHERE country='SE'
AND regexp_instr(region,'[^[:ascii:]]') > 0
ORDER BY region
We provide the geonames_id in the IP to Location data product. Users can use geonames.org’s database to access the location name in various ways.