# If Scotland becomes independent, what will the UK be called? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 13, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284 "2014-02-13T22:37:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/1 "2014-02-13T22:37:03Z")
Should it come to pass that voters in Scotland vote to become independent, would the UK still be the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland? Would it be the United Kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland? Thanks, Rob ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/2 "2014-02-13T22:57:38Z")
The UK will probably become **The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Except For Those Drunk, Red-Headed, Caber-Flipping, Kilt-Wearing Bagpipe Suckers.** ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/3 "2014-02-13T22:59:10Z")
How about “the Untied Kingdom” ? ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/4 "2014-02-13T23:16:21Z")
I don’t think there’s any real talk of changing it. As far as I can tell, in general those outside Scotland want Scottish independence to affect the rest of the UK as little as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/5 "2014-02-13T23:28:33Z")
The United Kingdom, or for extra precision, the Rump UK ---
**Author:** ![Shearer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/57b2e6/32.png) [@Shearer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shearer)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/6 "2014-02-13T23:56:38Z")
England. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/7 "2014-02-14T00:05:44Z")
Next question - will they change the flag to become a “Disunion Jack”? (Logically, it would become a red “asterisk” on a white background. The blue field and the diagonal white diagonal are the cross of St. Andrew.) ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/8 "2014-02-14T00:12:16Z")
Hmm. I thought I was being flippant, but of course, people have been discussing it, and some suggestions reflect my first thought - incorporate Wales into the flag while you’re at it: > **[What would the union jack look like if Scotland votes for independence?](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25205017)** > > An association of flag experts, or vexillologists, has created a set of designs it hopes will encourage a discussion, writes Sam Judah. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/9 "2014-02-14T00:13:04Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > The UK will probably become **The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Except For Those Drunk, Red-Headed, Caber-Flipping, Kilt-Wearing Bagpipe Suckers.** You forgot the ‘rubbish at goalkeeping’ bit… [Frank Haffey](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7DI-7k0Z7U). [Stuart Kennedy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRr6utja1Hc) ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/10 "2014-02-14T00:19:22Z")
I think they would keep the Union Jack. You could perhaps handwave away the blue with the observation that England football and cricket teams traditionally wear navy blue. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/11 "2014-02-14T00:29:36Z")
The UK could host a Peaches & Herb reunion, ushering in a Reunited Kingdom or R.K. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/12 "2014-02-14T00:45:34Z")
All I want to know is if they’d copy the Romans and put up a new wall up on the border. They could call it Cameron’s Wall. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/13 "2014-02-14T04:50:19Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > All I want to know is if they’d copy the Romans and put up a new wall up on the border. They could call it Cameron’s Wall. Whether border checks will arise is a pretty pertinent question. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/14 "2014-02-14T05:11:15Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Whether border checks will arise is a pretty pertinent question. The UK’s only land border is with the Republic of Ireland. There are no border checks of any kind for travellers going in either direction. Assuming that an independent Scotland were in the EU, I can’t see border checks at the UK/Scottish border. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/15 "2014-02-14T05:22:35Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > I think they would keep the Union Jack. You could perhaps handwave away the blue with the observation that England football and cricket teams traditionally wear navy blue. The English soccer, rugby union and rugby league teams all wear white, with red (soccer) and maroon (rugby union) as alternate strips. The English cricket team wears whites for test cricket (as do all test cricket teams) and red in one-day and T20 cricket (where white is forbidden to all teams). Navy blue is in fact the sporting colour most commonly associated with Scotland, worn by the Scottish soccer, rugby union, rugby league, shinty and cricket (one-day and T20) teams. The strongest locgic for retaining blue in the flag of the rump UK is simply that it makes a good contrast with both red and white, and so improves visibility and flag identification. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/16 "2014-02-14T05:27:45Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > The UK’s only land border is with the Republic of Ireland. There are no border checks of any kind for travellers going in either direction. Assuming that an independent Scotland were in the EU, I can’t see border checks at the UK/Scottish border. If an independent Scotland was in the EU, it would be part of the Schengen zone from which the UK and Ireland have an opt out which is not granted to new members. So yes there is a possibility that border checks are needed. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/17 "2014-02-14T05:28:02Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > The UK’s only land border is with the Republic of Ireland. There are no border checks of any kind for travellers going in either direction. Assuming that an independent Scotland were in the EU, I can’t see border checks at the UK/Scottish border. Isn’t Scotland being in the EU the potential problem? If Scotland doesn’t get to keep the UK’s opt-out, then it’s eventually supposed to join the Schengen Area. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/18 "2014-02-14T05:34:24Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Isn’t Scotland being in the EU the potential problem? If Scotland doesn’t get to keep the UK’s opt-out, then it’s eventually supposed to join the Schengen Area. I think Scotland would be in a fairly strong position to negotiate continuation of EU membership on the terms currently applicable to it as a constituent country of the UK. And in this regard in particular, doing so would seem to make eminent sense. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/19 "2014-02-14T05:49:11Z")
Not-so-United Kingdom. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284/20 "2014-02-14T06:16:41Z")
“The union of the former UK countries of England and Wales and area called Northern Ireland for which no satisfactory designation exists”. Or “UFUKCEWANI” for short. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-scotland-becomes-independent-what-will-the-uk-be-called/681284.md?page=2)