The name 'Nigeria' was coined in 1897 by British journalist Flora Shaw, who later married Lord Frederick Lugard, the architect of Nigerian amalgamation.

As the British expanded their influence in West Africa, consolidating their various trading and administrative interests, there arose a need for a geographical term to refer to the vast territory around the Niger River. Flora Shaw, writing for The Times newspaper in 1897, suggested the name 'Nigeria' to encompass the British protectorates on the Niger. She believed a shorter, more distinctive name was needed than the cumbersome 'Royal Niger Company Territories' or 'Niger Sudan'. Her suggestion, derived from 'Niger' (the great river that flows through the region) and 'Area', quickly gained acceptance within British colonial circles. This act of naming was a significant moment, marking the conceptual birth of the modern nation-state from a collection of disparate lands, imposing a singular identity where none had previously existed.