Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), Maharashtra: which name customers search for.
Our October 2026 search snapshot compares the city’s old and new names. What it shows, what it cannot measure, and where to use each name on your profile, website and listings.
The short answer
Use both names, each in its place. In our Google Trends snapshot for Maharashtra, “Aurangabad” had the higher average score. The new-name terms had higher scores in the last 4 weeks than in the first 4 weeks. Our autocomplete snapshot also returned more website-service suggestions under the old name. It cannot tell us how often people search.
So keep your address in one form, the same everywhere. In your Google profile’s description and on your website, write “Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), Maharashtra” once, where it reads naturally. Whenever you write “Aurangabad”, add “Maharashtra”: there’s an Aurangabad in Bihar too.
Where the change stands
- 24 February 2023: a state notification renamed the city. A separate notification of 15 September 2023 renamed the revenue division, district, sub-division, taluka and village. The Bombay High Court judgment reproduces both notifications.
- 2 August 2024: the Supreme Court dismissed the challenge, upholding the Bombay High Court.
- 15 October 2025: a notification renamed the railway station.
The official name is Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The figures below show how the search terms compared when we collected them.
What people type: our own data
We pulled Google Trends for Maharashtra on 3 October 2026. Trends shows how popular a search is compared with others, on a scale of 0 to 100. It doesn’t show the number of searches.
The five-year snapshot, two names (yearly averages):
| Year | “Aurangabad” | “Sambhajinagar” |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 70.7 | 0.1 |
| 2023 | 67.3 | 0.9 |
| 2024 | 59.0 | 2.0 |
| 2025 | 44.0 | 4.5 |
| 2026, to September | 35.8 | 8.5 |
“Sambhajinagar” here includes searches for “Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar”.
The past 12 months, 4 terms (on one scale):
| What people typed | 12-month average | First 4 weeks, from 28 September 2025 | Last 4 weeks, 6–27 September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aurangabad | 63 | 85.5 | 63.3 |
| sambhaji nagar (two words) | 20 | 13.8 | 22.8 |
| Sambhajinagar (one word) | 14 | 10.0 | 19.0 |
| The new name in Devanagari | 3 | 2.0 | 4.0 |
| Sum of these 3 new-name scores | 37 | 25.8 | 45.8 |
What this shows:
- The old-name score was higher at both ends. Dividing it by the sum of the three new-name scores gives about 3.3 to 1 in the first 4 weeks and 1.4 to 1 in the last 4 weeks. These are comparisons of scores, not a count of searches or a share of customers. They do not show steady growth each month.
- The two-word term had the highest average among the new-name terms we tested. Trends matches both words in any order. Searches for other localities called Sambhaji Nagar may be included. We do not know how much this affects the figure. The terms may also overlap, so their sum is not a count of distinct searches.
- The Devanagari new-name term had a lower score. We could not measure the old name in Devanagari: Trends rate-limited that request on the day. This comparison does not measure all Marathi searches.
What Google suggests as people type (google.com, India, 3 October 2026):
| Start typing | Google suggests | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| website developer in aurangabad | 7 suggestions covering developer, designer, company, agency and jobs | More suggestions than for the new-name versions tested |
| website developer in sambhajinagar | No suggestions | No prediction returned in this snapshot |
| website developer in chhatrapati sambhajinagar | 1 suggestion using “chhatrapati sambhaji nagar” | The new-name version did return a suggestion |
| dentist in aurangabad | “dentist in aurangabad bihar”, first | The old name on its own isn’t enough: add Maharashtra |
| dentist in chhatrapati sambhajinagar | 5 suggestions, including “best” and “top” | New-name predictions also appeared for dentistry |
| coaching classes in chhatrapati sambhajinagar | 7 suggestions, several using “sambhaji nagar” | Both spellings appeared |
| sambhajinagar | “sambhajinagar old name”, first | The old name appeared in the predictions |
Suggestions are predictions, not search counts. Google says they depend on factors such as language, location, trends and past searches. No suggestion does not mean no demand.
Where to use each name
| Where | What to write | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Your Google profile’s business name | Your real business name, as used on your signboard and other materials | Do not add city keywords. A place name can stay if it is part of your real business name |
| Your Google profile’s address | Your full address with its PIN code, in one form you’ll use everywhere | Google asks for a precise, accurate address, and matching details help customers trust what they find |
| Your Google profile’s description | Both names once, naturally: “We serve CIDCO in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), Maharashtra.” | It reads right to a customer who knows either name. Up to 750 characters, no links. Focus on the business, not promotions or prices |
| Your website’s page title and contact page | “Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), Maharashtra”, once | Helps a reader place your business |
| Your website’s other pages | Whichever name reads naturally, “Sambhaji Nagar” included | Write for people, not for search engines |
| Justdial, IndiaMART, Practo and the rest | The same business name, address and phone as on Google | One business, one set of details |
| Marathi text | The city’s name as you’d write it in Marathi | Your Marathi customers read it that way |
Mistakes to avoid
- Adding both names to your business name. Keep the real name. Extra city keywords can break Google’s guidelines and lead to suspension.
- A block of city names at the foot of your website. Google lists blocks of city and region names as an example of keyword stuffing.
- A separate page for each name, or for each area, saying the same thing. Google lists pages for different regions or cities that funnel users to one page as an example of doorway abuse.
- “Aurangabad” on its own. Google’s suggestions for “dentist in aurangabad” start with Bihar.
- A different spelling in every listing: “Aurangabad” on one, “Ch. Sambhajinagar” on another, “Chh. Sambhaji Nagar” on a third. Pick one form of your address and use it everywhere.
- Switching your Google address back and forth. Google reviews edits to key details like the address. Decide once.
What we don’t know yet
- Whether Google treats both names as one place in every search. Google hasn’t said, and we haven’t tested it. Using both names naturally helps readers who know either one. It is not a promise of search visibility.
- How many people search, rather than which name they use. Trends gives relative scores, not total search counts. These snapshots cannot tell us how large the local market is.
- How often people type the old name in Devanagari. Trends couldn’t measure it on the day.
We’ll run these searches again every six months, and update this guide.
Last checked
5 October 2026. The tables were checked against our files recorded on 3 October 2026. The data was not collected again today. Google’s guidance and the dated reports below were re-read for this review.
Sources
- Our own Google Trends files (web search, Maharashtra):
google-trends-city-names-2026-10-03.csvandgoogle-trends-name-variants-2026-10-03.csv; suggestions (google.com, India):google-autocomplete-2026-10-03.json. Recorded on 3 October 2026 indocs/research/data/ - Google: Search tips for Trends (opens in a new tab), how Trends data is scaled (opens in a new tab), and how autocomplete predictions work (opens in a new tab)
- Google: Guidelines for representing your business (opens in a new tab) (names, addresses)
- Google: Edit your Business Profile (opens in a new tab) (the description)
- Google Search Central: Spam policies (opens in a new tab) (doorway abuse, keyword stuffing)
- Bombay High Court: Judgment reproducing the city and revenue-area notifications (opens in a new tab) (24 February and 15 September 2023)
- Bar & Bench, August 2024: Supreme Court rejects plea against the renaming (opens in a new tab)
- Morung Express, October 2025: Aurangabad railway station renamed (opens in a new tab)
Not sure how you show up under each name?
Yucti Studio’s free visibility check takes about 20 minutes. We look together, on your phone, at how customers find you today: 3 searches in your customers’ words, with both city names, on Google and in AI answers. You keep a one-page report with the three biggest fixes.
How we make these guides: we draft them with AI from the sources listed, check every fact against those sources, and a person approves each one before it goes live.