George Washington University Reveals New Moniker: the ‘Revolutionaries’

• The university received about 8,000 name suggestions and over 47,000 feedback points from the community.
• GW will start incorporating the new moniker into branding in the 2023-2024 academic year.
• GW dropped the original Colonials moniker after determining that the name no longer unified the university.

Almost a year after dropping the “Colonials” nickname, The George Washington University (GW) and mascot George revealed the school's new rallying name: the “Revolutionaries.”

GW revealed the new moniker last month after the board of trustees accepted the recommendation from university President Mark S. Wrighton and the Moniker Advisory Committee, which is made of students, faculty, and alums.

The private university in Washington, D.C., discontinued the Colonials name in June 2022 after deciding the term no longer served its purpose as a name that unifies. The board of trustees and Special Committee on the Colonials Moniker determined the nickname caused community division.

This is an exciting day for the George Washington University Revolutionaries, Wrighton said to GW Today. I am very grateful for the active engagement of our community throughout the development of the new moniker.

“This process was truly driven by our students, faculty, staff and alumni, and the result is a moniker that broadly reflects our community — and our distinguished and distinguishable GW spirit.

GW said it received about 8,000 suggestions that it narrowed to 10, then finally to four: Revolutionaries, Blue Fog, Ambassadors, and Sentinels. The university got over 47,000 points of feedback through community engagement activities, including surveys, video reveals, family weekends, and student-athlete town halls.

The university will infuse the new identity starting in the 2023-2024 academic year and brand the moniker on merchandise, athletic uniforms, and campus signs.