Premier League clubs who changed their names

Many clubs throughout the British Isles have started their existence with a different identity from what they are now known as. In fact, some of England’s most historic clubs had previous names. Here are just some of their stories:

Arsenal (Previously known as Dial Square Football Club / Royal Arsenal / Woolwich Arsenal)

Arsenal didn’t have just one previous name; they have gone by many different names in their history. The Gunners began life as Dial Square Football Club in 1886 by a group of workers who worked in munitions. The club’s original name came from a workshop of the Royal Arsenal.

However, the original name didn’t last, as in January 1887, the club changed its name to Royal Arsenal. Four years later, the north London giants became the country’s first professional club.

The club from the English capital underwent another identity change in 1893, as it became known as Woolwich Arsenal. Like so many clubs, they struggled financially and came close to going bust in 1910.

However, two local businessmen, Henry Norris and William Hall, saved the club from oblivion and moved it across the Thames to the London district of Highbury. In 1915, the club lost the prefix Woolwich and became known as Arsenal.

Everton (Previously known as St. Domingos F.C.)

Everton’s story started with the opening of the St. Domingo Methodist New Connexion Chapel in 1971 in Breakfield Road, Everton.

The church lent its name from its position at the corner of Breckfield Road North and St. Domingo Vale. The church’s name originated from the St. Domingo House, a building built in 1758 by George Campbell, who was a renowned West Indies trader and sugar boiler.

St. Domingos’ first venture into sport wasn’t football, as the church’s first sporting team came in cricket.

Rev. Ben Swift Chambers was appointed as the Minister of the church in 1877, and it was that year that he created a cricket team for the young people of the local area. However, with cricket only played during the summer months, in 1878, Chambers created a football team for the winter months.

In their historic first game, St. Domingos recorded a 1-0 home win over Everton Church Club. The team became popular in the local community, with non-members of the St. Domingos parish wishing to join.

With non-members of the parish joining, it was decided in November 1879 at a meeting at the Queen’s Head Hotel that the club’s name was to be changed to Everton Football Club, with the name coming from the area in which the church was based.

Liverpool (Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd/Everton Athletic)

In 1892, Everton decided to leave their Anfield home due to a rent dispute with the ground’s owner, John Houlding, who was also the Toffees’ owner. The club decided to break away from Houlding and moved the club across Stanley Park to Goodison Park.

That left Houlding with a stadium at Anfield, but no football team to play in it. He wasn’t deterred, though, and soon Houlding formed a new club. He decided to call the new club Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd, which was usually shortened down to Everton Athletic.

The FA forbade the name, as it wasn’t different enough from the original club to differentiate the two clubs from each other. Instead, in March 1892, the new club was named Liverpool. The new club went on to become one of the most successful in the history of the English game.

Manchester United (Previously known as Newton Heath)

While Manchester United are now one of the most famous clubs in the beautiful game, the Red Devils originally began life as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878.

A department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway actually started the club. In fact, their first games as a team came against other departments of their parent company and other railway company teams.

After a short period, the club became a separate entity, no longer being related to the railway company. With that, the club removed the LYR from their name and just became Newton Heath.

They first experienced the English top-flight in season 1892/93 as Newton Heath, before suffering relegation a few seasons later. Relegation led to the club heading into choppy financial waters. In January 1902, the club were served with a winding-up order.

However, fortunately for the club, a group of four businessmen came along to bail the club out financially. In April of the same year, it was decided that the club would change its name to Manchester United. The rest, as they say, is history.

Tottenham Hotspur (Hotspur Football Club)

The north London giants began life as Hotspur Football Club in 1882. The club were founded by a group of schoolboys who were part of the Hotspur Cricket Club. It was established to keep the cricket players fit during the off-season in winter, with cricket in England only taking place during the summer months.

Spurs gained their current identity in April 1884, as the club looked to differentiate themselves from another football club in the area, also known simply as Hotspur.