List of Legislatures By Country - Names of Legislatures

Names of Legislatures

The legislatures are listed with their names in English and the name in the (most-used) native language of the country (or the official name in the second-most used native language in cases where English is the majority "native" language).

The names of the legislatures differ from country to country. The most used name seems to be National Assembly, but Parliament and Congress are often used too. The name Parliament is in some cases even used when in political science the legislature would be considered a congress. The upper house of the legislature is often named the Senate. In some cases, countries use very traditional names. In Germanic countries variations Thing (e.g. Folketinget) are used. A thing or ting was the governing assembly in Germanic societies, made up of the free men of the community and presided by lawspeakers. A variant is the use of the word Tag or Dag (e.g. Bundestag), used because things were held at daylight and often lasted all day. Other traditional names are the Estates General and variations of Sejm. In Islamic countries Arabic words like Majlis and Shura are often included in the name. Majlis can be translated as "Council" or "Assembly". Shura can be translated as "Consultation."