Bangkok is called the City of Angels because that is the usual English translation of its Thai name, Krung Thep. Krung is a Thai word of Khmer origin meaning capital, and thep comes from the Pali and Sanskrit deva, a deity or celestial being, so Krung Thep is literally the capital of the divine beings. The Tourism Authority of Thailand gives the same translation: Krung Thep means City of Angels.
Thais almost never call their capital Bangkok. They say Krung Thep, or Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, the official short form of a much longer ceremonial name. Here is where that name came from, what the rest of it means, and where you can see it in the city.
What Krung Thep actually means
The word thep, from deva, covers the gods and celestial beings of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, the figures you see carved and painted on the gables and murals of Bangkok's temples. English has no exact equivalent, and "angels" became the standard translation, which is how Bangkok ended up sharing a nickname with Los Angeles. The comparison is sometimes extended, half in jest, to two big cities with famous traffic. A more playful nickname, the Big Mango, borrows from New York's Big Apple.
The city's official seal carries the same idea. It shows the god Indra riding his elephant, Airavata, among clouds, with the words Krung Thep Maha Nakhon in Thai across the top.
The full ceremonial name
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon is only the opening of the city's full name, which in the standard romanization reads:
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit
Composed of Pali and Sanskrit words, it is usually translated as: the city of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the Nine Gems, seat of the King, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Vishvakarman at Indra's behest. Guinness World Records has listed it as the world's longest place name, at 168 letters in Thai. Our guide to how to say Bangkok in Thai covers pronunciation, and what Bangkok means looks at the name's other layers.
Where the name came from
Bangkok was a village and customs post on the west bank of the Chao Phraya long before it was a capital. After Ayutthaya fell in 1767, King Taksin made his capital at Thonburi, on the same bank. In 1782, King Rama I, founder of the Chakri dynasty, moved the capital across the river to Rattanakosin Island, and the city dates its founding to April 21, 1782, when the City Pillar was erected. The Ministry of Culture still marks the anniversary each April, with ceremonies that include worship at the City Pillar Shrine.
The new capital inherited the ceremonial name of Ayutthaya, the old royal city, in versions such as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, and the name in its current form came into use in the reign of King Mongkut, Rama IV. That is why the name opens with Krung Thep: it was the royal capital's name before it was Bangkok's.
So why do foreigners say Bangkok?
Bangkok was the name of the old settlement, and foreign traders and envoys kept using it after the capital moved. Its origin is uncertain. Bang means a village on a stream; one theory derives the name from Bang Ko, island village, and another from Bang Makok, after the makok, a tree with olive-like fruit. The second is supported by the old name of Wat Arun, which was once called Wat Makok.
Seeing the City of Angels in Bangkok
- The City Pillar Shrine, on Lak Muang Road close to the Grand Palace, houses the pillar that marks the city's founding.
- Bangkok City Hall on Dinso Road displays the full ceremonial name in front of the building.
- The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, built from 1782 as the heart of the new capital, are where the celestial imagery of the name is most visible, from guardian figures to gilded gables.
- The Bangkok Art Biennale 2026, opening on October 29, 2026, takes Angels & Mara as its theme, a direct play on the city's name. See our guide to things to do in Bangkok in October.
Other names you will hear
Thais often shorten the name further in speech to Krung Thep, and in writing to the initials Ko Tho Mo. Many can recite the full name, helped by a 1989 rock song by the duo Asanee–Wasan whose lyrics are the name itself.
Sources: TAT, Bangkok Art Biennale 2026, TAT, Bangkok's 241st anniversary, Wikipedia, Bangkok (name, seal and history, citing the Royal Institute and Guinness World Records). Checked September 26, 2026.
Because its Thai name, Krung Thep, is usually translated as City of Angels. Krung means capital and thep comes from the Pali and Sanskrit deva, a deity or celestial being.
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit. Guinness World Records lists it as the longest place name, at 168 letters in Thai.
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, or simply Krung Thep. In writing it is often abbreviated to Ko Tho Mo.
On April 21, 1782, when King Rama I erected the City Pillar on Rattanakosin Island. The founding anniversary is still celebrated every April.
Yes. Los Angeles takes its nickname from its Spanish name. Bangkok's comes from its Thai name, Krung Thep, and the shared nickname is a coincidence of translation.
Its origin is uncertain. Bang means a village on a stream, and the name may come from Bang Ko, island village, or from Bang Makok, after the makok tree.
