Broward voters could be asked in the 2026 election if they want to change the name of the county to \u201cLauderdale County.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea is being advocated on two fronts, by a Republican state legislator and a Democratic county commissioner, both of whom want to ditch the name the county has used for 110 years.<\/p>\n
Their efforts, they said separately, are motivated by a desire for the county to have what they believe would be a more marketable name than the current one.<\/p>\n
\u201cBroward needs a better brand,\u201d said state Rep. Chip LaMarca, a former county commissioner and the Republican advocate of the idea. The Democratic champion of the idea is County Commissioner Michael Udine.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re stuck in the middle of the Palm Beaches and Miami-Dade County. Both benefit off their brand,\u201d LaMarca said in an interview. \u201cBroward County is in an optimal place between those two counties to bring more business here. It\u2019s a business issue, a branding issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Udine said Palm Beach County has an advantage that Broward doesn\u2019t: \u201cPeople know where it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hearing this over and over again,\u201d Udine recently told his colleagues. \u201cThe business community, the economic development community, the transportation community, the tourism community all keep bringing up the concept\u201d of changing the county\u2019s name from Broward to Lauderdale.<\/p>\n
LaMarca is introducing a measure in Tallahassee for consideration in the 2026 legislative season. It would call for a referendum next year asking voters if they want to change the county\u2019s name. At the county level, Udine said he would come back to his commission colleagues in coming weeks with a proposal.<\/p>\n
Others think it\u2019s a bad idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s totally wrong to change the name of this county,\u201d said County Commissioner Nan Rich. \u201cI hope it goes nowhere. I see no reason for it. We\u2019re fine as Broward County.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rich doesn\u2019t buy the argument that a new name would be a boon to tourism or other economic development. \u201cI don\u2019t see it making any difference whatsoever,\u201d she said. \u201cNo one is stopping coming to Broward County because it\u2019s not Lauderdale County. Every single indicator is that we are growing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rich, a former Democratic leader of the Florida Senate, said the idea makes her think of President Donald Trump\u2019s remaking of the White House. \u201cWe are getting rid of our history, like when they tore down the East Wing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Worth it?<\/p>\n
James Ross, CEO of Broward-based James Ross Advertising, said he doesn\u2019t see a return for what it would cost to make such a change.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand how they could say one (name) is better than the other without actual data. Not just what people tell them, but real data,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ross said rebranding is expensive. \u201cYou can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on rebrands. And depending on how deep it is, think of how many areas it says Broward County. What are you going to do, are you going to replace everything? It just costs so much money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ross has owned two marketing and advertising agencies during the past 30 years, and specializes in branding, messaging and bringing products to market for companies around the world, and is a board member of publicly-held companies.<\/p>\n
In the case of the county name, he said the money would be better spent elsewhere. \u201cWhy even go there? There\u2019s so many other things to spend money on in this county. Put the money where the money\u2019s needed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
LaMarca said he didn\u2019t think there would be much cost to the change. \u201cSome signs will have to change,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cthe economic impact of a brand like this I believe would bring in far more than any cost to make name changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The economic impact statement LaMarca\u2019s office filed along with the legislation listed the cost as \u201cundetermined,\u201d adding that \u201cthere is a two-year transition period for the county and no new cost put on the county to replace common items. However, the understanding is they will need to replace signage and other items, and they can do that over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under the category of \u201cnew revenues that would not exist but for the passage of the bill,\u201d it estimates a revenue increase from the name change of $200 million in the first fiscal year and $216 million in the second fiscal year. It didn\u2019t detail the data used for the forecast, but said the \u201cestimated revenue increase is a very conservative forecast of less than 1% of the total employment revenue for the county.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"State](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TFL-L-lamarca-cassel-01.jpg\")
State Reps. Chip LaMarca and Hillary Cassel, at the Broward Legislative Delegation meeting in Hollywood on Oct. 27, 2025, are the only Republican members of the Florida Legislature from Broward. For the 2026 legislative session, LaMarca’s last before he leaves office because of term limits, he is sponsoring a measure calling for a referendum on changing the county’s name to “Lauderdale County.” (Anthony Man\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
\nRaised before<\/p>\n
LaMarca has long advocated for changing the county\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
He said he first raised the subject in 2011, his first full year as a county commissioner. LaMarca leaves the state House of Representatives after the 2026 elections because of term limits. Given that it will be his last legislative session next year, LaMarca said he wanted to try to give voters a chance to decide on the question.<\/p>\n
LaMarca filed the proposals as a local bill with the Broward Legislative Delegation on Oct. 17.<\/p>\n
On Oct. 21, Udine said he would in coming weeks propose to his colleagues a referendum to change the county\u2019s name from Broward to Lauderdale. He told the other commissioners\u00a0that he was alerting them so the idea could \u201ckind of percolate a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Udine also began posting about the idea on social media where responses have been mixed, with opponents outnumbering supporters.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/tFl-l-sb-broward-statue03-NG_218869573.jpg\")
The statue of Napoleon Bonaparte Broward on the third floor of the Broward County Courthouse was removed in 2017. (Mike Stocker\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
\nHistoric name<\/p>\n
The county was founded in 1915<\/a>, combining parts of Palm Beach and Dade counties. (Dade County became Miami-Dade County<\/a> in 1997 after voters approved the switch, a change similar to what LaMarca and Udine are seeking.)<\/p>\n Broward County was named after Napoleon Bonaparte Broward<\/a>, who served as the state\u2019s 19th governor in the early part of the 20th Century.<\/p>\n Jeff Atwater, a former Florida Senate president whose district included part of Broward County and was twice elected state chief financial officers, said in a telephone interview he was \u201ca little bit caught off guard\u201d by the calls for a name change.<\/p>\n Atwater is a great-grandson of Governor Broward. \u201cTo be honest, I\u2019d be saddened,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it would be kind of disappointing to let go of that bit of history. I would be saying this if you were asking me about Levy County or Hamilton County or or any of the others. \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cUnderstanding all of these names is the tapestry that is knitted together that created the state that we are today,\u201d Atwater said. \u201cExtracting one \u2026 begins to pull at the threads of the tapestry.\u201d<\/p>\n Atwater is also skeptical of the purported benefits of brand awareness. \u201cWe\u2019re not talking about a county in the midst of the Sahara desert. We\u2019re talking about a county in the midst of an extraordinarily broad and vibrant economic engine in South Florida and to imagine today that people today can\u2019t find it \u2026 I would find somewhat surprising.\u201d<\/p>\n Five communities have Lauderdale or a derivation in their names: Fort Lauderdale, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, North Lauderdale and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. (In 1838, during the Second Seminole War, Maj. William Lauderdale, leading the Tennessee Volunteers, arrived at the New River in South Florida, where he established a fort.)<\/p>\n Udine cited the use of Lauderdale in some city names as a plus for the renaming.<\/p>\n Atwater, however, cited it as a reason the idea might not advance. There are 26 other cities, towns and villages in the county. \u201cI would frankly be surprised if those communities, those cities, those municipalities rolled over for the naming of the county\u201d with a name so closely associated with one major city, he said.<\/p>\n Neither LaMarca nor Udine cited the controversial history of the county\u2019s namesake in their desire to change the name.<\/p>\n Broward has long been known, and criticized, for the draining of parts of the Everglades to create land for agriculture and development. He also was a champion of a centralized state university system, fought for strict child-labor laws, had previously been a sheriff of Duval County, cleaning up after a corrupt predecessor, and helped run munitions to people who fought to free Cuba from Spain.<\/p>\n![\"Broward](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TFL-L-Bogen-Rich-01.jpg\")
Broward County Commissioners Mark Bogen and Nan Rich before a meeting of commissioners and members of the Broward Legislative Delegation on Oct. 21, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale. Rich, a former Florida Senate Democratic leader, opposes a proposal to ask voters if they want to change the name of the county to “Lauderdale County.” (Anthony Man\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
\nProblematic history<\/p>\n
![\"Broward](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/EKQLXDJZNVB55LQLN3EHUQPNYA.jpg\")
<\/p>\n