structural:scholar_edition, information:extraction
Name

Guinea is named after the Guinea region which lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the forested tropical regions and ends at the Sahel. The English term Guinea comes directly from the Portuguese word Guiné which emerged in the mid-15th century to refer to the lands inhabited by the Guineus, a generic term for the black African peoples south of the Senegal River, in contrast to the "tawny" Zenaga Berbers above it, whom they called Azengues or Moors.

In 1978, the official name became the People's Revolutionary Republic of Guinea. In 1984, the country was renamed the Republic of Guinea after the death of the first president Ahmed Sékou Touré.