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This page lists works with different titles in the United Kingdom and United States. US titles will usually also be used in Canada; UK titles will also be used in the Republic of Ireland and often in Commonwealth countries excluding Canada. Not listed are minor changes due to American and British English spelling differences (for example, Rumor Has It... was titled Rumour Has It... in the UK). An asterisk* indicates which country the work originated in.
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| Type of work | United States | United Kingdom | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Album | Security | Peter Gabriel* | This was the fourth album released by Peter Gabriel with the name Peter Gabriel. |
| Album | The London Suede | Suede* | Eponymous debut album by the British rock group Suede. The group had to change their name for the American market due to a trademark owned by the singer with the same name. |
| Autobiography | All Will Be Well | Memoir* | |
| Boardgame | Clue | Cluedo* | The British name is a pun on Ludo, which in America is less known than the similar Parcheesi. |
| Book | The Elementary Particles | Atomised' | Originally a French novel by Michel Houellebecq entitled Les Particules élémentaires, which translates to the US title |
| Book | Holy Blood, Holy Grail | The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail* | |
| Book | Where's Waldo | Where's Wally* | |
| Cartoon | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles | Violent "ninja" considered inappropriate for children. |
| Children's Book | Just Kidding! | Just Joking! | By Andy Griffiths |
| Children's Book | Just Crazy! | Just Wacky! | By Andy Griffiths |
| Collection of short stories | The Umbrella Man and Other Stories | The Great Automatic Grammatizator* | By Roald Dahl |
| Collection of short stories | Young Archimedes | Little Mexican* | By Aldous Huxley |
| Comic strip | U.S. Acres* | Orson's Farm | |
| Film | Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story | A Cock and Bull Story* | |
| Film | Renegade | Blueberry | Original French title Blueberry: L'expérience secrète |
| Film | American Wedding* | American Pie: The Wedding | Third movie in the American Pie series. Also American Pie 3 in some markets. |
| Film | The Triplets of Belleville | Belleville Rendez-vous | Original French title Les Triplettes de Belleville |
| Film | Dennis the Menace* | Dennis | Avoid confusion with unrelated British character Dennis the Menace |
| Film | Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle* | Harold and Kumar get the Munchies | White Castle restaurants does not trade in the UK |
| Film | Hoosiers* | Best Shot | Term "Hoosier" unknown outside U.S. |
| Film | Highlander: The Final Dimension | Highlander 3: The Sorcerer* | Also Highlander 3: The Final Conflict in some markets. |
| Film | Howard the Duck* | Howard: A New Breed of Hero | Based on the comic Howard the Duck |
| Film | Live Free or Die Hard* | Die Hard 4.0 | "Live Free or Die", the state motto of New Hampshire, is little known in the UK. |
| Film | Madonna: Truth or Dare* | In Bed With Madonna | |
| Film | The Road Warrior | Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior | |
| Book | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | |
| Film | Out of the Past* | Build My Gallows High | |
| Film | Sabrina * (1954) | Sabrina Fair | Sabrina Fair was the title of the original play. |
| Film | Stairway to Heaven | A Matter of Life and Death* | |
| Film | The Concorde ... Airport '79* | Airport '80: The Concorde | Title matches year of initial release in each country |
| Film | The Conqueror Worm | Witchfinder General* | Lead Vincent Price had starred in several Edgar Allan Poe adaptations. This film has almost no connection to Poe's The Conqueror Worm. |
| Film | The Great Train Robbery* | The First Great Train Robbery | Based on The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton, unconnected to the 1963 heist known by that name in the UK. |
| Film | Victory | Escape to Victory | |
| Film | Waking Ned Devine | Waking Ned | |
| Film | xXx: State of the Union* | xXx 2: The Next Level | Non-Americans would be less familiar with the State of the Union Address |
| Film | Young Man with a Horn* | Young Man of Music | Avoid association "horn" = "erection" |
| Film | Zentropa | Europa | Name changed to avoid confusion with Europa Europa |
| Folk tale | Chicken Little | Chicken Licken | Usual names for The Sky Is Falling (fable) |
| Games console | Sega Genesis | Sega Mega Drive | Japanese company Sega could not get permission to use "Mega Drive" in the US due to a trademark dispute |
| Mock history | There'll Always be a Drayneflete | Drayneflete Revealed | U.S. title echoes There'll Always Be an England |
| Novel | A House Called Awful End | Awful End | Original German title Schlimmes Ende |
| Novel | Babe The Gallant Pig | The Sheep-Pig* | The corresponding film was titled Babe. |
| Novel and film | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone* | US editor felt that the original title "conveyed an incorrect idea of the subject matter" |
| Novel | A Silver Lining | If You Could See Me Now | By an Irish author. If You Could See Me Now is the original title. |
| Novel | His Majesty's Dragon* | Temeraire | |
| Novel | And Then There Were None | Ten Little Niggers | Title considered offensive in U.S., also called Ten Little Indians |
| Novel | Little Women, Part II* | Good Wives | |
| Novel | Outlander* | Cross Stitch | |
| Novel | Pigs Might Fly | Daggie Dogfoot* | |
| Novel | Red Alert | Two Hours to Doom* | |
| Novel | Rosie Dunne | Where Rainbows End* | |
| Novel | Smilla's Sense of Snow | Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow | Titles of distinct translations of Danish Frøken Smillas fornemmelse for sne. Filmed as Smilla's Sense of Snow |
| Novel | Murder in the Calais Coach | Murder on the Orient Express* | avoid confusion with the novel Stamboul Train which had been published in the U.S. as Orient Express |
| Novel | The Children of the Sea: A Tale of the Forecastle | The Nigger of the 'Narcissus': A Tale of the Sea* | U.S. publisher objected to "nigger" |
| Novel | The Golden Compass | Northern Lights* | US publishers changed title due to vague resemblance of alethiometer on cover to a compass. The film version was titled The Golden Compass in all markets. |
| Novel | The Time Travelers | Gideon the Cutpurse | |
| Novel | Orient Express | Stamboul Train* | |
| Novel | The Unsleeping Eye* | The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe | Filmed as Death Watch |
| Novel | The War of Dreams | The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman* | |
| Novel | Love, Rosie, or Rosie Dunne | Where Rainbows End | By an Irish author. Where Rainbows End is the original title. |
| Song | Morning Train (Nine to Five) | 9 to 5* (Sheena Easton song) | Avoid confusion with 9 to 5 (Dolly Parton song) |
| Toy line | G. I. Joe* | Action Force | Reworked storyline of the U.S.-centric soldiers into international band of soldiers. |
| TV series | Brilliant | The Fast Show* | Avoid confusion with unrelated US series The Fast Show |
| TV series | Good Neighbors | The Good Life* | Avoid confusion with unrelated US series The Good Life (1971 TV series) |
| TV series | The Office (US)* | The Office: An American Workplace | Avoid confusion with original The Office (UK) |
| TV series | MI-5 | Spooks* | In British slang, "spooks" are spies; in the US "spook" is an offensive term for African Americans. |
| TV series | Robin Hood | Robin of Sherwood* | |
| Video game | Bully* | Canis Canem Edit | A Canadian-made game. UK censors found "Bully" title unacceptable, although the title of Bully: Scholarship Edition was not changed. The UK title is Latin for "Dog eat dog", which is based on the motto of Bullworth Academy - the school featured in the game. |
| Video game | Super Mario Strikers* | Mario Smash Football | |
| Video game | Mario Strikers Charged | Mario Strikers Charged Football* | |
| Video game | Star Fox* | Starwing | The title was changed so not to confuse this game with an older, unrelated game of the same name that was released on the Atari 2600. There were also copyright problems, as defunct video game company Mythicon, developers of Star Fox on the Atari, had trademarked the name "Star Fox" in Europe, although ironically the game was never released in Europe. |
| Video game | Star Fox 64* | Lylat Wars | The title was changed due to the same copyright problems as the original game Star Fox. |
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- This page was last modified on 10 October 2008, at 20:05.
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