In the age of the Internet, in a broad variety of areas geographic names are among the most common criteria entered in searches for, and access to, information.

Geographic names are fundamental for the purpose of identifying towns/cities, villages, etc., and in view of this they should be readily comprehensible and easy to spell and write down, not only for the local inhabitants, but also for everyone who wants to visit the location in question or obtain information about the region.

The Ordinance on Geographic Names (GeoNV) stipulates that the official written language must be used for geographic names, not the designation in dialect. It also specifies the competencies of the various involved players at the federal and cantonal levels, as well as the applicable procedure for modifying or choosing geographic names.

The most important categories of geographic names are:

Municipalities are the smallest political units in Switzerland. In accordance with the relevant cantonal legislation, they perform local political duties. Each municipality has a defined territory and an official name. Each municipality must be allocated a unique name that cannot be mistaken for the name of any other municipality anywhere in Switzerland. Names of municipalities can be viewed in the Swiss municipal directory.

Districts are inhabited, geographically defined residential zones with an own name and an own postcode. The spelling and geographic delimitation of district names in the cadastral surveying are legally binding for the authorities. All district names are listed in the directory of districts.

Place names are no longer the most important criterion for searching for locations. Street names have gradually assumed this role, to the extent that they have almost entirely replaced field and place names in developed zones.

Street names include passages, lanes, squares and other named zones that are used for indicating street addresses.

The term «station» refers to railway stations, tram and bus stops, valley, intermediate and summit stations, etc.