<p>Place names (toponyms) are not merely linguistic labels but representations of political, social, and cultural contexts articulated through language and embedded in the landscape. Within this frame, the study focuses on Nusantara Capital City or IKN as a new administrative center whose toponymic practices can preserve national identity while honoring local cultural heritage and mitigating potential conflicts over spatial claims and cultural representation. This study aims to analyze the dynamics of toponymy within the Central Government Core Area or KIPP of IKN Nusantara, while also offering recommendations based on historical, cultural, and geographical factors through an anthropolinguistic approach. The study employs secondary data comprising historical topographic maps (Leiden University–KIT), official IKN development information, and PlanetScope imagery, complemented by Government Regulation No. 2/2021. The analysis applies six interrelated anthropological lenses, namely cultural terminology, naming processes and socio-historical contexts, politeness and etiquette, cultural concepts and worldviews, linguistic form and etymology, and cognitive structures within a qualitative descriptive design. Results show that names such as Sepaku and Pemaluan arise from close human–environment relations and were gradually institutionalized from hydronyms into administrative units through colonial cartography, resource extraction, transmigration, and territorial subdivision. Spatial evidence (2020–2024) illustrates substantial physical transformation in KIPP, while contemporary designations for roads, reservoirs, and housing project narratives of modernity and nationhood yet reveal limited representation of indigenous names. The study concludes that toponymy in KIPP–IKN must be inclusive, ecologically grounded, and regulation-compliant, with meaningful indigenous participation, interdisciplinary verification, and policy integration.</p>