Wanganui District Council is offering a compromise on the spelling of the city's name.
Mayor Michael Laws says the majority of residents do not want an "h" in the city's name, even though the region, electorate and river are spelt that way.
In its submission to the Geographic Board considering a name change application put forward by local iwi, the council has proposed a two-name solution.
The board has received 880 submissions to consider on the name change at its meeting next month.
Iwi spokesperson Ken Mair says using the traditional spelling is a matter of respect, but Mr Laws says Mr Mair is harming his cause by not accepting the reality that the city's name is currently spelt both with and without the "h".
