7 December 2016 Last updated at 00:02 GMT
Now residents are in a dispute over whether to replace the colonial-era name with a Nama name - ǃNamiǂNûs.
The BBC's Pumza Fihlani spoke to residents and tourists about the issue.
In colonial times in what is now Namibia, Germans forced Herero and Nama people to build the town of Luderitz.