Determining the name of a new city after a municipal merger is important in influencing the success or failure of any merger. In the case of the attempted Noshiro-Yamamoto municipal merger in 2004, five opposition movements arose to challenge the new city name "Shirakami-shi"proposed by merger conference members. This paper examines the controversy by analyzing the results of surveys conducted on Noshiro citizens. Included is an analysis of how the opinions of the citizens and their attachment to the name "Noshiro"affected the merger. The results of this analysis suggest that the views of individual citizens towards the new name "Shirakami-shi"differed greatly and were not reflected in the average opinion obtained from the citizens.