The name of the city itself is a source of division among its inhabitants. The name Derry is derived from a Gaelic word "doíre," which means "oak grove"; an oak leaf is incorporated in the city's official emblem.

In 1613, the city's name was lengthened to Londonderry, due to the role that the Corporation of London had in the Protestant settlement of the place.

In 1984, Nationalists in the city council voted successfully to change their body's official name from Londonderry City Council to Derry City Council. Unionists were infuriated, and they insist on Londonderry as the prefix to the council’s name. Despite the actions of the nationalists, Londonderry is the city's (and county's) official and legal name; it would require an Act of Parliament at Westminster to change either.

On radio and TV, to avoid offence, the term Derry-stroke-Londonderry is commonly used. Sometimes this is shortened to "Stroke City."

Road signs in the Republic of Ireland use the name Derry. Londonderry is used on road signs in Northern Ireland; however, the "London" part of the word is often defaced. Alternatively, you will see the term "L'Derry" used on Northern Ireland road signs.

Derry-Londonderry is a city in the northwest part of the province of Northern Ireland, covering a west bank (Cityside; majority Catholic) and east bank (Waterside; majority Protestant) of the River Foyle. The city borders County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, and there is much economic activity between the two counties.

The population of Derry City was 83,652 in the 2001 census (majority Catholic), and is the second largest city in Northern Ireland, and fourth largest on the island of Ireland. The Greater Derry area (that is, within about 20 miles of the city) has a population of 237,000.

Derry-Londonderry is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Ireland. The earliest historical references date to the sixth century, when a monastery was founded there by Saint Columba.

Planters (settlers), mostly Scotch Presbyterians and English Protestants (Anglicans) arrived in the 1600s as part of the plantation of Ulster, and built the city of Londonderry with defensive walls. The aim was to settle Ulster with a population supportive of the Crown.

Derry-Londonderry is the last remaining city in the British Isles to be surrounded by defensive walls.  It has the most complete series of city walls in the islands. In December 1688, the gates of the city were shut against an advancing Catholic Ulster army of approximately 1,200 men. This was the beginning of the Siege of Derry. In April 1689, (Catholic) King James came to the city and called upon it to surrender. The King was rebuffed and the siege lasted until the end of July 1689. Ever since, this episode has been used by Protestants as a bogeyman-type threat against their being incorporated into a Catholic Ireland.

In 1921, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the partition of Ireland, Londonderry became a border city.

Unlike other cities and towns in Northern Ireland, which had majority Protestant populations, what distinguished Derry-Londonderry was the systemic gerrymandering of electoral boundaries and the use of business voting rights in local elections, which enabled the Protestants to retain control of the city council and local administration, even though Catholics were a majority of the population.

This was a major cause of Catholic grievances, which went unaddressed for several decades. Catholics were discriminated against throughout Northern Ireland, with Derry-Londonderry becoming a flashpoint of disputes.

Civil rights campaigns began in the mid 1960s, as an attempt to draw attention to grievances felt by Catholics across Northern Ireland. This became a mass movement when public demonstrations were organized by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA). Initial demonstrations happened without violence, and were opposed by (Protestant) Loyalists (who felt the campaign was a cover for Irish Republicans who wanted to end the Northern Ireland state rather than to reform it). Nonviolent protest was met with opposition that was increasingly physically violent.

A march organized for 5 October 1968 was banned in advance. When 400 people tried to proceed, in defiance of the ban, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) (police; overwhelmingly Protestant) used batons to break up the march. The scenes were recorded by television cameras, and the subsequent news coverage sparked rioting in the city. Many people consider this event as the starting date of the Northern Ireland conflict: the “Troubles."

A group called People's Democracy marched from Belfast to Derry from January 1 to 4, 1969. On each day of the march, Loyalists confronted, jostled, and physically attacked the marchers. At no time did the RUC make any effort to prevent the attacks, one of which occurred in the Waterside area of Derry-Londonderry. Later that evening, members of the RUC attacked people and property in the Bogside (Catholic nationalist populated) area of the city, which sparked several days of serious rioting.

The way in which the police mishandled the march confirmed the opinion of many Catholics that the RUC could not be trusted to provide impartial policing in Northern Ireland, and it further alienated Catholics from any affiliation to the Northern Ireland state itself.

Civil unrest reached a peak in the summer of 1969. The annual traditional marching season sparked riots in Londonderry, but the worst rioting occurred in August, following an Apprentice Boys parade. After three days of rioting, which became known as the Battle of the Bogside (when Catholics fought the police), the British Government at Westminster agreed that British Army troops would be deployed on the streets in Northern Ireland.

Many Catholic nationalists initially welcomed the British Army troops as a safeguard against their fears of Protestant pogroms. Meanwhile, many Unionist politicians resented the interference by the British Government in the affairs of Northern Ireland. Indeed, the introduction of British troops proved to be a significant development towards the establishment of direct rule of Northern Ireland by Westminster.

Internment without trial of people suspected of being members of illegal paramilitary groups was reintroduced to Northern Ireland in August 1971. From 1971 to 1975, under internment, a total of 1,981 people were detained: 1,874 were Catholic/Republican, while 107 were Protestant/Loyalist.

Internment united Catholics in their opposition to the presence of British Army troops and paved the way for resurgence of support for the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Until then, the IRA had been mostly dormant since the 1920s, with little popular support.

Bloody Sunday refers to events that took place on Sunday, 30 January 1972. A march was organized by NICRA to protest the policy of internment. Approximately 15,000 people took part in the march. British Army troops prevented the march from moving into the city center. The main body of the march then moved to "Free Derry Corner" in the Bogside for a rally. Some young men began throwing stones at soldiers nearby. Soldiers moved in to make arrests, and in 30 minutes they shot dead 13 men (another individual died of his injuries).

The events of Bloody Sunday caused much shock and revulsion internationally. They also resulted in a further, dramatic increase in support for the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The IRA was very much in the ascent in some Catholic communities, particularly in Derry-Londonderry, Belfast, and border counties adjacent to the Republic of Ireland.

There was a British Government formal inquiry immediately after the killings. This Widgery Tribunal found no fault on the part of the soldiers, while stating that there was a "strong suspicion" that some of those killed "had been firing weapons or handling bombs." Those involved in the march provided evidence to the contrary.

A new inquiry was launched in 1998. The Bloody Sunday Inquiry began in 2000 and did not conclude until 2005. It was one of the longest and most expensive in British legal history. The inquiry took evidence from 920 witnesses, lasted for 433 days, and has cost at least a quarter of billion dollars. The inquiry's final report is scheduled to be published in autumn 2009 (five years after the investigation ended).

Recently, concerns have been raised by Protestants about the city's divisions.  Between 1971 and 1991, within Derry District Council Area overall, Protestant population declined by 31 percent, while Catholic population increased by 36 percent. More specifically, during the same time period, Protestant population in the Cityside declined by 83 percent, while Protestant population in the Waterside increased by 27 percent.  Fewer than 500 Protestants now live in the Cityside, compared to 18,000 in 1969. The demographics suggest that the city is well on its way to becoming permanently divided.

But concerted efforts are being made by local community, church, and political leaders from both traditions to redress the problem. There is a consensus that much work remains.