Dolly-Durham and your other picks for renaming RDU

Zoom in: These are your recommendations, plus ideas for what three-letter International Air Transport Association code the renamed airport could adopt.

👩‍🦳 Our Instagram followers largely rejected the premise and also picked Parton.

• Honestly — fair. The universally adored country music legend grew up just across the Tennessee line, on land that centuries ago was part of North Carolina.
• Dolly-Durham and Raleigh-Dolly were top vote-getters. (Be a DOL?)

Many of you looked to sports legends. Why not? We've got plenty.

• ⛹🏽‍♂️ Michael Jordan International Airport, for the Wilmington native and NBA icon. (AIR, anyone?)
• 🐏 Dean Smith Airport, for the Tar Heels coach. (UNC looks to be available.)
• 🏒 Brind'Amour International, for the man who's won two Stanley Cups with the Carolina Hurricanes. (Maybe just keep it RDU, though eh?)
• 🏀 Jimmy V. Airport, after N.C. State basketball coach and broadcaster Jim Valvano. (JIM could work.)

🏫 We got one submission for James B. Hunt International Airport, after North Carolina's longest-serving governor. (JBH or HUN, perhaps.)

• "There is nobody who did more to drag North Carolina into the modern world and set the stage for the state's tremendous growth than Governor Hunt," Tom A. wrote.

Other nominations we liked:

• 🎤 Entertainers J. Cole (JCI) and Petey Pablo (UPP).
• 🏙️ Sir Walter Raleigh Airport. (Could finally lean into RAL, although Durham probably won't like that.)

The bottom line: RDU, you've got some thinking to do.