[Explained] Why does ISIS have so many names?

Before I explain what's the difference between IS and other acronyms used for this terrorist group, I would just go with using IS as Islamic State in the article ahead.

A day after massive suicide bombings and shooting in Paris, French President Francois Hollande announced to go tough against IS by sending warplanes to bomb Raqqa, the group's stronghold in north-eastern region of Syria. For now, French and Americans have unified with a name "Da’esh" to address IS. During G-20 summits in Turkey, US President Barack Obama pushed the governments across the world to redouble their efforts "to bring about a peaceful transition in Syria and to eliminate Da’esh as a force that can create so much pain and suffering for people in Paris, in Ankara, and in other parts of the globe". Along with French, John Kerry, Secretary of State dubbed IS with a different name in Vienna, the same which Obama said during ongoing G-20 summit in Turkey. But why IS has so many names?

Like al Qaeda, IS has also evolved with time. In 2003, a number of small tribes founded an alliance called al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). But after the death of its founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and al-Qaeda being labelled as a tyrant bloodthirsty group, the alliance changed its name to Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). But rebranding its name didn't help the alliance to grow much in Iraq, al Qaeda was still dominant. But then in 2011, Syria descended into civil war, which allowed the alliance to spread its arms in eastern part of Syria. The group decided to include Syria in its name and further rebranded it to Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). But in June, the group changed its name once again and decided to call it State of the Islamic Caliphate (SIC), after the group leader and supremo, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced himself the successor of Prophet Mohammad (which Quran strictly prohibits because Prophet Mohammad was the last prophet in Islam) and declared to rule over Muslims everywhere.

Before IS got an official name, they were termed as Al-Sham, "Sham" either referring to areas around Damascus or wider region of the Levant in Arabic. Till then, many in the west termed the group as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The question is why Barack Obama along with French leaders decided to use Da’esh instead of IS? Well, the answer is simple. The Arabic for this, al-Dawla al-Islamiya fil ’Iraq wal-Sham, can be abbreviated to Da'ish, similar to the Palestinian group Hamas, which is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, or Islamic Resistance Movement.