Horizons councillors have voted to put the "h" into Manawatu-Whanganui Regional Council.
The vote was taken at the full council meeting on Tuesday, with all the councillors who voted in favour and two - Bruce Gordon and David Cotton - abstaining.
The last time the matter was voted on, in December 2015, councillors were divided and Chairman Bruce Gordon would not use his casting vote. The spelling went unchanged.
The change to add the "h" may cost $10,000, with an application to the Geographic Board to change the name of the region and the name of the council simply following that.
The motion to add the "h" was brought by new Palmerston North councillor Wiremu Te Awe Awe. He said Whanganui iwi groups wanted it, and were sick of being told how to spell their language.
Tararua Cr John Barrow said the no "h" decision was the most embarrassing point of the council's last term.
"We got absolutely hammered by local media. I don't want to see it repeated."
Whanganui Cr Nicola Patrick said it was important to have the same spelling on bus routes and road signs, and Whanganui District Council supported it.
Mr Gordon wasn't so sure. He said Whanganui was his second town. He had read that Whanganui Mayor Hamish McDouall didn't like the "Fanganui" pronunciation and he himself had yet to meet six people in Whanganui who support the "h".
Mr Te Awe Awe said he used the "Fanganui" pronunciation because he was from the Rangitane iwi. Whanganui Maori substituted the "f" sound for a "w" sound, a matter of dialect.
"You and I obviously move in different circles," he told Mr Gordon.
Whanganui Cr David Cotton said the "h" spelling was controversial and emotional in the district, and lots of people didn't want the "h".
"I look forward to the Wanganui Chronicle changing its name.
"I don't want to speak against the motion and I don't wish to vote against it. Therefore I will be abstaining."
Horowhenua-Kairanga Cr Lindsay Burnell said he listened to a lot of Whanganui people before the 2015 vote, and it was a very divided city.
"Things have changed and moved on. I believe that there's, in balance, a good reason for us to change now."