Named after thePuy de Dôme dormantvolcano, its inhabitants were calledPuydedomois in French until 2005. With effect from 2006, in response to a letter writing campaign, the name used for the inhabitants was changed by thePuy-de-Dôme General Council toPuydômois; this is the name that has since then been used in all official documents and publications.
Puy-de-Dôme is one of the original 83 departments created during theFrench Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of theformer province ofAuvergne. Originally, the department was to be calledMont-d'Or ("Golden Mountain"), but this was changed to Puy-de-Dôme following the intervention ofJean-François Gaultier de Biauzat, a localdeputy, because of a concern that the name originally chosen risked attracting excessive unwelcome attention from the national taxation authorities.
The departmental seat,Clermont-Ferrand, is home to one of the country's best known manufacturing businesses and brands,Michelin.Thiers is the oldest industry place in Auvergne with its cutlery tradition from the 14th century.
The countryside lends itself to tourism and Puy-de-Dôme is a weekend destination for city dwellers. As of 2019, 10.1% of the usable homes in the department were being kept as second homes.[6]
The department was the electoral constituency ofValéry Giscard d'Estaing, who served as President of the Republic from 1974 to 1981. The president of the Departmental Council is Lionel Chauvin, elected in July 2021.
