In a report commissioned by the Dunedin City Council, Dr Rodney Wilson, a senior museum consultant, has recommended a change for the "confusing name" of the council-owned museum.
The report reviewed the management structure of the city's museums, and was recently released after a request under the Official Information Act.
Dr Wilson, who is a former director of the Auckland Museum, said in the report that the museum's "confusing name" was "little different from its earlier title of "Otago Early Settlers Museum".
The name should be replaced with one that reflected the museum's role as "guardian and interpreter of the story of Dunedin's social history".
A "highly interactive, community-engaged city museum would be an even greater asset for Dunedin than the current settlers museum", Dr Wilson said.
Asked about his suggestion, Ms Wigley said some people continued to use the former name "Otago Early Settlers Museum".
Museum organisers were busy with the major redevelopment project, and reviewing the name was not an immediate priority, but could be considered in due course, she said.
Some overseas museums had developed striking names, such as "Eureka!" for Britain's National Children's Museum, based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and "Catalyst" for an English science centre and museum devoted to the chemical industry, she said.
Asked about Dr Wilson's comment about "community-engaged city museum", Ms Wigley said the museum was already heavily community-engaged, and that the regional context of the city's history also needed to be included.
Dunedin historian and Otago Settlers Association president Dr Dot Page said some people had a misconception the museum was still focused essentially on the story of 19th century European settlement of Otago.
She had an open mind about a possible name change.
Although it had been explained that the word "settlers" in the museum's title was now intended as an inclusive term, to include Maori and other groups in the community, some misconceptions remained, she said.
