 The area, officially the Newcastle Statistical District, is referred to as Greater Newcastle or the Lower Hunter Region, which includes most parts of the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Cessnock, Maitland and Port Stephens local government areas and, as of 30 June 2009, has an estimated population of 540,796.Despite their proximity, all of the LGAs in the region maintain their own individual identities, separate from Newcastle.The demonym for the people of Newcastle is "Novocastrian", derived from Latin "novus" (new) and "castra" (castle or fort).