They are; ".45 Long Colt" is a misnomer. The correct designation (always has been and always will be) ".45 Colt."
However, in modern parlance, ".45 Long Colt" is generally construed to mean ".45 Colt," and most folks know what is meant by it.
Last Sunday after Pheasant hunting with my two sons, we were sitting in the clubhouse when two other older gents(my age) walked in. Like many of us before had done, they walked over to the table where the latest raffle guns were laid out. One of them was a Henry lever in .22LR. One old guy says to the other old fart, I'd really like to get me one of them in .45 Long Colt. His buddy knew exactly what he was talking about. So did the other 20 folks in the clubhouse. They wandered over and started talking to us about our hunt and the conversation drifted to the guns on the table and once again......45 Long Colt. The one who originally stated he would like a lever in .45 LC said the reason he hadn't gotten one was the limited availability and the high price of ammo. I told him he should try reloading as the cost of .45 was about the same as .44 mag and one could make their ammo anything from mild to hot. Since he reloads shotgun, I told him it would be an easy transition to loading Straight walled handgun. Sounded like he might give it a try.
Anyway, the more he said "Long Colt", the more I could see my youngest just itching to correct him. I kept shaking my head no and smiling at him, and he respectfully kept his mouth shut. After a few minute, a friend of my oldest son sat down and got into the conversation and immediately turned into the Grammar Nazi and chastised and ridiculed the old guy for using "long Colt". He then went on a rant about how the .45 Colt was only effective at "Ruger only" loads and anything else was only suitable for SASS. He also made the "clip vs Mag" statement, trying in a vain attempt to clarify for everyone there, what an expert he was. Soon as the kid left, the words "jerk" and the reference to a rectal orifice abounded in the clubhouse. My youngest was glad he had bit his tongue.
Around here, .45 Colt has always been the ".45 Long Colt". Proper or not, misnomer or whatever, it is the term that is generally used, even by many that shoot them regularly. Kinda like mechanical pencils being called "eversharps", even tho there's nuttin' sharp about them. Why folks feel the need to alienate fellow gun owners over grammar is one of the biggest mysteries of the internet. I don't get it, never will.