# City nicknames that city residents actually use **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 29, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377 "2012-02-29T19:04:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/21 "2012-02-29T20:08:21Z")
**The ATL \*\* \*\* A-T-L iens** [as Demonym] are present, but are too forced. You might get one or two residents to use it, but I would not consider the usage to reach the threshold needed to suffice the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/22 "2012-02-29T20:09:24Z")
And a nice simulpost too, while I Was looking up Demonym. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/23 "2012-02-29T20:38:56Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Also, just “DC.” > > Not a nickname, but residents often abbreviate “Schenectady” as “Sch’dy.” That’s because your average Schenectady resident can’t spell Schenectady. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/24 "2012-02-29T20:38:59Z")
New Orleans also goes by The Big Easy and The Crescent City. Both of those are sometimes used by locals. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/25 "2012-02-29T20:40:13Z")
In written form, Montreal is often shortened to MTL, but I don’t think I’ve ever really heard it spoken. In French, the provincial capital is often called La Capitale, to distinguish Quebec City from the province, although grammar and context rules usually make it clear anyways (_au_ Québec, \*à \*Québec). I’ve known people to refer to Sherbooke as Sherby in English, but never in French, and I commonly hear shortenings like Lennoxville as Lennox (and jokingly as Lennox-vegas), Drummondville as Drummond, Victoriaville as Victo, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/26 "2012-02-29T20:49:07Z")
Boston is occasionally called the Hub or Beantown by the locals; it’s not particularly frowned upon. Manchester NH is ManchVegas, although that is used semi-ironically. Crested Butte CO is often called “The Butte” or “Crusty Butt”, but the latter isn’t endorsed by the Chamber of Commerce ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/27 "2012-02-29T20:51:27Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Despite some Chicagoans claiming that “Chi-town” is used only by outsiders, my experience as a born-and-bred is that it is, indeed, used by at least some of our denizens and, no, not just transplants or suburbanites. The one I don’t like that I am hearing with increasing frequency is “the Chi.” Local news broadcasts seem to like “The Windy City”, but I don’t hear it very often in person. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/28 "2012-02-29T20:52:35Z")
I’ve heard “Chicagoland” in commercials, but do people use it in conversation? ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/29 "2012-02-29T20:58:36Z")
I have wondered whether people from Detroit and Baton Rouge use the nicknames “Motown” and “Red Stick”… I bet some do but IDK. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/30 "2012-02-29T21:00:41Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Not a nickname, but residents often abbreviate “Schenectady” as “Sch’dy.” I sometimes hear that actually spoken, pronounced “Skeedy”. The official Schenectady nickname “Electric City” (due to Edison and GE associations) is sometimes used in local business names but I don’t think anybody calls it that in conversation. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/31 "2012-02-29T21:03:14Z")
Washington PA (south of Pittsburgh) is “little Washington” (to distinguish it from DC). > [@JohnM](#): > > Baltimore is “Charm City”, but my impression is that most residents use it ironically if at all Baltimore is Bawlamer, Hon. 😉 (and yes you have to say Hon as part of the sentence, it’s a rule) I’ve only heard it referred to as Charm City in newscasts and political speeches. I don’t think I ever heard an actual resident call it that while I lived there. I have heard it called B-more. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/32 "2012-02-29T21:03:47Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I’ve heard “Chicagoland” in commercials, but do people use it in conversation? I use it all the time, but it doesn’t refer to Chicago itself, but the general Chicago metro area. It’s when I’m referring to Chicago + suburbs. ETA: Yeah, “Windy City” is acceptable and used occasionally. That’s probably the most common local nickname. I’ve always like “The City on the Make” myself. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/33 "2012-02-29T21:08:36Z")
London used to known as “the smoke,” but I doubt whether it is used much any more. Pasadena, CA, is know as both “the city of roses” and “crown city.” I don’t suppose you will hear either in casual conversation, but local media use them. In a similar way, local media quite often refer to Los Angeles as the “city of angels.” ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/34 "2012-02-29T21:08:43Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > Minneapolis-St Paul metro area is called The Twin Cities or The Cities by almost everyone. No, we don’t give St. Paul that much credit. And the only people who use the term The Cities are yokels from outstate MN or Wisconsin. There was an attempt many years ago to brand Minneapolis as the Mini-Apple. It didn’t catch on. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/35 "2012-02-29T21:11:03Z")
When I lived near the fourth largest city in Missouri, St. Joseph, it was usually referred to as St. Joe. A quick google shows a business named St. Joe Harley-Davidson, and references to a St. Joe Talent Show. The beginning of the Wikipedia article is, “Saint Joseph (informally St. Joe) is the county seat of Buchanan County…” ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/36 "2012-02-29T21:14:10Z")
I heard more than one Torontonian call the city T.O., although that’s more in commercial use I think. I have never heard a Buffalonian say “Queen City” or “Nickel City”, but you do hear “B-Lo” these days. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/37 "2012-02-29T21:16:03Z")
Friends from St. Petersburg, FL regularly called it “St. Pete.” I’ve known severa; people from the big city in central Indiana. A couple used to refer to it as “India-No-Place”; a research physician who grew up there said that natives often referenced it as “Naptown.” Another friend who is proud to be a Des Moines transplant told me that more than a few people use the airport identifier DSM for it – even though that has more syllables than the full name! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/38 "2012-02-29T21:19:33Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I use it all the time, but it doesn’t refer to Chicago itself, but the general Chicago metro area. It’s when I’m referring to Chicago + suburbs. Agreed with this, and adding that both “Chicagoland” and “the Chicagoland area” are commonly used in referring to the metro area. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/39 "2012-02-29T21:19:45Z")
Toronto is often called Hogtown, based on the urban legend that famers used to drive their pigs up the main street. (Or else it had something to do with provincial politicians). You can tell the locals, they pronounce the name “Tronna” Ottawa is called Bytown, its old name from before ti became too self-important. Sault Ste Marie is called “Soo”, the pronunciation of the first name. Do Detroiters really call it “Motown”? I always thought Frisco was the “City of Brotherly Love”. There was the old joke about the lottery in Toronto. “First prize is a weekend in Buffalo, second prize is two weekends in Buffalo.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/40 "2012-02-29T22:02:47Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > I always thought Frisco was the “City of Brotherly Love”. No, that’s Philadelphia, always been. In fact, the literal English translation of the name from Greek is “brotherly love.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377.md?page=3)