# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Apex\_Rogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@Apex\_Rogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apex_Rogers)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/101 "2012-03-01T19:14:03Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > SJ is bigger and nicer. Bigger in area and population? Agreed. But it is much more spread out, has no real downtown, and feels like a much smaller city than it is. This has the effect of spreading the riffraff and vagrants out more, so you don’t get the beggars like you see in the Tenderloin or SOMA, the wannabe “hippies” of upper Haight / Golden Gate Park, nor the gangbangers of the Mission. From that perspective, San Jose is nicer. From the perspective of upscale dining, fine arts, and enjoyable bars and clubs, it’s not even close. But then again, SF is not even close to NYC, but who is making that comparison besides yourself? E: To give another answer to the OP, Ann Arbor is often called A[sup]2[/sup] in writing and sometimes actually voiced as “A-squared.” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/102 "2012-03-01T22:08:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, I have sometime heard it as San LOO-ee. But yes, never as the Spanish unless that person is a native Spanish speaker. Well, yes, probably non-locals you heard. They often say LOO-ee or Loo-EE. SLO cith and elsewhere in SLO county, the people very actively disavow the Spanish heritage of the area. The city architectural boards, for example, frown on any new construction with Spanish styling. Contrast with Santa Barbara. Is SB, you see many buildings with colorful painted tilework. In SLO, never. They won’t permit it. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/103 "2012-03-01T22:18:07Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Oh, yeah. I still remember when I got there for college and everybody called it “HI-guera Street.” I thought they were either clueless or putting me on. But that’s the way everybody pronounces it! I always heard it pronounced with the accent on the second syllable: Hi-GARR-a Which I suppose still isn’t the Spanish pronunciation. (The Hi with the English long “i”, rhymes with bye, sly, try, fly). Never Hee-GARR-a. Then there’s nearby Avila Beach, always pronounced AV-ila, never av-EEL-a. But they insist that’s accurate. It seems the original Senhor Avila was Portuguese, not Spanish or Hispanic, and the accent on the first syllable is correct according to Portuguese pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/104 "2012-03-01T23:03:58Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I always heard it pronounced with the accent on the second syllable: Hi-GARR-a > Which I suppose still isn’t the Spanish pronunciation. (The Hi with the English long “i”, rhymes with bye, sly, try, fly). Never Hee-GARR-a. Ah, yes, same. Sorry about that. I was too busy emphasizing “Hi” rather than “Hee,” but yeah, I always heard “hi-GAR-ra” as well. For awhile I tried pronouncing it “hih-GARR-a” but nobody else did, so I stopped. Another one I often wonder about is the city up here in the Bay Area named San Pablo. Seems like most people (even newscasters) pronounce it “San PAB-lo” (“pab” rhyming with “jab,” not with “job”.) This one grates on my ears like crazy, and I refuse to call it anything but “San POB-lo,” even if it’s wrong. The name is pronounced that way, dammit, right? Plus the way they say it, it always reminds me of Pablum, so sometimes I call it San Pablum. 😛 But that’s kind of getting off the topic of city nicknames. My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/105 "2012-03-01T23:28:07Z")
I call it the hole to Richmond’s donut. Ironically, the latter is more of a hole. ---
**Author:** ![pdunderhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4bbf92/32.png) [@pdunderhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdunderhill)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/106 "2012-03-01T23:55:06Z")
London especially from Seniors is known as ‘the smoke’ or ‘Town’. It’s a strange City because there are also very much older parts with their own distinctive personalities, (South of the river etc.) east end, west end and so on. Peter ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/107 "2012-03-02T00:14:58Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, it’s a symptom of chauvinism by locals who don’t know any better. You can pretty much tell that a resident is poorly traveled and ignorant when they use the term. I just roll my eyes. No, you missed my point I think. Any attempt to compare LA favorably to SF is laughable. I was born and raised in LA, and it’s a shit hole. I’ve only been to New York once, but that was once too often. It was cold and miserable, and basically just a jungle of ugly buildings … a monument to two centuries of robber barons and their hubris. SF is a bit too close to NYC for my taste, but still much more a city done right than NYC. And LA? Come on. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/108 "2012-03-02T00:40:20Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > And to jump continents, I heard South Africans calling Johannesburg Jo’burg. Yes, “Jo’burg” is the universal nickname for Johannesburg; it would be rare to hear the full name spoken in casual conversation. “Jozi” is also used sometimes. There are some other South African examples: Durban is sometimes “Durbs”; Port Elizabeth is “PE”; Pietermaritzburg is often “PMB” in writing, though I haven’t heard it so often in speech. Cape Town is weird. Depending on context, “the Cape” may refer to Cape Town but it may also refer to the broader region of which Cape Town is the major city. The official nickname “the Mother City” is occasionally genuinely used in conversation. Capetonians also have a slightly odd way of using the word “town”. If I’m in the suburbs of Cape Town, and I say I’m “going to Town”, it means I’m going to the city centre area (what Americans would call downtown). Out in the countryside, though, “going to Town” just means going to the metro area. ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/109 "2012-03-02T13:07:44Z")
Barcelona natives refer to the city as Barna or BCN. Barça, which a lot of tourists use, is the nickname of the football club and the football club only. I had this drilled into me on my first visit by just about everybody I met. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/110 "2012-03-02T13:25:48Z")
Residents of Brisbane sometimes call it Brisvegas, but I haven’t heard it in a while. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/111 "2012-03-02T13:26:32Z")
Heard someone on the radio yesterday refer to Columbus as “the Bus”. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/112 "2012-03-02T14:50:32Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Friends from St. Petersburg, FL regularly called it “St. Pete.” Also “The Burg”, but that’s more a commercial use than in use in common speech. I live about 10 minutes from the edge of St Pete in Pinellas Park (The Park (and we have a demonym: Parkers)), and near Largo (Larghetto). ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/113 "2012-03-02T15:09:18Z")
Washington, Virginia, all 4 blocks of it, calls itself Little Washington. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/114 "2012-03-02T16:02:10Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > San Antonio, Texas > Locals: S. A. ; “SATex” pronounced “Sattecks” ; I’ve lived here almost 50 years and have NEVER heard “sattecks.” Not even once. I do hear “S.A.” from time to time. However the OP is correct that no one who is from here ever says “San Antone.” But visitors say it a lot, often in a tone of voice that implies they are “in the know.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/115 "2012-03-02T17:13:43Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I hear San Fran relatively frequently, grates on my ears. Frisco mostly in rap songs but otherwise uncommon. SF semi-common, most commonly “the City.” Still a fine for saying Frisco, per Emperor Norton. You must be from the area. Absolutely correct. “Don’t call it FRISCO!” (Herb Cane) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/116 "2012-03-02T17:27:00Z")
Manassas = Manasshole ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/117 "2012-03-02T17:32:10Z")
I grew up in Woodbridge, VA and only heard Manasshole from people outside of Manassas, but maybe times have changed. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/118 "2012-03-02T17:38:25Z")
Lewiston-Auburn, ME is usually called LA. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/119 "2012-03-02T17:47:52Z")
The city of Richmond, in the bay area is often referred to as “The Ghetto”. For good reason. The San Fernando Valley, North of LA, is referred to by locals as “The Valley”. Everyone there knows what you mean. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/120 "2012-03-02T17:50:28Z")
> [@JohnM](#): > > Pittsburgh is “the Burgh” I have never once heard this used outside of advertising and sportscasting. Never. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377.md?page=7)