# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/121 "2012-03-02T18:00:16Z")
> [@'\[cc](#): > > ;14825344’]I’ve never heard Detroiters actually call Detroit “Motown” or “The Motor City” of their own volition except when explaining these nicknames. > > We just call it “The D”. As in Deeeeeeeeeeeetroit! The Dee. 😃 ---
**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 2, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/122 "2012-03-02T21:12:31Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > 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? A bit more clarifization: The GAR in hi-GAR-ra is pronounced to rhyme with pare or ware, not jar or tar. So it’s “high GARE uh” or occasionally “hee GARE uh” As for San PAB-lo: Taking this a step farther: “San” is pronounced wrong too, rhyming with the English man, tan, pan. And not just in San Pablo, but in San Francisco and everywhere from San Diego and San Antonio to San Rafael and wherever. Ditto for cities with “Santa”. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/123 "2012-03-02T21:32:08Z")
How the fuck else would you pronounce “San” in English? I went to a dozen online audio pronunciation guides and they all said “San” to rime with man, including site where exactly that wording was given. Now yes, in Spanish the pronunciation is more like “sun” , but that’s accent. So, it’s not ‘wrong”. ---
**Author:** ![Analogue\_Skywalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Analogue\_Skywalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Analogue_Skywalker)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/124 "2012-03-02T21:43:19Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Kansas City is, naturally, ‘KC’. Unless you want to differentiate it from Kansas City, Kansas. In that case you have ‘Kay Cee Mo’ and ‘Kay Cee Kay’. > > . unless your like me and marilyn monroe from busstop and you say “CANS CITY” sloppy I know. ---
**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, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/125 "2012-03-02T21:51:22Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > How the fuck else would you pronounce “San” in English? I pronounce it “Bob.” ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/126 "2012-03-02T21:57:27Z")
> [@11811](#): > > Let’s get one thing straight: Nobody calls it Mogadishu. Around here, it’s the Mog or just simply Mog. I see what you did there. Houston is either Houston or H-town. Occassionally the news or sports refer to “the Bayou City”, but that isn’t common in parlance. I might say “downtown” for going into Houston from the burbs. ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/127 "2012-03-03T23:27:22Z")
As a San Franciscan with friends in Oakland, I’ve heard Oaktown a lot, but I’m not sure how much of that is joking. Also, nobody in Berkeley calls it Berzerkely, or the People’s Republic of Berkeley. Not sure if they did in the 60s, but not now. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/128 "2012-03-04T03:17:07Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Yep, for sure. I went to college in SLO-town, and there’s no O in Luis. Although there is an O in Ah Louis, a famous Chinese merchant from (I think) the early part of the 20th century. I believe his store is still in downtown SLO. Yeah, that’s SLO’s Chinatown. It’s a California Historical Landmark. It’s kind of like Santa Barbara’s Chinatown, which consists of the old shell of Jimmy’s Oriental Gardens, a bar with strong drinks which sadly closed about 5 years ago. Looking him up, there’s a pretty cool anecdote: > [@](#): > > In 1933, at the age of 93, Ah Louis decided it was time for him to observe his native tradition of going home to China to die. Because he didn’t plan to return to the U.S., he did not take with him the required re-entry documents. Within months, he was missing his family and friends, and he decided to return to the U.S. However, since he didn’t have the requisite papers, he was detained at the Immigration Center on Angel Island for three days, while U.S. Customs and Immigration authorities investigated his background. > > With the help and testimony of City of San Luis Obispo Mayor Louis Sinsheimer and other well known locals, as well as a telegram from then-Governor Hiram Johnson, it was determined that Ah Louis had indeed been a longtime merchant in San Luis Obispo, and he was allowed to return to the town that he had spent over 60 years helping to build. ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/129 "2012-03-04T03:39:27Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I grew up here too, and sometimes people do call it Beantown in my experience. It’s usually sports related, but I’ve heard it often enough that it’s not a big deal. I agree that the Hub is more common, often used in a phrase like “Hub politics”. Reminds me of the joke about what would happen if a nuclear weapon was ever detonated in New York City (The Boston Herald’s headline would read “Hub man injured in NYC Blast”) ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/130 "2012-03-04T03:44:40Z")
I like to refer to Reno, NV as “the biggest little shit-hole in the west,” but it never seemed to catch on. ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/131 "2012-03-04T11:42:15Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Baltimore is Bawlamer, Hon. 😉 > (and yes you have to say Hon as part of the sentence, it’s a rule) That is, if you’re not afraid of being sued by Denise Whiting, hon. ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/132 "2012-03-04T13:18:46Z")
Also in Boston, a slightly hip portmanteau is “Camberville” to refer to the pair of cities just this side of the river (Cambridge and Somerville). The joke nickname “The People’s Republic of Cambridge” (often simply “The People’s Republic”) is used often enough too. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/133 "2012-03-04T16:01:14Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Toronto is often called Hogtown, based on the urban legend that famers used to drive their pigs up the main street. I’ve heard Toronto called Hogtown about as frequently as I’ve heard it called The Big Smoke, Muddy York or Toronto the Good (i.e., almost never). ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/134 "2012-03-04T16:07:49Z")
> [@'\[cc](#): > > ;14825344’]I’ve never heard Detroiters actually call Detroit “Motown” or “The Motor City” of their own volition except when explaining these nicknames. > > We just call it “The D”. Seconded. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/135 "2012-03-04T16:20:56Z")
A few French ones: Parisians often call Paris “Paname”, but I’m not sure anyone who’s \*not \*a resident does. It’s also called “la ville lumière” (the city of light) but mostly only by tour guides and the PR office 🙂 People from Marseilles will sometimes call it by its Occitan name, Massilia - but the rest of France doesn’t to the best of my knowledge. It is also called “la cité Phocéenne” (the Phocean city), from the name of the place the Greeks who founded the city hailed from. Toulouse is often called “the pink city” by residents and outsiders alike (because most of its historical buildings are built out of naked bricks). And an obscure one: the city I grew up in was usually referred to by its initials, BLR - because the full name, “Bourg la Reine” (lit. Queen Burrough) sounds exactly like “Penetrate the Queen”. Which in and of itself wouldn’t be that bad, except when asking someone if he lives there. The full phrase would then be “t’habites Bourg la Reine ?”, which sounds exactly like “Does your dick penetrate the queen ?” ---
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/136 "2012-03-04T17:46:38Z")
Missoula (Montana) is sometimes locally referred to as “Zoo Town”, though in my experience by more recent arrivals (e.g. college students and other transients) moreso than long-time residents. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/137 "2012-03-04T18:06:18Z")
Phoenix is called the Valley of the Sun. It is common to refer to it as The Valley. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/138 "2012-03-04T18:41:19Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > For NY, I’m afraid it’s indeed just “the City”, with the following rules: > > The City (“I work in the City”, “I’m going to a concert in the City”, “Let’s visit the City”) = Manhattan - and Manhattan south of, well 96th St., at that. Great summary, to which I’d just add: anything north of Yonkers or in Connecticut is “the Country.” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/139 "2012-03-04T19:41:05Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I went there, once, in 1960. For 20 minutes. somebody had to say it ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377/140 "2012-03-04T19:47:25Z")
Portland is often referred to as Stumptown, Bridgetown or Beervana. Also occasionally as PDX, the airport designator. By the way, my wife shrieked in pain at the mere suggestion of “Frisco”. She lived there for 25 years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames-that-city-residents-actually-use/614377.md?page=8)