# City nicknames **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 13, 2006, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516 "2006-09-13T08:12:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/1 "2006-09-13T08:12:32Z")
I was thinking about this driving home from work the other night. Mundane and pointless. I’ll start with a few… New York City - “The city that never sleeps.” “The Big Apple” the list goes on… L.A. - “City of Angels” Chicago - “Second City” “The Windy City” Philadelphia - “The city of brotherly love” Baltimore - “Charm City” Detroit - “The Motor City” “Motown” “Hitsville, USA” Denver - “The Mile-High City” Boston - “Beantown” Las Vegas - “Sin City” New Orleans - “The Big Easy” St. Louis - “Gateway to the west” (?) Minneapolis/St. Paul - “The Twin Cities” San Francisco - ??? Seattle - Memphis - Nashville - ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/2 "2006-09-13T08:25:21Z")
(UK) Portsmouth = ‘Pompey’ ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Rosewater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mr.Rosewater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Rosewater)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/3 "2006-09-13T08:29:00Z")
Chicago has many more nicknames. Quite a few of them come from the Carl Sanburg poem [_Chicago_](http://carl-sandburg.com/chicago.htm). City of Broad Shoulders, Hog Butcher to the World, etc. To further your list, I’ve heard Seattle refered to as The Emerald City. And to add to it, I’ve heard London called The Big Smoke. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/4 "2006-09-13T08:32:15Z")
Barcelona: Barna; Barnacity (this one mostly among the geeky crowds). Sometimes towns with long names are referred to by the airport abreviation. I’ve been seeing a lot of BCN (barcelona) and ZGZ (zaragoza) but this is only in writing. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Rosewater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mr.Rosewater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Rosewater)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/5 "2006-09-13T08:38:26Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Rosewater] Carl Sanburg poem [/QUOTE] There should, of course, be a ‘d’ in Mr. \*\*Sandburg’\*\*s name. :smack: Sorry for any confusion. ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/6 "2006-09-13T08:41:07Z")
I didn’t even think of international cities. Paris - “The city of lights” ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/7 "2006-09-13T08:42:06Z")
And Paris is the City of Lights. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Rosewater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mr.Rosewater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Rosewater)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/8 "2006-09-13T08:46:43Z")
Amsterdam and St. Petersburg are both The Venice of the North. (probably along with several other cities0 ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/9 "2006-09-13T10:14:44Z")
Toronto = “T.O.” (or, to Quebecers, “the rest of Canada”) Hamilton = the Hammer (or the armpit of Ontario - or maybe that’s just my name for it!) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/10 "2006-09-13T10:25:21Z")
SF is Baghdad by the Bay. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/11 "2006-09-13T10:26:29Z")
London: The Smoke, or just “Town”. Oxford: the City of Dreaming Spires Birmingham (UK): Brum or Brummajen Hong Kong: Hongkers (rechristened Hongkers Pongkers Diddly Donkers by my expatriate friend. I like it!) ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/12 "2006-09-13T10:38:13Z")
[QUOTE=mnemosyne] Toronto = “T.O.” [/QUOTE] I’ve mostly heard this shortened to ‘the T-dot’. (Which is why I tend to refer to preppy kids from Ontario as T-dots). Halifax is known as the ‘City of Trees’, though after Juan a couple years ago ‘City of Lumber’ might have been more appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/13 "2006-09-13T10:40:44Z")
Buffalo, New York: The City of Good Neighbors ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slip\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slip\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slip_1)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/14 "2006-09-13T11:13:19Z")
New York City is just “the City” around here. Or, alternatively, Gotham. Fort Worth (Texas) is “Panther City”, a nick from the olden days when the town was so depressed that a panther was seen sleeping on Main Street. Houston is known to some as “the swamp” 🙂 (which it basically is in parts). ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/15 "2006-09-13T11:30:42Z")
[QUOTE=if6was9] Boston - “Beantown” [/QUOTE] You forgot “Hub of the Universe” (or just “The Hub”). A bit outdated, perhaps, but we’re sticking with it anyway. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/16 "2006-09-13T12:49:27Z")
**Sydney:** Sin City, Tinsel Town (by people in Melbourne), Sydders. **Melbourne:** Bleak City (by people in Sydney) **Canberra:** Yuk! (by everyone) **Adelaide:** City of Churches **Brisbane:** Bris Vegas ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/17 "2006-09-13T12:53:27Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Rosewater] Chicago has many more nicknames. Quite a few of them come from the Carl Sanburg poem [_Chicago_](http://carl-sandburg.com/chicago.htm). City of Broad Shoulders, Hog Butcher to the World, etc. [/QUOTE] I cringe when people call it “Chi Town.” Eeeew. Stop it! ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/18 "2006-09-13T12:56:51Z")
Houston is The Bayou City Oklahoma City is The City, compared to Tulsa being T-Town. I call it The O-K-C New Orleans - The Big Easy Los Angelas - City of Angels Boston - Bean Town Jakarta, Indonesia - The JK Miami - Littla Cuba, NYC South, Longer Island Vladivostok, Russia - Lord of the East ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/19 "2006-09-13T13:01:28Z")
[QUOTE=mnemosyne] Toronto = “T.O.” (or, to Quebecers, “the rest of Canada”) [/QUOTE] I’ve heard a number of nicknames for Toronto. T-Dot, T.O., The GTA, the Megacity (during the initial amalgamation period), The Big Smoke, Tronna (said with a Maritimer accent), Hollywood North (which probably belongs to Vancouver now), and the venerable Hogtown. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/20 "2006-09-13T13:03:20Z")
Denver - A recently acquired and fully owned subsidiary of Elway Enterprises. Eureka Springs, AR - Wedding Capitol of the Ozarks Laramie, WY - BooFoo Egypt [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516.md?page=2)