# New Jerseyan??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 14, 2020, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755 "2020-05-14T00:45:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/1 "2020-05-14T00:45:06Z")
Governor Murphy used the term today in his press conference. I’ve lived in the state almost my entire life, and defend its honor from all the external hatred, but I swear that today is the first time I’ve ever heard that word. I actually had to google the spelling, in case it was ‘New Jerseian’ or something. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/2 "2020-05-14T01:12:51Z")
It’s apparently the state’s official demonym. What term do you actually hear get used to describe someone from New Jersey? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/3 "2020-05-14T01:29:16Z")
Interesting fact: a person from Hawaii is not necessarily a Hawaiian. The United States Government Publishing Office and the Associated Press Stylebook both say that a Hawaiian is a person whose ethnicity is native Hawaiian. A person who lives in Hawaii but is not an ethnic Hawaiian is a Hawaii resident. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/4 "2020-05-14T01:37:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It’s apparently the state’s official demonym. What term do you actually hear get used to describe someone from New Jersey? The one I hear most often is [New Jerseyite.](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/new-jerseyite) Both are correct, even if the former is official. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/5 "2020-05-14T01:45:13Z")
PINEY dammit — Kimstu, proud South Jersey native and expatriate now dwelling in more northerly regions where the ground has all these weird rumples in it ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/6 "2020-05-14T02:23:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It’s apparently the state’s official demonym. What term do you actually hear get used to describe someone from New Jersey? None. “From New Jersey“ is generally how someone from NJ is described. “New Jerseyite” is just as foreign to me. By the way, Apple doesn’t appear to know either word, as neither auto-fill even after I type the penultimate letter with my iPad. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/7 "2020-05-14T04:49:41Z")
Therefore I take it Jerseyman exclusively refers to regular Jersey? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/8 "2020-05-14T04:54:34Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Governor Murphy used the term today in his press conference. I’ve lived in the state almost my entire life, and defend its honor from all the external hatred, but I swear that today is the first time I’ve ever heard that word. I actually had to google the spelling, in case it was ‘New Jerseian’ or something. Noo Joyzhan. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/9 "2020-05-14T05:19:26Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > None. “From New Jersey“ is generally how someone from NJ is described. “New Jerseyite” is just as foreign to me. Really? :dubious: As a native New Yorker, it absolutely astonishes me that you’re unfamiliar with it. A search of the board shows many natives of New Jersey referring to themselves as both New Jerseyites and New Jerseyans. What part of the state are you from? [New Jerseyman used to be the most popular term but is now archaic. Recently New Jerseyite and New Jerseyan have been almost equally popular, but the latter has undergone a surge in the past decade.](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=New+Jerseyite%2C+New+Jerseyan%2C+New+Jerseyman&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2CNew%20Jerseyite%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CNew%20Jerseyan%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CNew%20Jerseyman%3B%2Cc0) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/10 "2020-05-14T05:34:31Z")
I lived in Ft. Lee for a couple of years. Everyone who lived there was considered a New Yorker. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/11 "2020-05-14T05:37:38Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I lived in Ft. Lee for a couple of years. Everyone who lived there was considered a New Yorker. There is also the fact that many New Jerseyites don’t want to admit it.😛 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/12 "2020-05-14T06:33:48Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I lived in Ft. Lee for a couple of years. Everyone who lived there was considered a New Yorker. Not by \*actual \*New Yorkers. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/13 "2020-05-14T12:32:40Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > None. “From New Jersey“ is generally how someone from NJ is described. “New Jerseyite” is just as foreign to me. By the way, Apple doesn’t appear to know either word, as neither auto-fill even after I type the penultimate letter with my iPad. I agree with this, you almost never hear “New Jerseyite” or “New Jerseyan” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/14 "2020-05-14T12:43:28Z")
Yankee. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/15 "2020-05-14T13:13:45Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Yankee. If you are in Florida then E. B. White would agree, but New Englanders still need something to call them. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/16 "2020-05-14T13:45:58Z")
As I observed in a thread almost a decade ago on this very topic ( [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-611523.html](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-611523.html) ), Ambrose Bierce suggested “ **Jerseyman** ”, which I rather like more than “New Jerseyan” or “New Jerseyite” (although it admitttedly is to sex-specific for this day and age). ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/17 "2020-05-14T14:08:38Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It’s apparently the state’s official demonym. What term do you actually hear get used to describe someone from New Jersey? I thought the answer the this question is “asshole” Source: from resident of New Jersey ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/18 "2020-05-14T19:32:27Z")
I sometimes call myself a New Jerseyan, but I don’t think I’ve heard anyone else say it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/19 "2020-05-14T20:00:56Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I agree with this, you almost never hear “New Jerseyite” or “New Jerseyan” While I agree the terms don’t often come up in conversation, you’re at least familiar with them. You’ve often referred to yourself as a Jerseyite: > [@Do I Know You? (2006 Version)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-know-you-2006-version/342414/78): > > **WOOKINPANUB** : C, but I remeber the origin of his name Eddy Murphy related. > **Hal** : E, real name and fellow Jerseyite. Has a Very Cute Baby > **Loach** : C > **NicePete** : A > > Just thought I would do the last few and the OP. > > Jim > [@What should I do while in Minneapolis for a few days.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-while-in-minneapolis-for-a-few-days/349067/3): > > Great, me a fat Italian guy who suits are all dark is getting advise from a fellow Jerseyite to act like I’m in the Mafia. I have had to prove my geek credentials occasionally to disprove any ties. 😉 > [@All you fucking assholes with joke "location"s](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fucking-assholes-with-joke-location-s/384925/69): > > Jim {what’s up with this thread, can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a Jerseyite?} > [@Enter Your "Sponsor My Membership" Requests Here](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enter-your-sponsor-my-membership-requests-here/398858/5): > > You are set and a joy to help out a fellow Jerseyite. Hope I see you at the next Dopefest. Probably June. You’ve also responded to others calling themselves Jerseyans. The terms may not be common, but they aren’t so rare that it’s not surprising that someone living in the state is completely unfamiliar with them. Now, I’ve never heard someone from Connecticut referred to by a demonym, whether Connecticuter, Connecticotian, or Connecticutensian. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755/20 "2020-05-14T20:15:16Z")
As I said, almost never hear it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jerseyan/853755.md?page=2)