# What do you call someone from the UK? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 28, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517 "2006-02-28T20:59:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/81 "2006-03-03T10:48:41Z")
> [@Revenant Threshold](#): > > And if we haven’t yet received our knighthoods? 😉 _Foreigners_ should call us “Sir” nevertheless. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/82 "2006-03-03T14:51:18Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > From living in Europe, I know its not the prevailing view. There are two continents, North and South America, its never been seen as one. Just to show I’m not making this up: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=271354&highlight=America+continents+"North+America"+"South](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=271354&highlight=America+continents+%22North+America%22+%22South) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=60529&highlight=America+continents+"North+America"+"South](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=60529&highlight=America+continents+%22North+America%22+%22South) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=40583&highlight=America+continents+"North+America"+"South](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=40583&highlight=America+continents+%22North+America%22+%22South) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=114180&page=2&pp=40&highlight=America+continents+"North+America"+"South](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=114180&page=2&pp=40&highlight=America+continents+%22North+America%22+%22South) It’s not a matter of “a small idea of the world around us.” It’s simply that defining “the continents” is an arbitrary exercise and some people have defined them differently from others. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/83 "2006-03-03T15:55:47Z")
> [@Pjen](#): > > Note that GB technically does not include NI but never mind. I’m having trouble parsing this, because the full and proper name for “GB” is “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” Can you please clarify? Incidentally, in answer to the OP, I would therefore call a subject of the U.K. a UKoGBaNI-ite, pronounced OO-koh-guh-bah-nee-ite. Kinda rolls off the tongue, no? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/84 "2006-03-03T16:20:09Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > I’m having trouble parsing this, because the full and proper name for “GB” is “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” > > Can you please clarify? > > Incidentally, in answer to the OP, I would therefore call a subject of the U.K. a UKoGBaNI-ite, pronounced OO-koh-guh-bah-nee-ite. > > Kinda rolls off the tongue, no? 😃 What’s the parsing problem? Other than that you give a definition of Great Britain which itself includes Great Britain and something else? 😃 You sort of answered your own question there: UK = GB + NI. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/85 "2006-03-03T17:09:58Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > What’s the parsing problem? Other than that you give a definition of Great Britain which itself includes Great Britain and something else? 😃 You sort of answered your own question there: UK = GB + NI. I assumed that you were using “GB” as synonymous with “UK” – which was a wrong assumption on my part. My confusion arose because many people \*\*DO \*\* consider these terms as synonymous, perhaps because the UK uses the international foreign vehicle identification code of GB. So, at least on the rears of motor vehicles, GB=UK. (And I must add, the number of people making the GB=UK connection is much greater among people who do \*\*not \*\* live on those two European ( 😃 ) islands off of the coast of France.) ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/86 "2006-03-03T17:12:01Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > I’m having trouble parsing this, because the full and proper name for “GB” is “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” > > Can you please clarify? > > Incidentally, in answer to the OP, I would therefore call a subject of the U.K. a UKoGBaNI-ite, pronounced OO-koh-guh-bah-nee-ite. > > Kinda rolls off the tongue, no? 😃 Great Britain was the name for the union of the kingdoms of Scotland and England. The Kingdom of England had already entirely consumed the Principlaity of Wales and hence the Kingdom of England included Wales. Ireland was a separate country under domination of England at first than Great Britain. Then Ireland was added to the Kingdom, so we became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. When Ireland became independent (slowly between 1917 and 1948) we became the United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Technically the short name for our country in ‘Britain’ which is defined as Great Britain and Noerthern Ireland. But Great Britain refers only to Scotland and Ireland. All of the above ignores the Channel islands and Isle of Man! Simple eh? ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/87 "2006-03-03T17:18:39Z")
> [@Pjen](#): > > Simple eh? We wish! Wikipedia has a rather long entry just on the terminology alone, complete with a Venn diagram! [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British\_Isles\_(terminology)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Isles_%28terminology%29) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/88 "2006-03-03T17:46:42Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > My confusion arose because many people \*\*DO \*\* consider these terms as synonymous, perhaps because the UK uses the international foreign vehicle identification code of GB. So, at least on the rears of motor vehicles, GB=UK. Nope, GB=GB, which is the area covered by the DVLA. Northern Ireland vehicles are administered separately, by the DVLNI, and so a UK identification would be ambiguous. Yes, I’m nitpicky 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/89 "2006-03-03T18:19:00Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > and so a UK identification would be ambiguous You mean a GB one. Nitpicktastic! ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/90 "2006-03-03T18:20:01Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Nope, GB=GB, which is the area covered by the DVLA. Northern Ireland vehicles are administered separately, by the DVLNI, and so a UK identification would be ambiguous. > > Yes, I’m nitpicky 🙂 But, of course, vehicles from NI carry a GB plate. It’s all just so simple. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/91 "2006-03-03T18:32:00Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > You mean a GB one. > > Nitpicktastic! No, I mean a UK one, because it could refer to either the DVLA or DVLNI, whereas GB only refers to Swansea. I know my nitpicks! > [@](#): > > But, of course, vehicles from NI carry a GB plate. Don’t they carry NIRL ones? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/92 "2006-03-03T18:35:39Z")
Oh I see what you mean, just about. Shit, even I’m confused now. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/93 "2006-03-03T19:06:15Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > No, I mean a UK one, because it could refer to either the DVLA or DVLNI, whereas GB only refers to Swansea. I know my nitpicks! > Don’t they carry NIRL ones? No. No such thing. GB plate I’m afraid. > **[International vehicle registration code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_license_plate_codes#N)** > > The country in which a motor vehicle's vehicle registration plate was issued may be indicated by an international licence plate country code, formerly known as an International Registration Letter or International Circulation Mark. It is referred to as the Distinguishing sign of the State of registration in the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic of 1949 and the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 1968. > The allocation of codes is maintained by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe as... Just so simple. GB applies to the whole UK. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/94 "2006-03-03T19:15:23Z")
Lots of Northern Irish people have an **NI** bumper sticker, presumably for when they travel abroad… they then confuse the continentals who think they’re Nigerians or Nicaraguans or something! My family always put an **IRL** sticker on the car…my father preferred that people know we weren’t British. Although British and Northern Irish number plates looks similar (white on the front, yellow on the back) the letter/number codes are different, with Northern Ireland having three letters and then four numbers, corresponding to the county (county codes change with time) and the registration number while Britian has two letters, two numbers and then three letters, corresponding to the area where the car was registered, when it was registered and the exact registration. e.g Northern Irish plate: LBZ 1234 British Plate: YC 51 JHA The Republic of Ireland has the most sensible coding of all. Two digits for the year of registration, one or two letters for the county and then the registration number. e.g. the 1234th car registered in Galway in 2003 will have the registration 03 G 1234 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/95 "2006-03-03T19:30:52Z")
> [@Pjen](#): > > No. No such thing. GB plate I’m afraid. > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_international\_license\_plate\_codes#N](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_license_plate_codes#N) > > Just so simple. > > GB applies to the whole UK. OK, fair enough, the official identifier for Northern Ireland is GB. However, two things from your own link: - ‘GB’ dates from 1910, when it applied to the whole of the UK, including all of Ireland. So while the modern application of it to Northern Ireland is nonsensical, this is just because it predates any British sensitivity about such matters, and indeed predates the existence of the artifical province. - “There are other, unofficial codes in common use…Some license plates even tell us from which part of the country they are originating from” For examples of non-official usage in Northern Ireland, take a look here: [Olav's British number plates. Page 7. License plates of the United Kingdom](http://www.olavsplates.com/great_britain7.html#Northern%20Ireland) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/96 "2006-03-03T19:42:11Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Hm, I wonder why “American” or “Canadian” can be either an adjective or noun, but “British” can only be an adjective. Now that I think on it, only nationalities or regionalities ending in “n” (ie, Italian, Scandanavian) function that way. Otherwise, we’re left with “British person” or “French person”. Is “Brit” OK? ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/97 "2006-03-03T19:43:37Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > Lots of Northern Irish people have an **NI** bumper sticker, presumably for when they travel abroad… they then confuse the continentals who think they’re Nigerians or Nicaraguans or something! > > My family always put an **IRL** sticker on the car…my father preferred that people know we weren’t British. A NI plate is a ‘vanity plate’ like ‘Alba’ or Ecosse for Scotland. The official plate required to be legal for a NI registered car is a GB plate. An EI plate would be incorrect and illegal, though might make a political point. However, International plates are rarely enforced and most police in European countries would recognize a plate for what it was, even without an international identifier. I would be reluctant to drive a car with the wrong identifier in a country where the police nitpick and look for ‘contibutions’ to overlook minor offences. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/98 "2006-03-03T19:45:10Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Is “Brit” OK? Well, the noun is ‘Briton’ > [@Pjen](#): > > However, International plates are rarely enforced and most police in European countries would recognize a plate for what it was, even without an international identifier. I was under the impression that there was a cross-Europe (either EU, EEA or some other grouping) agreement that rendered international identifiers redundant. I may be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/99 "2006-03-03T19:47:23Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > OK, fair enough, the official identifier for Northern Ireland is GB. However, two things from your own link: > > - ‘GB’ dates from 1910, when it applied to the whole of the UK, including all of Ireland. So while the modern application of it to Northern Ireland is nonsensical, this is just because it predates any British sensitivity about such matters, and indeed predates the existence of the artifical province. > > - “There are other, unofficial codes in common use…Some license plates even tell us from which part of the country they are originating from” > ] And it parallels the GB team in the Olympics which may or may not show sensitivity. Is that nonsensical. 😃 > [@GorillaMan](#): > > For examples of non-official usage in Northern Ireland, take a look here: [Olav's British number plates. Page 7. License plates of the United Kingdom](http://www.olavsplates.com/great_britain7.html#Northern%20Ireland) I have nothing against vanity plates, but here we are talking official usage, nationality and formal identification. If we look at NI from a Personal National Identifciation Perspective, there will be no clear answer at all! ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517/100 "2006-03-03T19:52:25Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I was under the impression that there was a cross-Europe (either EU, EEA or some other grouping) agreement that rendered international identifiers redundant. I may be wrong. Only for plates that conform to the European standard with the blue flash and the national identifier. You may note that, for political reasons, the NI plates currently issued to not comply with these standards. To confuse matters further, NI and Old EI indices may be used under the UK registration scheme in some circumstances! You will see English owned cars with TZ777 or IG 999 registered with the DVLI. The indices would have historically belonged to NI and EI, but if reregistered in the appropriate time span then become DVLI indices. Many people use NI indices to hide the age of vehicles- especially buses and hire cars as NI indices are cheaper tha old English/Scottish/Welsh ones. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-someone-from-the-uk/346517.md?page=6)