List of city nicknames in New York State explained

This partial list of city nicknames in New York compiles the aliases, sobriquets, and slogans that cities in the U.S. state of New York are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to municipal governments, local people, outsiders, or the cities' tourism boards or chambers of commerce. City nicknames can help in establishing a civic identity, helping outsiders recognize a community or attracting people to a community because of its nickname; promote civic pride; and build community unity.[1] Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth" are also believed to have economic value. Their economic value is difficult to measure, but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.[2]

Some unofficial nicknames are positive, while others are derisive. The unofficial nicknames listed here have been in use for a long time or have gained wide currency.

Nicknames by city

A

B

C

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

See also: Nicknames of New York City.

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

W

Y

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Muench, David . Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts . University of Wisconsin Extension . December 1993 . April 10, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130309175857/http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cced/economies/communityindicators/communityslogans.pdf . March 9, 2013.
  2. Alfredo Andia, Branding the Generic City:, mu.dot magazine, September 10, 2007
  3. MSN Encarta states that this nickname "resulted from the meeting here in 1754 of the Albany Congress, which adopted Benjamin Franklin's Plan of Union, the first formal proposal to unite the colonies."http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562236/albany.html . Archived 2009-10-31.
  4. https://www.timesunion.com/entertainment/article/Nippertown-returns-with-new-focus-on-arts-and-14050892.php "Nippertown returns with new focus on arts and culture"
  5. http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/smallbany_or_smalbany_albany_nickname/ "Albany: Smallbany or Smalbany or SmAlbany (nickname)"
  6. http://www.mvls.info/lhg/amsterdam/index.html The Amsterdam Free Library
  7. "History's Hometown" Campaign Kick-off . Good News from Auburn . 4 . 11 . April 18, 2013 . August 25, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110825002205/http://positivelyauburn.com/goodnews/volume4_11/index.html . dead .
  8. E.g. Prison City Pub and Brewery, Prison City Ramblers car club
  9. http://www.wskg.com/ParlorCity.htm Binghamton: Building The Parlor City
  10. http://www.tier.net/users/gwrra/carohist.htm Carousel Capital of the World
  11. Book: Smith, Gerald. Partners All: A History of Broome County, New York. 2006. The Donning Company. Virginia Beach, VA. 978-1-578-64339-4.
  12. https://www.npr.org/2010/12/01/131725100/the-legacy-of-george-f-johnson-and-the-square-deal The Legacy Of George F. Johnson And The Square Deal
  13. Web site: 2008 Inductee Jim Matthews - Bobby Orr Hall of Fame, Parry Sound, Ontario . 2015-02-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110930065747/http://www.bobbyorrhalloffame.com/inductee-corner/2008/inductee/28/jim-matthews/ . 2011-09-30 . dead .
  14. News: This is the Boogie Down Bronx. Kat Kinsman. CNN. March 25, 2015. December 11, 2015.
  15. Web site: Birthplace of Hip Hop. PBS. History Detectives

    Special Investigations

    . December 11, 2015.
  16. Ryley, Sarah. "Brooklyn Atlantic Yards: 'Wrong Church, Wrong Pew,' Says Manhattan Judge in Tenants' Case", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 18, 2007. Accessed June 13, 2007. "State Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub ruled the action 'was brought both in the wrong church and the wrong pew,' making reference to Brooklyn's early reputation as the 'City of Churches'. In a footnote, the judge cited an 1844 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle as the origin of that nickname."
  17. Book: Mele, Andrew P.. The Boys of Brooklyn: The Parade Grounds: Brooklyn's Field of Dreams. 2008. AuthorHouse. 978-1434340405. 292.
  18. Book: Morrone, James F.. An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn. 2001. Gibbs Smith. 1586850474. x.
  19. http://www.brooklyn-usa.org/Pages/OIB/OIB_05/dec27_jan9.htm Brooklyn news updates for December 27 - January 9, 2005
  20. http://www.wgrz.com/news/specials/CityOfGoodNeighbors/CityOfGoodNeighbors_article.aspx?storyid=42492 Students Show Why We Are the City of Good Neighbors
  21. Todd Natti, An Orphan of History, Art Voice, October 26, 2006
  22. The Urban Design Project, The Queen City Hub: A Regional Action Plan for Downtown Buffalo, accessed February 12, 2011
  23. http://www.taglineguru.com/monikerlist.html U.S. City Monikers
  24. Barry Popik, Smoky City, barrypopik.com website, March 27, 2005
  25. http://www.canandaiguanewyork.gov/ City of Canandaigua official website
  26. Web site: The World Capital of Whatever. The New York Times. Harold . Faber. 1993-09-12. 2018-11-15.
  27. https://web.archive.org/web/20110516233516/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1133138.html Hoboken Claims Honor As Baseball Birthplace
  28. Web site: Claims to fame - Sports . 2008-01-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150519001923/http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/sports.html . 2015-05-19 . dead .
  29. http://www.10best.com/Corning/ Corning, New York
  30. http://www.cortland.org/community/history/history10.htm Local History
  31. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/agriculture.html Claims to Fame - Agriculture
  32. Book: Aswad. Ed. Meredith. Suzanne M.. Endicott-Johnson. 2003. Arcadia. Charleston, SC. 23. 9780738513065. 26 February 2015.
  33. http://www.diamondologist.com/florida.htm Florida, New York
  34. Motola, Chris. "Nestle and Sonoco Plants Expected to Resume Operation Under New Ownership", Oswego County Business, December 10, 2003, accessed April 16, 2007. "Fulton may once again live up to its slogan, 'a city with a future.' New York State Gov. George Pataki arrived to unveil the good news at a press conference at the Fulton Municipal Building on Dec. 10 at 2PM."
  35. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/fish.html Claims to Fame - Fish
  36. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/rocks.html Claims to Fame - Rocks
  37. http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/hamburg/hamburg-bickering-a-key-issue-for-elections-in-the-town-that-friendship-built-20131027
  38. http://www.earlyaviators.com/ecurtiss.htm Glenn Curtiss
  39. http://www.villageofhaverstraw.com/Our%20History.htm The Village of Haverstraw's History
  40. http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/html-doc/ahavers.htm Brownfields Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet: Haverstraw, NY
  41. http://www.hudsonrivervalley.org/books/studentworks/bricks.ppt Brick Making in the Hudson River Valley - Haverstraw
  42. http://www.cityofhornell.com/ City of Hornell official website
  43. http://www.worldmapsonline.com/historicalmaps/1W-NY-JA-1882.htm Historical Map of Jamestown, NY - 1882
  44. http://www.jamestownny.net/index.php/community-history/the-pearl-city City of Jamestown, New York - The Pearl City
  45. http://www.villageofjc.com/jc-news-2/about About JC
  46. http://www.techcityny.com/ulster_county/commercial_real_estate/hudson_valley_vision_community TechCity Properties
  47. http://www.kingston-ny.gov/filestorage/708/710/712/KVG_Bookresized2_%282%29.pdf City of Kingston 2011 Visitors' Guide
  48. D'Onofrio, John. "FOOTBALL: Semi-pro football returns to Lock City", Niagara Gazette, April 1, 2007, accessed April 16, 2007.
  49. http://www.longbeachny.gov/ City of Long Beach official website
  50. Purdum, Todd S. "POLITICAL MEMO; An Embattled City Hall Moves to Brooklyn", The New York Times, February 22, 1992. Accessed March 27, 2008. "Leaders in all of them fear that recent changes in the City Charter that shifted power from the borough presidents to the City Council have diminished government's recognition of the sense of identity that leads people to say they live in the Bronx, and to describe visiting Manhattan as 'going to the city.'"
  51. Web site: Former 'Paper City' Westvaco mill in New York that closed 40 years ago profiled as demolition completed for redevelopment. RISI. November 11, 2013. December 11, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222131128/http://www.risiinfo.com/pulpandpaper/news/Former-u2018Paper-Cityu2019-Westvaco-mill-in-New-York-that-closed-40-years-ago-profiled-as-demolition-completed-for-redevelopment-From-the-web.html. December 22, 2015. dead.
  52. Book: Joining the Sisterhood: Young Jewish Women Write Their Lives . February 2012 . SUNY Press. 9780791486153 .
  53. News: Jacob's Voice . Jewish Press . 24 May 2006 . 12 June 2015.
  54. Joseph Nathan Kane, Gerard L. Alexander, Nicknames and Sobriquets of U.S. Cities, States, and Counties, Scarecrow Press, 1979, Page 340
  55. New Rochelle: The City of Huguenots, Knickerbocker Press, 1926, New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce
  56. Modern New Rochelle and The National City Bank, The National City Bank, 1909, M.J.Dillon, Page 19
  57. http://www.salwen.com/apple.html Why Is New York City Called "The Big Apple"?
  58. Finn, Robin. "A Vigilant Eye on Threats to the 'Capital of the World'", The New York Times, June 8, 2007. Accessed June 13, 2007. "'What makes this the biggest challenge in all that we do as an agency is, well, as the late pope said, New York City is the capital of the world,' he says, leading the way into his spacious sanctum at 26 Federal Plaza."
  59. News: New York: The City of Dreams. Aakanksha Pagnis. The Viewspaper. October 5, 2009. December 11, 2015. January 17, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180117013608/http://theviewspaper.net/new-york-the-city-of-dreams/. dead.
  60. Mullane, J.D. "Trumping a New Yorker", The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 25, 2007, accessed April 16, 2007. "'Here we go again,' I said. 'New York, New York. The city so nice they named it twice, right?'"
  61. http://www.brave.com/bo/lyrics/nyny.htm "New York, New York" Lyrics
  62. http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId=%7BA238C1C0-B848-11D3-936D-00902786BF44%7D Art and the Empire City: New York, 1825–1861
  63. Web site: Why 1970s New York was nicknamed "Fun City". 30 December 2016.
  64. Pfeiffer, Rick. "NIAGARA FALLS: Courthouse crumbles", Niagara Gazette, April 4, 2007, accessed April 16, 2007. "You don't have to look far to find structural faults — there is more police crime scene tape stretched around problem areas at the Public Safety Building then there is on Cataract City streets."
  65. http://www.buffalohistoryworks.com/tonawanda/tonawand.htm The Town of Tonawanda - History
  66. http://www.1000islands.com/ogdensburg/history/ History of Ogdensburg
  67. http://www.palmyrany.com/
  68. https://archive.today/20120712222733/http://pearlriver.patch.com/blog_posts/pearl-river-the-town-of-friendly-people-really
  69. Web site: Top 16 Small Cities in New York. Cities Journal. December 11, 2015. June 8, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230608155445/https://www.citiesjournal.com/top-16-small-cities-in-new-york/. dead.
  70. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/food.html Claims to Fame - Food
  71. Web site: The First Annual Black Dirt Feast: Program Guide. By the mid 19th century ... immigrant farmers, had drained the mucklands and planted the magnificent golden onions that made the region famous, eventually reaching a yield of 30,000 pounds of onions per acre. Pine Island, in the heart of the Black Dirt, became known as 'The Onion Capital of the World'.. July 28, 2009. December 29, 2012. December 24, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121224171627/http://www.warwickinfo.net/blackdirtfeast/BDF-ProgramGuide-rd.pdf. dead.
  72. Web site: The onion reigns supreme in Black Dirt Country . Jennifer Brizzi . June 11, 2012 . Hudson Valley Almanac Weekly.
  73. http://www.cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov/Tourism/ Tourism
  74. Web site: Welcome to the City of Poughkeepsie . City of Poughkeepsie . April 27, 2012.
  75. Web site: New road signs proclaim Queens as "The World's Borough". . 15 October 2014 .
  76. Web site: Crapchester . Campus Times. 19 December 2004 .
  77. Web site: Rochester FAQs . Greater Rochester Visitors Association. June 13, 2007 . Rochester has been known as the "Young Lion of the West," the "Flour City," and the "Flower City." During the 1990s, Rochester was called "The World's Image Centre," a title stemming from its unique and impressive history in photography, xerography, and optics along with its leading role in manufacturing/research activities, and impressive educational resources in both traditional and evolving imaging sciences. . https://web.archive.org/web/20080115102340/http://www.visitrochester.com/static/index.cfm?contentID=38 . January 15, 2008.
  78. http://www.visitrochester.com/faq/ FAQs, Visit Rochester website, accessed April 28. 2012
  79. http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/timeline/flower.html Rochester's History
  80. http://www.history.rochester.edu/flowercity/ The Flower City: Center of Nurseries and Fruit Orchards
  81. E.g. Roc City Furniture, Roc City Skatepark, Roc City Rib Fest
  82. E.g. Copper City Driving School, Copper City Chrysler Dodge, Copper City United Soccer Club
  83. Paul Post, Saratoga group hopes to create Thoroughbred park, Thoroughbred Times, November 21, 2008. "Mayor Scott Johnson said the city cannot afford to purchase the parcel but that he supports the foundation’s efforts, which he said would be a welcome addition to the 'Racing City's' landscape."
  84. Mokhiber, Jessica. "Spa City celebrates Mardi Gras with sister city", Capital News 9, February 18, 2007. Accessed June 13, 2007. "Waveland, Mississippi and Saratoga are hundreds of miles from each other but they are connected by a special bond. After hurricane Katrina they became sister cities. This weekend people from Waveland helped the Spa City celebrate its very first Mardi Gras."
  85. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/energy.html Claims to Fame - Energy
  86. Roane, Kit R.
      • Schenecstasy

    "The Forgotten New York", U.S. News & World Report, January 7, 2007. Accessed June 13, 2007. "Back in the 1950s, maybe. But the song, adopted by the city in 1995, expresses more hope than reality these days. Once known as 'the city that lights and hauls the world,' Schenectady has become a dim bulb and the first stop in a long, bleak road that runs through much of upstate New York, a countryside pockmarked with a series of eerie industrial relics and shuttered mill towns."

  87. News: Getting Around Staten Island: A Guide to the Borough of Parks. CBS New York. August 22, 2011 . December 11, 2015.
  88. News: The Borough of Parks. Staten Island Advance. October 5, 2009. December 11, 2015.
  89. 15 July 1928, New York Times, pg. RE1: "Urging Staten Island operators to be cautious about pricing their realty, W. Burke Harmon, President of the Harmon National Real Estate Corporation, yesterday declared that sudden price increases on properties at this time might well result in halting the normal development of what he calls 'this forgotten borough that has suddenly stepped into the limelight.'"
  90. Barry Popik, Shao-Lin (Staten Island), popik.com, September 14, 2004
  91. Web site: A History of Syracuse City Hall. City of Syracuse official website. December 11, 2015. Syracuse, called the 'Salt City,' flourished in the mid-1800s.. January 17, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180117131402/http://www.syracuse.ny.us/History_of_City_Hall.aspx. dead.
  92. Faber, Harold "The Talk of Troy; 'The Collar City' Is Loosening Its Ties to the Past" January 22, 1989. "Troy is still known as 'the collar city.'"
  93. News: Mittel Jr., David A. . The City That God Forgot . . June 4, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080605114605/http://www.projo.com/opinion/columnists/content/CL_mitt4_06-04-08_OIAAHDS_v18.39d9256.html . June 5, 2008 . dead .
  94. Web site: Garland City. City of Watertown official website. December 11, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222165700/http://www.watertown-ny.gov/index.asp?NID=412. December 22, 2015. dead.
  95. http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/lost_borough_yonkers/ "Lost Borough (Yonkers)"

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "List of city nicknames in New York State".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.