List of city nicknames in South Carolina explained

This partial list of city nicknames in South Carolina compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that cities in South Carolina are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to municipal governments, local people, outsiders or their 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. Many of the unofficial nicknames listed here have been in use for a long time or have gained wide currency.

• • • Abbeville Pretty. Near. Perfect.^[3]
  • "The Birthplace and Deathbed of the Confederacy"^[4]
• Aiken
  • "A Place Like No Other"^[5]
  • The Winter Colony
• Aynor Little Golden Town
• Anderson – The Electric City^[6]
• Barnwell – Gateway to the Low Country
• Blacksburg – The Iron City^[7]
• Bluffton – Heart of the Lowcountry^[8]
• Calhoun Falls- “A Town of Opportunity” aka Lil Miami, C Town
• Charleston
  • Chucktown
  • The Chuck
  • The Big Sweet Grass Basket^[9]
  • The Holy City^[10]
• Cheraw
  • The Prettiest Town in Dixie^[11]
• Chesterfield
  • The Heart of the Carolinas^[12]
• Clemson
  • Tiger Town
  • Title Town
  • Cow Town
• Columbia
  • The Capital of Southern Hospitality^[9]
  • Cola City/Town
  • River City
  • Soda City
  • Capital City
• Elgin – Home of the Catfish Stomp^[9]
  • Paris of the Midlands
    • Florence Flo-Town
  • Magic City
• Greenville – Textile Capital of the World^{[13] [14]}
• Greenwood – The Emerald City^[15]
• Hilton Head Island - Snow Island
• Irmo
  • Home of the Okra Strut ^[16]
  • Gateway to Lake Murray ^[17]
• Lancaster – The Red Rose City^[18]
• Myrtle Beach – Golf Capital of the World^[19]
• North Augusta – South Carolina's Riverfront^[20]
• Orangeburg – The Garden City^[21]
• Pageland – The Watermelon Capital of the World^[22]
• Rock Hill – The Gateway to South Carolina
• Ruby
  • Jewel City of the South
• Spartanburg
  • The Hub City^[23]
  • Sparkle City^{[9] [24]}
• Sumter – The Gamecock City^[25]
• Walterboro - "The Front Porch of the Lowcountry"^[26]
• Winnsboro – Rock City

See also

• List of city nicknames in the United States

Notes and References

1. Muench, David "Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts", December 1993, accessed April 10, 2007.
2. Alfredo Andia, Branding the Generic City :), MU.DOT magazine, September 10, 2007
3. Web site: Abbeville, SC Official Website. www.abbevillecitysc.com. 2020-03-21. 2020-03-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20200321152738/https://www.abbevillecitysc.com/. live.
4. Web site: Abbeville's History Abbeville, SC. www.abbevillecitysc.com. 2020-03-21. 2020-03-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20200321152738/https://www.abbevillecitysc.com/209/Abbevilles-History. live.
5. Web site: Home. Visit Aiken SC. en. 2020-03-21. 2020-04-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20200410043807/https://www.visitaikensc.com/. live.
6. http://www.independentmail.com/news/2007/apr/13/appreciate-arts/ Appreciate the arts
7. http://www.gaffneyledger.com/news/2007/0330/Local_News/016.html Iron City leaders to be sworn-in
8. Web site: Bluffton: Heart of the Lowcountry . 2017-04-17 . 2017-04-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170417163207/http://discoversouthcarolina.com/products/28503 . live.
9. http://www.taglineguru.com/monikerlist.html U.S. City Monikers
10. http://www.sciway.net/city/charleston.html Charleston, South Carolina
11. Web site: Cheraw, SC. www.cheraw.com. 2020-03-21. 2020-02-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20200223153454/https://www.cheraw.com/. live.
12. Web site: HOME. chesterfieldsc. en. 2020-03-21. 2020-03-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20200319095430/https://www.chesterfield-sc.com/. live.
13. G'vegas On the Retirement of Bill Workman, Senator Lindsey Graham transcript of floor speech, accessed April 13, 2007. "Over the past few decades, Greenville and upstate South Carolina have slowly been transformed from being a textile capital of the world to a much more diversified economy."
14. http://www.relocateamerica.com/south-carolina/cities/greenville Greenville, South Carolina
15. http://ci.greenwood.sc.us/government_citymanager.aspx City Manager
16. https://www.okrastrut.com/
17. https://www.lakemurraycountry.com/businesses/irmo/
18. https://www.lancastercitysc.com/history-of-lancaster/
19. Web site: The World Capital of Whatever. The New York Times. Harold. Faber. 1993-09-12. 2018-11-15. 2008-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20080418221645/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9F0CE6DC1430F931A2575AC0A965958260. live.
20. Web site: History of North Augusta. www.lookawayinn.com. 8 April 2018. en. 4 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170204145607/http://www.lookawayinn.com/History-of-North-Augusta. live.
21. http://www.sciway.net/ccr/sc-city-nicknames.html
22. Web site: Town of Pageland.
23. Flynn, Sean P. "Classic cars to rumble through Spartanburg en route to West", Spartanburg Herald Journal, April 6, 2007, accessed April 13, 2007. "The Great American Race is coming to the Hub City."
24. http://www.fox21.com/Global/story.asp?S=6261808 Putting sparkle back in the "Sparkle City"
25. http://theitem.com/stories/another-busy-news-week-in-the-gamecock-city,240477
26. Web site: Walterboro, the "Front porch of the Lowcountry," rocks into the holidays - the Colletonian . 2019-11-10 . 2019-11-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191110180240/http://thecolletonian.com/walterboro-the-front-porch-of-the-lowcountry-rocks-into-the-holidays/ . live.