Cities often pick up nicknames that capture their essence, reputation, or history. These city nicknames—sometimes official, sometimes folkloric— can be affectionate, promotional, or even ironic. In some cases a city’s leaders promote a nickname to brand its image; in others a name rises spontaneously from local culture or outside observation. For example, Philadelphia’s city name literally means “brotherly love” in Greek, reflecting founder William Penn’s ideals.
Across the globe, these monikers become part of a place’s identity. Travelers may see them on postcards or hear them in song lyrics, but often they carry deeper stories of local life and history. This guide explores 50+ famous city nicknames worldwide, revealing the surprising origins behind each. We blend historical research and local insight to separate myth from fact, while weaving practical tips and colorful anecdotes throughout. Each nickname is grounded in concrete context—journalistic accounts, city records and cultural evidence—so you gain more than trivia.
Nicknames are as old as cities themselves. In antiquity, Greeks and Romans gave cities poetic epithets (“Everlasting City,” “Queen of the Adriatic”) that reflected their lore. More recently, guidebooks and popular media cemented modern monikers in the public mind. Yet behind each nickname lies a specific origin: a flourish from a clever columnist, a branding campaign by tourism boosters, a defining historical moment or a linguistic pun. Our research drew on newspaper archives, old literature and expert interviews to chart these stories. In short, a nickname is a hook into a city’s tale—sometimes official lore, sometimes playful myth—and this guide digs into the evidence behind each one.
Each city’s story typically fits one or more of these patterns. Some nicknames evolve slowly over centuries, while others flash into being via a newspaper headline or viral marketing. The constant is that every nickname carries a tale worth telling. Read on as we go continent by continent, delivering both the legends and the facts behind each name.
Manhattan’s skyline in 1935 hints at why New York City has so many nicknames. Arguably the most famous is “The Big Apple.” Sportswriter John J. Fitz Gerald started using it in a 1920s racing column to refer to New York’s racetracks. He wrote, “The Big Apple, the dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred”. The phrase spread through jazz and horse-racing circles, and by the 1930s it appeared in Broadway lyrics. After fading mid-century, a 1970s tourism campaign revived it as NYC’s official symbol. Today the red apple logo is everywhere, reminding visitors of the nickname.
New York has other nicknames too. In 1807, writer Washington Irving mockingly called Manhattan “Gotham” in his magazine Salmagundi, borrowing an old English place name for a village of fools. The name took on a life of its own, later popularized by the Batman comics and films. Writers have also dubbed NYC “the City That Never Sleeps,” reflecting its 24/7 energy, and “the Capital of the World,” an aspirational slogan from mid-20th-century tourism ads. Each of these captures a slice of New York’s legend: its nightlife, its global role, or its storytelling lore.
Chicago’s best-known nickname is “The Windy City.” Contrary to popular belief, it didn’t just come from lake breezes. By the 1870s, journalists in other cities were already calling Chicago “windy” to imply its politicians and promoters were full of hot air. (One 1876 Cincinnati newspaper even ran “That Windy City” after a tornado hit Chicago.) Over time, stories emerged tying it to the 1890s World’s Fair, but historical research shows the term was well in use beforehand. In fact, climate records indicate Chicago’s winds were often milder than some other cities’—so the nickname stuck mainly as a jab at Chicago’s boosterism, not its breeziness.
Chicago also earned nicknames tied to its identity. The title “Second City” originally came from a rival city (often New York) referring to Chicago’s boom after the Great Fire of 1871. Later the phrase was embraced humorously, even as the name of a famous comedy troupe. Poet Carl Sandburg immortalized Chicago as the “City of the Big Shoulders” in 1914, praising its working-class strength. Other nicknames (like “Chi-Town”) are known, but locals use them sparingly. In short, Chicagoans tend to just say “Chicago” while outsiders celebrate these colorful titles.
A number of American cities carry famous monikers:
Each of these nicknames reflects something locally distinctive. For example, Denver might alternately be called “Queen City of the Plains,” and Nashville is officially “Music City” for its country-music legacy. (Nashville even features guitars on its license plates.) Phoenix is often called the “Valley of the Sun,” and Phoenix’s airport art highlights its sunny desert. All these names may seem quaint or obvious, but they carry the weight of local identity and history.
Paris earned the nickname “City of Light” (La Ville Lumière) for two related reasons. First, it led Europe’s Enlightenment in the 1700s – its philosophers and thinkers “lit up” the world with new ideas. Second, it was one of the first cities to put streetlights on all its boulevards: by the 19th century Paris’s gas lamps (and later electric lights) literally illuminated the nights. The nickname emphasizes both the city’s intellectual legacy and its literal brilliance after dark. (Tourists will see the phrase everywhere: on posters, on the Métro, even engraved on city seal designs.) Paris’s romantic image is so tied to lights – and to the Enlightenment – that even today locals proudly refer to “la Ville Lumière.”
Rome’s enduring nickname is “The Eternal City.” Ancient Roman poets popularized this idea: Tibullus called Rome urbs aeterna around 19 BC, celebrating the belief that Rome’s glory would never die. Virgil and later Church Fathers echoed the phrase too. Through the Middle Ages and into modern times, Romans have embraced Città Eterna as a self-identity. Today visitors will find “Eternal City” on souvenirs and hears it in guidebooks. It reflects how Romans and travelers alike have viewed the city’s unbroken legacy – from empire to Renaissance to republic – as something truly immortal.
In the Victorian era, London came to be called “The Big Smoke.” Rapid industrialization meant soot and fog frequently shrouded the city, and the term “Smoke” was Victorian slang for London’s notorious smog. Even after the Clean Air Act of 1956 cleared the air, older Londoners still affectionately refer to the city as “the Smoke,” recalling Dickensian era smogs. Another famous nickname is “The Square Mile,” which actually refers only to the financial center (the City of London). That historic district – home to St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Bank of England – covers about one square mile. News reports about finance often say “the Square Mile” to mean London’s market, distinguishing it from Greater London.
Not all nicknames are flattering. Some are born of derision. For example, Cleveland was dubbed “The Mistake on the Lake” in the late 1960s/70s. It started as a sarcastic jab at a failing stadium on Lake Erie and was later applied broadly to the city after bad news (like the Cuyahoga River fire). Cleveland’s leaders spent years trying to overcome that label. Other cities have fought off unwelcome names too (Baltimore briefly had “Charm City” rescued its image, while Long Beach, NY once rebranded after being nicknamed “the armpit of the Long Island Sound”).
Some negative labels fade when people stop using them. Cleveland’s mayor even convinced stadiums to stop printing “Mistake on the Lake” on tee-shirts. Houston has promoted its “Space City” image in part to drown out old jokes about pollution. In short, nicknames can wound as well as define, and savvy locals often highlight the positive ones while downplaying the sarcastic ones.
Journalists and writers have often coined city nicknames. We’ve seen New York’s “Big Apple” and “Gotham.” Washington Irving’s 1807 Salmagundi piece gave Manhattan its early Gotham name. Chicago’s “Windy City” was spread by rival newspapers in the late 19th century. Rival editors have long tossed nicknames at each other: Cincinnati’s editors once called Chicago “Porkopolis” (alluding to Chicago’s pork industry) to needle them. Even today, etymologists like Barry Popik dig through old newspapers to find first uses. In each case, a single writer or publication can plant a nickname that sticks in the public imagination.
Nicknames often echo in movies, music and literature. Gotham became Batman’s city, cementing the name in comics and films. Songs like Louis Armstrong’s “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?” evoke the Big Easy, and country tunes celebrate Nashville as “Music City.” Novels and guidebooks title chapters “Windy City Blues” or “City of Light.” Sports teams and businesses may adopt them, too (for instance, Atlanta’s minor league baseball team uses “City Too Busy to Hate” on apparel). Once coined, a nickname can spread worldwide through pop culture, reinforcing a city’s mythos.
City nicknames endure because they tap into a place’s soul. Each moniker encapsulates a facet of history, geography, industry or myth. Over time, some names fade and new ones emerge, mirroring the city’s evolution. Today you might still drive under a sign welcoming you to the “Mile High City,” or hear tourists compare two cities’ nicknames. Understanding why a city is called what it is gives travelers and locals alike deeper insight into that place’s story. As this guide shows, every nickname has a trail of evidence – whether in old newspapers, city archives or cultural lore. Armed with that knowledge, you can appreciate these names not just as trivia, but as living connections to a city’s past and character.
