what is your towns/cities nickname

[maca02]

i live in Portsmouth UK, known as Pompey;

Legend has it that a snoozing, drunken sailor on shore leave in Portsmouth, interrupted a lecture on the Roman Empire given by naval temperance worker, Dame Agnes Weston founder of the Royal Sailors Rests, 'aggie weston's'.

When he heard that the emperor Pompey had died, the sailor shouted out 'Poor old Pompey' in a drunken slur, the name was taken up by others at the lecture and moved into common usage.

It is said that a group of Portsmouth based sailors, who climbed Pompey's Pillar near Alexandria in Egypt around 1781, became known as the 'Pompey Boys' and that this term carried over to the City itself.

Portsmouth has been a port ever since Roman times, the Romans having a miltary base at nearby Portchester.

Later when the port started to be developed locals nicknamed it Pompey, likening it to Pompeii which was well known for its Roman ruins.

The pomp and ceremony connected with the Royal Navy based at Portsmouth led to the adoption of the nickname, Pompey.

Bombay was part of the wedding gift of Catherine of Braganza to Charles II.

Portuguese seaman saw a resemblance between the two ports and may have called Portsmouth 'Bom Bhia' which became Anglicised to Pompey.

Pompey is merely a drunkards slurred pronunciation of Portsmouth Point in Old Portsmouth (where in the past there were many taverns popular with sailors)

Ships entering Portsmouth harbour make an entry in the ships log Pom. P. as a reference to Portsmouth Point (this being too long). Navigational charts also use this abbreviation.

La Pompee was a captured French ship moored in Portsmouth harbour and used for prison accommodation, (captured 1793 and broken up 1817). There is a Yorkshire term pompey for prison or house of correction.

What about your hometown ??

Edited March 22, 2011 by just a bloke

[MichaelW]

I live in Nelson, New Zealand, which is locally known as "Sun City" having not only recorded the most sunshine hours ever recorded in NZ but also having many other firsts, including being the first place where Maori first settled, the first city with an operational tram system in NZ and the birthplace of NZ rugby.

It routinely had the largest number of sunshine hours anywhere in NZ.

For those who wish to see it, here's a pic:

[Sakari]

Langlois , Oregon..........

How do you pronounce Langlois? -- According to the old-timers... it's Langless. This pronunciation is verified in early census records, where census enumerators spelled the name phonetically as they heard it.

Was the town named after the lighthouse keeper James Langlois? -- No. When it came time to bring a post office to the area of Dairyville, the petition for Dairyville was rejected to avoid confusion with Dayville. (Dayville is located in eastern Oregon near John Day) A.J. Thrift and Frank Langlois (brother of James) decided to call the town Langlois. The Langlois family arrived in Oregon's Willamette Valley with the earliest pioneers. By 1854, the family migrated to Curry County. William and Mary's son Thomas Orford, is believed to be the first pioneer child born in the area. William, the patriarch of the family was born in England.

The Langlois cheese factory burned to ground April 27, 1957, it was never rebuilt.

The cheese factory was built in 1925 by Hans H. Hansen, originally producing cheddar cheese. In 1941, the factory was changed to a blue cheese operation. Scientists discovered how to duplicate the imported French Roquefort Cheese, opening the doors for American production. While the French cheese is made from sheep's milk and aged in caves, the Langlois version was made from Jersey cows whole milk, and aged in a temperature controlled environment. During the process, each wheel was turned one-quarter turn everyday, ageing about 6 months. The cheese was noted as a full flavored Roquefort at its best, with a rich creamy texture of English Stilton.

The plant employed about 15 people on a regular basis, doubling the crew between Halloween and Christmas the busiest time of year. There was no automation in the plant, with the exception of an automatic pre-heater, which is believed to have caused the fire.

News Clip above/right: Committee Busy (Langlois Centennial Committee) --Good news! Contact has been made with Verner Nielson, recently retired cheesemaking professor, originally from Denmark, who instructed H.H. Hansen in the process of making the famous Langlois blue cheese, back in 1940. He also shared his knowledge of cheesemaking with the Maytag Cheese Co. in Newton, Iowa. In response to a request by the Centennial committee, Lee Pestana will be selling this famous blue cheese throughout this Centennial year at Langlois Market.

NOTE: The Maytag Cheese Company still manufactures the cheese and it is still available at the Langlois Market.

Directly across from the Old Church/Wool Factory is Langlois Market. This is THE meeting place for the locals. Lee serves up groceries, along with deli lunches (forget Subway, you can't beat a Langlois Market deli sandwich!), and his now world famous hot dogs. Word of warning: don't hit this place at noon! Try 11:30 or after 1:30, or be prepared to wait. This photo was taken about 11:30 am, there are four cars in front, and this photo does not show the parking lot! The store, added onto here and there, is over 50 years old, and one does wonder how many look up, as they are standing in line waiting.

We also have 5 out of the top 10 kite surfers in the world here....

Not to mention awesome Salmon Runs !!!! ......

On Decenber 5,2010 Johnathan Rohrbacker of Malin Oregon caught this massive 51 pound Chinook Salmon while fishing the famed little Elk River located on Oregon's southwest coast. Apparently there was a heart-stopping moment during the battle when the fish wrapped the line up in some submerged wood. The rod was finessed around and under the structure and the fish eventually landed.

[UFO_Monster]

I've no clue how these nicknames came about, but these are all of the common ones:

Charleston, West Virginia

- "Home of Hospitality" <--Coming from a state with one of two mottos, both of which are somewhat true.

- "The most northern city of the South and the most southern city of the North" <--Because that's the truth.

- "The Capital City" <--Original, eh?

- "Charly West" <--Idk.

- "Chemicalville" <--Industrial.

- "Chemical Valley" <--Industrial.

Edited March 22, 2011 by UFO_Monster

[Wyrdlight]

Well the area near where I live is known as "Little Siberia" as it sits on a hill and has a climate thats almost always 1-4 degrees colder than the areas half a mile around it.

The nearest town to me is Croydon, England. Which does not have a nickname as far as I am aware.... though it is the butt of numerous jokes and comedy sketches. Mostly due to its reputation a chav-filled wasteland.

This is not entirely fair, or true, but sterotypes endure! lol

We did invent a hairstyle.... the Croydon Face-lift!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croydon_facelift

Essentially you pull your hair back in a pony-tail so tight it streches all your face tight an smooth, it gives you a gaunt, bloodless look that encourgaes hair-loss and public mocking.

[The Silver Thong]

If you guys have ever heard of the Calgary stampede my town's nic name is kinda obvious. We are known as Cow Town.

[BiffSplitkins]

Syracuse, NY - also known as the 'Salt City'

We are also known as 'The Cuse' because of Syracuse University Basketball/Football.

Salt industry Salt sheds c. 1908 See also: Salt industry in Syracuse, New York The Jesuit missionaries visiting the Syracuse, New York region in the mid 17th century reported salty brine springs around the southern end of Salt Lake, known today as Onondaga Lake. The 1788 Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784), and the subsequent designation of the area by the State of New York as the Onondaga Salt Springs Reservation provided the basis for commercial salt production from the late 18th century through the early 20th century.[6]

The end result of the French and Indian War was the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) enacted by the United States on October 22, 1784. The lands of the natives were distributed soon after. In 1788, the lands around Onondaga Lake were transferred from the Onondaga Nation to local salt producers with the stipulation that the property would be used to produce salt "for the common use of everyone."[6]

Until 1900 the bulk of the salt used in the United States came from Syracuse.[13]

[MissMelsWell]

I technically live in Redmond Washington... I guess we're known for being the high tech capital of world... Home of Microsoft, Nintendo and a huge host of other software companies. However, the sign and sculpture on the main road into town claims that Redmond is the Bicycle Capital of the USA. Um, ok. LOL.

Mostly, it's really just a suburb of Seattle... known as the Emerald City (obvious, it's real green here) or has also been known as JetCity, well, you know... Boeing is located here. And more than once it's been referred to as the RainyCity... again, real obvious. LOL.

[~TheBigK~]

Home of the hodag The only other thing we're known for is a country music festival, unfortunately.

[black dahlia 83]

I live in Brisbane, Queensland. But everybody here has delusions of grandeur and calls it Brisvegas... So lame lol

[+OverSword]

Seattle aka Jet City, or Emerald City, or Seatown. also Rain City.

Doh! MissMellswell beat me to it.

Edited March 25, 2011 by OverSword

[character zero]

Indianapolis, IN

Nicknames:

"The Crossroads of America" - Due to the meeting of interstates 65, 69, 70, & 74, it is often called by this name.

"The Circle City" - Reference to the circular shape of the city limits.

"Naptown" - Name originating the early 1900s as an allusion to the city's function as a resting point for travelers. Early business closings left for a boring nightlife, and with the word 'nap' already in the name it managed to stick.

[Tehuti]

Portland, Oregon

The city of Roses or Rose city.

1888 We like and grow roses and we hold a rose festival every year.

Bridgetown

We have lots of bridges crossing the willamette and columbia rivers. many bridges are multi levels.

P-town

Rip City

The nickname Rip City is usually used in the context of the city's NBA team, the Portland Trail Blazers. The term was coined by the team's play-by-play announcer Bill Schonely during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on February 18, 1971, the Blazers' first season. In the days prior to the three-point field goal, Blazers' guard Jim Barnett took an ill-advised long distance shot that nonetheless went in, giving the new team hope for a victory against the powerful Lakers. Excited, Schonely exclaimed "Rip City! All right!" Schonely admits that he has no idea how he came up with the expression, but it became synonymous with the team and the city of Portland

Stumptown

The city grew too fast and stumps of trees were left until they had enough manpower to clean them up. There were more stumps tha trees back then 1800s. today, is used as portland's nickname for the lack of tall skyscrapers, highest one only at 546ft.

Razorblade City

high suicide rates

Edited March 26, 2011 by Tehuti

[MissMelsWell]

Portland, Oregon

Me being in Seattle, and having a lot of family, business, and other ties to Portland... odd though it may be... we call Portland "The PDX" LOL. After the airport. haha. In fact, just today, I got an email from my boss, who is a Portland native, that said "Can you go to the PDX on the 8th?" LOL. In other words, can I go to Lake Oswego and do something techy-ish in their office down there. Mostly, he knows I like to get to Portland to see family, and he'll pay me to do something pointless down there so I get a free trip to see my sister. LOL. Love my job.

[Tehuti]

Seattle is FUN except for the tarffic and all the rain. but it rains here and in fact it is raining right now. Part of being in the Northwest though...it is just amazing how they get the weather so wrong..if you say rain everyday you would be right about 80% of the time. It is probably higher than that but I am being nice.

Yeah, I was going to put up PDX...I hear many ppl called it that, but like you said it's the airport.LOL

Well I am glad you get to come down and visit your family...that's always nice.

Downtown is slowly slipping away though. Everything in closing. So, pretty soon we will be called Ghosttown.

[lonely_sheep]

"The Box"

[Ealdwita]

My County - 'The Garden of England'

[BiffSplitkins]

Mostly, it's really just a suburb of Seattle... known as the Emerald City (obvious, it's real green here) or has also been known as JetCity, well, you know... Boeing is located here. And more than once it's been referred to as the RainyCity... again, real obvious. LOL.

I've been there. I stayed with a friend in Bremerton while visiting. He was an artist out there and took me everywhere to show me everything interesting. I remember driving past the house that Bill Gates grew up in and my friend Leon telling me all about it. We visited quite a few reservations as well.

I had a great time while out there. It was over a 4th of July week and it was pretty chilly and rainy most of the time.

Seattle aka Jet City, or Emerald City, or Seatown. also Rain City.

Doh! MissMellswell beat me to it.

They've recenly been trying to change Syracuse, NY from The Salt City to the Emerald City. Personally I like the name Salt City better for here... besides you guys had the name Emerald City waaaay before someone thought of the idea for here.

[MissMelsWell]

I had a great time while out there. It was over a 4th of July week and it was pretty chilly and rainy most of the time.

Yes, the big local joke here is that summer starts on July 5th. Athough, I don't know that it's much of a joke... the 4th is frequently wet and cold, by the 5th or 6th, mother nature gets happy and gives us some sun and heat... for a couple of weeks anyway.

Truth is when the sun comes out in Seattle, in my opinion, there's' no place prettier:

Lake Union, a hair north of downtown. with Mt. Rainier standing tall.

[Relle]

Our nicknames are The Peg and Winterpeg since we seem to have winters that never end!

[AR_Nick]

Sacramento, California

"Where Dreams Go To Die"

The only thing we're famous for is tent cities, serial killers and Tesla. Sadly, almost no one has heard of Tesla, and perhaps more so, almost no one has heard of Sacramento.

[Disembodied Voice]

This is really lame but the old town I used to live in real name was Bethalto. But everyone around here, I've even heard people from the next state over call it this "B-Town". lol. I don't know why that name stuck. It used to be a little town (a village is what they actually called it it was so small.) Now it's HUGE and over populated.

[Art Vandarley]

Weltkulturhauptstadt