List of British regional nicknames
In addition to formal demonyms, many nicknames are in common use for residents of the different countries, regions and places of the United Kingdom.
For example, residents of Liverpool, formally referred to as Liverpudlians, are also referred to by the nickname Scousers.
Some nicknames are a badge of pride; in other cases they may be regarded as offensive.
- This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
A - B
- Aberdeen
- A Don
- Arbroath
- Red Lichtie or Lichtie, Codheid
- Barnsley
- Tykes,[1] Colliers (a former mining community), Dingles (by people from Sheffield)
- Barrow in Furness
- Shipbuilder
- Bedford
- Barfordian
- Birmingham
- Brummie[2]
- Black Country
- Yam Yam,[3] Ninehead
- Blackburn
- The unchosen ones
- Blackpool
- Sand grown 'un, Donkey Lasher
- Bolton
- Trotters
- Bramley (West Yorkshire)
- Villager
- Bristol
- Ciderheads.
- Britain
- Limeys in Canada and the United States,[4] Pommies in Australia and New Zealand.[5]
- Burnley
- Dingles, a reference to Burnley's proximity to Yorkshire and the family from the TV soap operaEmmerdale (normally used by people from Blackburn, Preston and other parts of Lancashire)
- Bury
- Shakers
C - D
- Caithness
- Gallach[6]
- Carlisle
- Carliol
- Cardiganshire
- Cardi[7]
- Chester
- Cestrian.
- Chesterfield
- Spireite.
- Colchester
- Colchie, Roman, Camuloonie, Steamie, Castler. Cross'n'Crowner (after Colchester's coat of arms).
- Cornwall
- Kernowick, Merry-Jack, Mera-Jack, Uncle Jack or Cousin Jack (when abroad), Janner
- Coventry
- Godivas
- Cranfield
- Fr.Damien, Gummy bear, Mountain Fakoor (Dummy version)
- Crawley
- Insect[8]
- Devon
- Janner
- Doncaster
- Flatlander (especially by people from Sheffield), Knights
- Dumfries
- Doonhamer
- Durham
- Posh Geordie, Pitt Yakker (due to Durham's mining heritage)
E - G
- Edinburgh
- Edinbourgeois, Edin, The Burgh, Edinbugger, Embra
- England
- Sassenach, Red Coat, Inglish,[9] Nigel, Guffie, (in Northeast Scotland), Sais, Englandshire (in Scotland), The Shire (in Scotland).
- Essex
- Essex Calf (archaic), Eastie, Esser, wideboys, Saxon, slags, Scimitars (from the County Arms)
- Fraserburgh
- Brocher[10]
- Glasgow
- Keelie,[11][12] Weegie,[13]
- Goole
- Goolie
- Grimsby
- Cod Head (after the fishing port in Grimsby)
- Gillingham
- Chavs, Medwayers
- Gosport
- Turk-towners
H - K
- Hartlepool
- Monkey Hanger,[14] Poolie.
- Kent
- Yellow Tails (French nickname for people from Kent)
- Kirkcaldy
- Langtonian
- Ipswich
- Twelve Toes, Tractor Boys
- Isle of Wight
- Caulkhead (named after the caulking of boats) Historically Corkhead - Caulkhead is an urban myth perpetrated after the Isle of Wight County Press received no replies to its inquiry on the origins of Corkhead in the 1970s
- Heywood Lancashire
- Monkey town [15]
L
- Lancashire
- Yonner (specifically south-eastern Lancashire)
- Leeds
- Loiner,.[16]
- Leicester
- Rat-eye (from the Roman name for the city: Ratae), Chisits (from the pronunciation of "how much is it," which sounds like "I'm a chisit"); Foxes
- Leicestershire
- Beanbelly (from the eating of broad beans)[17]
- Leigh
- Lobbygobbler, Leyther
- Lincolnshire
- Yellow belly (after a species of frog common in the Lincolnshire and East Anglian Fens)[18]
- Liverpool
- Scouse or Scouser,[19] Mickey Mouse[20]
- Plastic Scouser: a person who purports to be from Liverpool, but is not.[21]
- Woolyback, or Wool: anyone not from Liverpool, but in particular refers to people living in the surrounding towns such as Birkenhead, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Warrington, Widnes, Wigan and St Helens.[22][23]
- Llanelli
- Turk
- London
- Del Boy, Shandy, Cockney (East End)
- Luton
- Hatter
M - N
- Macclesfield
- Maxonian
- Manchester
- Mancunian
- Mansfield
- Scabs, The Stags.
- Malmesbury
- Jackdaw
- Middlesbrough
- Smoggie,[24] an abbreviation of Smog Monster[25]
- Milton Keynes
- Cattle, Plastic Cow-Jockey, Thief (reference to the transfer of Wimbledon football club to Milton Keynes).
- Montrose
- Gable-endies
- Nantwich
- Dabber
- Neath
- Abbey-Jack, blacks, black-jacks.
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Geordie, Magpie, Mag
- Northern England
- Northern Monkey
- North Wales
- Gog[26]
- Norwich
- Carrot Cruncher, Country Bumpkin, Norfolk Dumpling
- Nottingham
- Bogger
- Nuneaton
- Codder, Treacletowner
O - R
- Oldham
- Yonner (from Oldham pronunciation of 'yonder' as in 'up yonner') Roughyed
- Paisley
- Buddie,[27]
- Peterhead
- Bluemogganer, Blue-Tooner
- Plymouth
- Janner. Originally a person who spoke with a Devon accent,[28][29] now simply any West Countryman.[28] In naval slang, this is specifically a person from Plymouth.[29]
- Portsmouth
- Pompey, Pomponian, Plastic Cockney/Skate, Pompeyite
- Rotherham
- Chuckle Brother (named after t'local legends Chuckle Brothers)
- Royston, Hertfordshire
- Crows
S
- Sheffield
- Dee daa.
- South Shields
- Sand dancer
- Southampton
- Mush, Scummer (used by people from Portsmouth)
- Southern England
- Southern Fairy, Shandy Drinkers
- Southport
- Sandgrounder
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Potter, Clay Head, Stokie, Jug Head
- Stockport
- Stopfordian
- Strood
- Long tails, Stroodle
- Sunderland
- Mackem[31]
- Sutherland
- Cattach
- Swansea
- Jack, Swansea Jack
- Swindon
- Moonraker
T - V
- Tarbert, Loch Fyne
- Dooker (named after guillemot and razorbill, sea-birds once a popular food among Tarbert natives)
- Teesside
- Smoggie, 'Borough Boys (after Middlesbrough)
W
- Wales
- Taff (slightly xenophobic),[32] Taffy, Trog
- Walsall
- Saddler
- Warrington
- Wire, Wirepuller (after the local wire industry),
- Welshpool
- Souped
- Westhoughton
- Keawyeds (Cowheads, after local legend)
- West Riding of Yorkshire
- Wessie (in other parts of Yorkshire)
- Weymouth and Portland
- Kimberlin (Portland name for a person from Weymouth)
- Whitehaven
- Marra, Jam Eater
- Widnes
- Chemic
- Wigan
- Pie-eater, Purrer, Woolyback
- Wiltshire
- Moonraker
- Winchester
- Wintonian
- Workington
- Jam Eater
- Wrexham
- Goat
Y - Z
- Yorkshire
- Tyke, Yorkie
See also
- List of regional nicknames
- Lists of nicknames – nickname list articles on Wikipedia
- Demonym
Citations
- ↑ "tyke", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 674)
- ↑ "Brummie", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 95)
- ↑ "Wolverhampton researches Black Country dialect". The Guardian. 2003-01-27. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ↑ "limey", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 401)
- ↑ "pommy", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 506–507)
- ↑ Transactions of the Gaelic Society. Gaelic Society of Inverness. p. 97. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ↑ "Cardi", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 119)
- ↑ "MOST Crawley residents have probably, at some time, referred to the town by its well-known nickname – Creepy Crawley". Thisissussex.co.uk. 20 October 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
- ↑ "Sassenach", (Robinson 1985, pp. 581)
- ↑ Adrian Room (2003). Placenames of the world: origins and meanings of the names for over 5000 natural features, countries, capitals, territories, cities, and historic sites. McFarland. p. 426. ISBN 978-0-7864-1814-5.
- ↑ "Brewer, E. Cobham. Dictionary of Phrase & Fable. Nicknames". Bartleby.com. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ↑ "keelie", (Robinson 1985, pp. 335)
- ↑ Payam Zarrabizadeh. "Off the Brochure Travel Guide: Glasgow, Scotland". Peter Greenberg. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ↑ "The Hartlepool Monkey, Who hung the monkey?". This is Hartlepool. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ↑ "Ten Thousand Years in Monkey Town: Why 'Monkey Town'?".
- ↑ "Loiner", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 406)
- ↑ Evans, Arthur Benoni (1881) Leicestershire Words, Phrases, and Proverbs; enlarged edition, edited by Sebastian Evans. London: N. Trübner for English Dialect Society; p. 101
- ↑ "Brewer, E. Cobham. Dictionary of Phrase & Fable. Nicknames". Bartleby.com. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Fazakerley, p. 24
- ↑ "Mickey Mouse" - rhyming slang for "Scouse", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 429)
- ↑ www.allwords.com, Plastic Scouser
- ↑ www.Slang.org.uk, Woolyback
- ↑ www.allwords.com, Woolyback
- ↑ Harley, Shaun (2007-10-16). "'I was made in Middlesbrough'". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ↑ Milward, Richard (2010-01-28). "'Tonight I'm a rock'n'roll scribe: Attack of the slightly slurring smog monster'". Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
- ↑ "gog", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 295)
- ↑ "Paisley Buddies - Paisley Scotland". Paisley.org.uk. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 "janner", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 363)
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 Cyril Tawney (1987). "Glossary". Grey funnel lines: traditional song & verse of the Royal Navy, 1900–1970. Taylor & Francis. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-7102-1270-2.
- ↑ "jock", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 369)
- ↑ "Quiz: How Much of a Mackem are YOU?". Sunderland Echo. 2009-01-04. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ↑ "taff", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 369)
References
- Cambridge Dictionaries Online. "Liverpudlian".
- Fazakerley, Fred (2005) [2001]. Scouse English. London: Abson Books. ISBN 0-902920-94-4.
- Partridge, Eric; Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry (2007). The concise new Partridge dictionary of slang and unconventional English. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-21259-5.
- Robinson, Mairi (1985). Concise Scots Dictionary. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd. ISBN 1-902930-00-2. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- Ronowicz, Eddie; Yallop, Colin (2006). English: One Language, Different Cultures. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8264-7079-9. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- Pinniped; Mu Beta Beta. "Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire". History (h2g2). Retrieved 13 March 2013.