List of British regional nicknames

In addition to formal demonyms, many nicknames are used for residents of the different regions of the United Kingdom. For example, natives and residents of Liverpool are formally referred to as Liverpudlians, but are most commonly referred to as Scousers (after their local dish). Some, but not all, of these nicknames may be derogatory.

A - B

Aberdeen
Dons (originally a football term, it is now used to describe anyone from Aberdeen and surrounding area)
Arbroath
Red Lichties or Lichties, Codheids
Barnsley
Barnzolians, Tykes,[1] Colliers (a former mining community), Dingles (by people from Sheffield)
Barrow in Furness
Shipbuilders, Jack Beales
Belfast
McCooeys, Dunchers
Beverley
Bevsters
Birkenhead
Bin Dippers, Plastic Scousers (or Plazzies)
Birmingham
Brummies[2]
Black Country
Yam Yams,[3] Nineheads
Blackpool
Sand Grown 'Uns, Donkey Lashers, Seasiders
Bolton
Trotters (originally a football term, it is now used to describe anyone from Bolton and surrounding area)
Bramley
Villagers (by people from other areas of Leeds)not a
Brighton
Jugs (archaic)
Bristol
Wurzels
Britain
Limeys in Canada and the United States[4] Pommies in Australia and New Zealand[5] :Les Rosbifs in France[6]
Tommy, Island Monkey in Germany.[7]
Burnley
Dingles, a reference to Burnley's proximity to Yorkshire and the interrelated family from the TV soap opera Emmerdale (normally used by people from Blackburn, Preston and other parts of Lancashire)
Bury
Shakers (originally a football term, it is now used to describe anyone from Bury and surrounding area)

C - D

Caernarfon
Cofi
Caithness
Gallach[8]
Canterbury
Canterburians, Cantuarians
Carlisle
Gimps, Gilligans
Ceredigion
Cardi[9]
Chatham
Chavs[10]
Chesterfield
Spireites, Chessies
Cleethorpes
Meggies
Colchester
Colchies, Romans, Camuloonies, Steamies, Castlers, Cross 'n' Crowners (after Colchester's coat of arms).
Corby
Plastic Jocks
Cornwall
Kernowicks, Merry-Jacks, Mera-Jacks, Uncle Jacks or Cousin Jacks (when abroad).
Coventry
Godivas
Crawley
Creepy Crawlies, Insects[11]
Darlington
Quakers, Darloids
Derby
Sheep Shaggers, Rams
Devon
Janners
Doncaster
Flatlanders (especially by people from Sheffield), Knights, Doleites
Dorchester
Dorchvegas
Dorset
Dorset Knobs (from the famous biscuit), Dumplings
Droitwich Spa
Monners
Dumfries
Doonhamers
Duns
Dingers
Durham
Posh Mackems, Posh Geordies, Cuddies, Pit Yackers (due to Durham's mining heritage)

E – G

Eastbourne
Winnicks or Willicks (dialect name of a guillemot or wild person)[12]
Edinburgh
Edinbourgeois, Edinbuggers
England
Sassenachs (offensive, used by Scottish and Irish; Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic word "sasunnach", meaning "Saxon"), Red Coats, Inglish,[13] Nigels, Guffies (in Northeast Scotland), Sais, Englandshire (in Scotland), The Shire (in Scotland)
Essex
Essex Calves (archaic), Easties, Essers, Wideboys, Saxons, Scimitars (from the county Coat of Arms)
Fleetwood
Codheads
Forest of Dean
Foresters, Deaners
Fraserburgh
Brochers[14]
Flamborough
Inbreds
Frodsham
Jowie Heads (from old Runcorn area Cheshire meaning turnip, reference to the rural position of the town)
Galashiels
Pale Merks (from the claim that Gala was the last major town in Scotland to have plumbing/running water)
Glasgow
Keelies,[15][16] Weegies[17]
Goole
Goolies
Great Britain
Limeys in Canada and the United States,[4] Pommies in Australia and New Zealand, [5] Les Rosbifs in France,[18] Tommy, Island Monkey in Germany[19]
Grimsby
Codheads, Haddocks, Grimmies
Gillingham, Kent
Medwayers
Gosport, Hampshire
Turk Towners
Great Yarmouth
Yarcos

H - K

Hampshire
Hampshire Hogs, Bacon Faces (reference to Hampshire as a pig-raising county in former times)
Hartlepool
Monkey Hangers,[20] Poolies
Hawick
Teri
Haydock
Yickers
Heywood
Monkeys [21]
Highlands and Islands (of Scotland)
Teuchters, used by other Scots and sometimes applied by Greater Glasgow natives to anyone speaking in a dialect other than Glaswegian
Hinckley
Tin Hatters
Huddersfield
Dog Botherers
Hull
Codheads, Hully Gullies, 'Ullites
Ipswich
Tractor Boys
Irthlingborough
Irthlings
Isle of Wight
Caulkheads (named after the caulking of boats)
Kettering
Sheep shaggers, Ketteringers pansies
Kilbarchan
Habbie

L

Lancashire
Yonners (specifically south-eastern Lancashire around the Oldham and Rochdale areas)
Leeds
Loiners [22]
Leicester
Rat Eyes (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, Bin Dippers (named after Foxes)
Leicestershire
Bean Bellies (from the eating of broad beans)[23]
Leigh
Lobby Gobblers, Leythers
Lincolnshire
Yellow Bellies (after a species of frog common in the Lincolnshire and East Anglian Fens)[24]
Linlithgow
Black Bitch, from the burgh coat of arms
Littlehampton
LA, from the local accent being unable to pronounce the 'h' in Hampton
Liverpool
Scousers (from the stew known as scouse),[25][26]
Plastic Scousers or Plazzies (a person who falsely claims to be from Liverpool), [27]
Woolybacks or Wools (a person from the surrounding areas of Liverpool, especially St Helens, Warrington, Widnes, or the Wirral) [28] [29]
Llanelli
Turks
London
Cockneys
Lossiemouth
Codheids
Louth
Luddites
Luton
Hatters

M - N

Manchester
Manc, the shortened version of the demonym Mancunians
Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
Scabs - offensive, linked to the divisions during the UK miners' strike (1984–1985)
Malmesbury
Jackdaws
Middlesbrough
Smoggies.[30]
Montrose
Gable Endies
Nantwich
Dabbers
Neath
Abbey-Jacks, Blacks, Blackjacks.
Newcastle upon Tyne
Geordies
Northampton
Cobblers, after the ancient shoe industry that thrived in the town.
Northern Ireland
Paddies, Huns (sectarian offensive term for pro-British Unionists), Taigs (sectarian offensive term for pro-Irish Nationalists)
North Shields, Tyne and Wear
Fish Nabbers
North Wales
Gogs[31]
Northwich
Salter Boys
Norwich
Canaries, Country Bumpkins, Norfolk Dumplings
Nottingham
Boggers, Scabs (insult; see Mansfield)
Nuneaton, Warwickshire
Codders, Treacle Towners

O - R

Oldham
Yonners (from Oldham pronunciation of 'yonder' as in 'up yonner'), Roughyeds, Biffos
Paisley
Buddies,[32]
Peterhead
Bluemogganers, Blue Tooners
Plymouth
Janners. Originally a person who spoke with a Devon accent,[33][34] now simply any West Countryman.[33] In naval slang (where the place is referred to as Guz[35]), this is specifically a person from Plymouth.[34]
Portsmouth
Pompey (shared by the city, the naval base and the football club), Skates
Redcar
Codheads
Rotherham
Chuckles, Rotherbirds
Royston, Hertfordshire
Crows
Rye
Mudlarks[36]

S

Scotland
Scotties, Jocks[37] Macs, Sweaties (offensive; from rhyming slang "Sweaty Sock" for Jock).
Scunthorpe
Yellow Bellies
Selkirk
Souters
Shavington
Tramps
Sheffield
Dee Dars, Steelmekkers.
Sheringham
Shannock
Southampton
Scum(mers)
South Shields
Sand Dancers
Southern England
Southern Fairies, Shandy Drinkers
Southport
Sandgrounders, Groundies
Stalybridge
Stalyvegas
Stockport
Stopfordians (from an old name for Stockport), Hatters
Stoke-on-Trent
Potters, Clay Heads, Stokies, Jug Heads, kidsgrove spiders,
Strood
Long Tails, Stroodles
Stroud
Stroudies
Sunderland
Mackems[38]
Sutherland
Cattach
Swansea
Jacks, Swansea Jacks
Swindon
Moonrakers

T - V

Tamworth
Tammies, Sandybacks (after the Tamworth Pig), Three Wheelers (after the Reliant Robin)
Tarbert, Loch Fyne
Dookers (named after guillemot and razorbill, sea-birds once a popular food among Tarbert natives)
Teesside
Smoggies, 'Boro Boys (after Middlesbrough)
Telford
Telfies, Chavs

W

Wales
Taffs [Mid/West Welsh] (sometimes considered offensive),[39] Taffies.[40]
Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Wallies
Walsall
Saddlers
Warrington
Wire, Wirepullers (after the local wire industry), Woolybacks or Wools (in Liverpool)
Welshpool
Soup Heads
Westhoughton
Keawyeds (Cowheads, after local legend)
West Riding of Yorkshire
Wessies (in other parts of Yorkshire)
Weymouth and Portland
Kimberlins (Portland name for a person from Weymouth)
Weymouth
Weybiza (due to the wild nightlife the town has adopted)
Whitehaven
Marras, Jam Eaters, Wetties
Widnes
Woolybacks or Wools (in Liverpool)
Wigan
Pie-eaters, Pie-noshers, Purrers [41]
Wiltshire
Moonrakers
Wolverhampton
Yam Yams (from local dialect where people say "Yam" meaning "Yow am" meaning "You are")
Worthing
Pork Bolters[36]
Workington
Jam Eaters
Whitby
Codheads

Y - Z

York
Yorkies, Old Yorkers
Yorkshire
Tykes, Yorkies, Yorkie Bars

See also

Citations

  1. "tyke", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 674)
  2. "Brummie", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 95)
  3. "Wolverhampton researches Black Country dialect". The Guardian. 27 January 2003. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  4. "limey", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 401)
  5. "pommy", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 506507)
  6. "Why do the French call the British 'the roast beefs'?". BBC News Online. 3 April 2003. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  7. "Few laughs for 'humorous' Kraut". BBC News Online. 24 October 2001. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  8. Transactions of the Gaelic Society. Gaelic Society of Inverness. 1907. p. 97. Retrieved 30 September 2010. Gallach caithness.
  9. "Cardi", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 119)
  10. "Definition of Chav in English". Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  11. "MOST Crawley residents have probably, at some time, referred to the town by its well-known nickname – Creepy Crawley". This Is Sussex. 20 October 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  12. Wales, Tony (2000). Sussex as She Wus Spoke, a Guide to the Sussex Dialect. Seaford: SB Publications. ISBN 978-1-85770-209-5.
  13. "Sassenach", (Robinson 1985, pp. 581)
  14. Room, Adrian (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.
  15. Brewer, E. Cobham. "Nicknames". Dictionary of Phrase & Fable. Retrieved 29 September 2010 via Bartleby.com.
  16. "keelie", (Robinson 1985, pp. 335)
  17. Castillo, Michelle (20 August 2009). "Off the Brochure Travel Guide: Glasgow, Scotland". Peter Greenberg Travel Detective. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  18. "Why do the French call the British 'the roast beefs'?". BBC News Online. 3 April 2003. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  19. "Few laughs for 'humorous' Kraut". BBC News Online. 24 October 2001. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  20. "The Hartlepool Monkey, Who hung the monkey?". This is Hartlepool. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  21. Dawson, Chris. "Hey, Hey, We're Monkey Town". Ten Thousand Years in Monkey Town.
  22. "Loiner", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 406)
  23. Evans, Arthur Benoni (1881). Evans, Sebastian (ed.). Leicestershire Words, Phrases, and Proverbs (enlarged ed.). London: N. Trübner for English Dialect Society. p. 101.
  24. Brewer, E. Cobham. "Yellow-belly". Dictionary of Phrase & Fable. Retrieved 30 September 2010 via Bartleby.com.
  25. Fazakerley, p. 24
  26. "Mickey Mouse" - rhyming slang for "Scouse", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 429)
  27. "Plastic Scouser". Allwords.com.
  28. "Woolyback". Slang.org.uk.
  29. "Woolyback". Allwords.com.
  30. Harley, Shaun (16 July 2007). "I was made in Middlesbrough". BBC News Online. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  31. "gog", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 295)
  32. "Paisley Buddies". Paisley Scotland. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  33. "janner", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 363)
  34. Tawney, Cyril (1987). "Glossary". Grey funnel lines: traditional song & verse of the Royal Navy, 19001970. Taylor & Francis. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-7102-1270-2.
  35. "Plymouth's nickname 'Guz' and the reasons behind it". Plymouth Live. 29 September 2019.
  36. Arscott, David (2006). Wunt Be Druv - A Salute to the Sussex Dialect. Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-006-0.
  37. "jock", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 369)
  38. "Quiz: How Much of a Mackem are YOU?". Sunderland Echo. 4 January 2009. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  39. "taff", (Partridge, Dalzell & Victor 2007, pp. 369)
  40. Cf. the nursery rhyme "Taffy was a Welshman / Taffy was a thief / Taffy came to my house / To steal a piece of beef."
  41. Dialect term for "kicker"

References

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