List of city nicknames in Texas
This partial list of city nicknames in Texas compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that cities in Texas are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to locals, outsiders or their tourism boards. The Texas state legislature has officially granted many Texas cities honorary designations as the state's "capital" of something.[1] 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.[2] Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth"[3] are also believed to have economic value.[2] Their economic value is difficult to measure,[2] but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.[3]
Some of the nicknames are positive, while others are derisive. The unofficial nicknames listed here are those that have been used for such a long time or have gained so wide a currency that they have become well known in their own right.
Nicknames by city
A-C
- Abilene
- Alpine – Gateway to the Big Bend[6]
- Amarillo- The Big Brown Flat, Bomb City (due to proximity to the Pantex facility), Yellow City
- Anahuac – Alligator Capital of Texas[7][8]
- Anthony – Leap Year Capital of the World (shared with Anthony, New Mexico)[9]
- Arlington – The American Dream City[10]
- Athens – Blackeyed Pea Capital of the World[11]
- Austin
- Baird – Antique Capital of Texas[8]
- Bandera – Cowboy Capital of the World[21]
- Bertram – Home of the Oatmeal Festival[22]
- Boerne – Key to the Hill Country[23]
- Brady – The True Heart of Texas[24]
- Brackettville – Home of John Wayne's The Alamo
- Breckenridge – Mural Capital of Texas[8]
- Brenham – Ice Cream City[8]
- Brownsville – Chess Capital of Texas[8]
- Buda – Outdoor Capital of Texas[8]
- Burnet
- Bluebonnet co-Capital of Texas (with Llano, TX)[25]
- It is pronounced BURN-IT, Durn-it, Can't ya LEARN it?
- Caldwell – Kolache Capital of Texas[8][26]
- Clifton – Norwegian Capital of Texas[8][27]
- College Station – Aggieland,[28] Cstat
- Colorado City – The Heart of West Texas
- Commerce – Bois d'arc Capital of Texas[8]
- Corpus Christi – Sparkling City by the Sea
- Corsicana – Fruit Cake Capital of the World[29]
- Crystal City – Spinach Capital of the World[11][22][29]
- Cuero – Turkey Capital of the World[30]
D-F
- Danevang – Danish Capital of Texas[8][27]
- Deer Park – The Birthplace of Texas[37]
- Denison – Wine Root Stock Capital of the World[8]
- Denton
- Dickens – Wild Boar Capital[7]
- Dublin – Irish Capital of Texas[8]
- Duncanville – City of Champions[39]
- Eagle Lake – Goose Hunting Capital of the World[40]
- Eagle Pass – Where Yee-Ha Meets Olé[41]
- El Paso
- Electra – Pump Jack Capital of Texas[8]
- Elgin – Sausage Capital of Texas[8][26]
- Ennis – Bluebonnet City[8]
- Floresville – Peanut Capital of Texas[45]
- Flower Mound – FloMo
- Floydada – Pumpkin Capital[11]
- Fort Davis – Where the Stars Come Out to Play[41]
- Fort Worth
- Fredericksburg
- Friona – Cheeseburger Capital of Texas[8]
- Frisco - Sports City, USA
G-L
- Gainesville – The Front Porch of Texas
- Galveston – Oleander City,[49] G-town, Galveston Island, Island of Texas
- Gatesville – Spur Capital of Texas[8]
- George West – Storyfest Capital of Texas[8]
- Georgetown – Red Poppy Capital of Texas[8]
- Gilmer – Home of the Yamboree (refers to yams)[22]
- Glen Rose – Dinosaur Capital of Texas[8]
- Gonzales – Lexington of Texas. (The first battle of the Texas Revolution occurred here; the name is a reference to Lexington, Massachusetts, where the American Revolutionary War began.)[50]
- Hamilton – Dove Capital of Texas[30]
- Happy – The Town Without a Frown[21][22]
- Hawkins – Pancake Capital of Texas[8][26]
- Hearne – Sunflower Capital of Texas[8][11]
- Hereford – Town Without a Toothache[41][21][22]
- Houston -- see Nicknames of Houston
- Huntsville
- Prison City of Texas (the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is headquartered in Huntsville)[51]
- Execution Capital of the World/Death Penalty City (Texas' execution chamber is located in Huntsville, and Texas often leads all US states in executions per year; death row was located in Huntsville but later relocated)[51][52][53]
- Huntsvegas
- Hutto – Hippo Capital of Texas[8]
- Jacksonville – Tomato Capital of the World[54]
- Jasper – Butterfly Capital of Texas[55]
- Jefferson – Bed and Breakfast Capital of Texas[8]
- Jones Creek – Historic City of the Future
- Kaufman – Red Tail Hawk Capital[30]
- Kenedy
- Kerrville – Lose Your Heart to the Hills[41]
- Kilgore – Texas City of Stars[8]
- Killeen – Kill City
- Kingsville – Gem City of the Southwest[56]
- Knox City – Seedless Watermelon Capital of Texas[8]
- Lake Jackson – The City of Enchantment[57]
- Laredo
- The City Under Seven Flags
- The Gateway City
- Linden – Music City Texas
- Llano – Deer Capital of Texas[7]
- Lockhart – Barbecue Capital of Texas[8][26]
- Longview – Purple Martin Capital of Texas[8]
- Lubbock
- Lufkin – Crossroads of East Texas
M-Q
- Madisonville – Mushroom Capital of Texas[8]
- Marlin – Hot Mineral Water City of Texas[59]
- Mauriceville – Crawfish Capital of Texas[8]
- McAllen
- McCamey – Wind Energy Capital of Texas[8]
- Mesquite – Rodeo Capital of Texas[8]
- Midland
- Midlothian – Cement and Steel Capital of Texas[64]
- Mineola – Birding capital of East Texas[8][30]
- Mission – Home of the Ruby Red Grapefruit[22]
- Mineral Wells - Miserable Wells[8]
- Mount Pleasant – Bass Capital of Texas[65]
- Nacogdoches – The Oldest Town in Texas[66]
- Naples – The Watermelon Capital of The World
- Navasota – Blues Capital of Texas[8]
- Odessa
- Palacios
- Paris – Crape Myrtle City[8]
- Plano – Hot Air Balloon Capital of Texas[8]
- Port Arthur – Energy City[68][69]
- Quitman – Big Bass Capital of Texas[65]
R-T
- Roanoke – The Unique Dining Capital of Texas[70]
- Round Rock – Daffodil Capital of Texas[8]
- San Angelo
- San Antonio
- San Marcos
- San Marvelous[83]
- Sanderson – Cactus Capital of Texas[8]
- Sansom Park – City on the Move[84]
- Seguin – Pecan Capital of the World
- Shenandoah – More Than Just a Song[41]
- Smiley – Poultry Capital of the World[85]
- Smithville – Heart of the Megalopolis[86]
- Temple – Wildflower Capital of Texas[8]
- Terlingua – Chili Capital of the World[29]
- Texarkana
- Twice as Nice
- T-Town
- Twin City
- TK
- Texas City – City by the Bay[87]
- The Colony – City by the Lake[88]
- The Woodlands
- The Hoodlands
- The Bubble
- Disney Woods
- Turkey – Western Swing Capital of the World[21]
- Tyler – Rose Capital of the World[29]
U-Z
- Victoria – The Crossroads of South Texas[89]
- Waco – The Buckle of the Bible Belt[90]
- Waxahachie – Crape Myrtle Capital of Texas[8]
- Weatherford
- Weslaco – Citrus Capital of Texas[8]
- West – Czech Heritage Capital of Texas[8]
- West Tawakoni – Catfish Capital of Texas[8]
- Wichita Falls – The City That Faith Built, The Falls, Falls Town, Fallsvegas
- Wills Point – Bluebird Capital of Texas[8][30]
References
- Official Capital Designations, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, accessed July 3, 2008
- Muench, David (December 1993). "Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts" (PDF). University of Wisconsin Extension. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
- Alfredo Andia, Branding the Generic City Archived 2008-05-21 at the Wayback Machine, MU.DOT magazine, September 10, 2007
- The nickname is used in the title of a book, Abilene, The Key City, by Juanita Daniel Zachry, published in 1986 by Windsor Publications in cooperation with the Texas Sesquicentennial Committee for Abilene.b/OL2714832M/Abilene,-the-key-city
- Barry Popik, Lene Town (Abilene nickname), March 13, 2008
- Message from the Mayor Archived 2007-12-05 at the Wayback Machine, Alpine, Texas, accessed April 22, 2007. ""We are a town of western culture and heritage, home of Sul Ross State University and the gateway to the Big Bend."
- Claims to Fame - Animals, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
- A symbolic "capital" designated by the Texas Legislature, listed in Official Capital Designations, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, accessed July 3, 2008
- World Wide Leap Year Birthday Club in Anthony TX/NM the Leap Year Capital of the World Archived 2007-12-28 at the Wayback Machine
- Arlington Texas City Website, ArlingtonTXGov, accessed November 5, 2018.
- Claims to Fame - Agriculture, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
- "Solo Travel Guide: Austin, Texas". SoloGuides. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
- Bat City Review | The University of Texas at Austin
- Welcome to Bat Conservation International Archived 2008-11-12 at the Wayback Machine
- The Big Apple: City of the Violet Crown (Austin nickname)
- "How Many of These Texas City Nicknames Do You Know?". Texas Standard. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
- Perry, Rick. "Governor of Texas". youtube.com. Jimmy Kimmel Live. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
- U.S. City Monikers, Tagline Guru website, accessed January 5, 2008
- Austin Music and Musical Attractions - Live Music in Austin, TX
- "The Big Apple: River City (Austin nickname)".
- Claims to Fame - Favorites, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
- McKinney, Wanda (April 2005). "Our Favorite Town Slogans". Southern Living. Archived from the original on 2007-11-07.
- Visitor's Information Archived 2010-07-08 at the Wayback Machine, Brady/McCulloch County Community Development Office website, accessed December 12, 2010
- https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/capitals.html
- Claims to Fame - Food Archived 2017-04-01 at the Wayback Machine, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
- Claims to Fame - Ethnic Groups, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
- "Aggie Glossary | Austin Aggie Moms' Club". austinaggiemoms.org. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
- Faber, Harold (1993-09-12). "The World Capital of Whatever". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- Claims to Fame - Birds, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
- Hall, Cheryl "Perot Museum makes a statement about business in Big D" The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, 1 November 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
- Barry Popik (September 7, 2008). "City of Hate (Dallas nickname)". The Big Apple.
- Peter Applebome (November 21, 1988). "25 Years After the Death of Kennedy, Dallas Looks at Its Changed Image". New York Times.
Few American cities have come under the kind of national scorn that befell Dallas in the days and weeks after President Kennedy died here. The city found itself widely condemned as a city of hate.
- Jerry Organ (2000). "Dallas to Dealey". The Kennedy Assassination. Archived from the original on 2015-07-07. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
- "Entry from November 19, 2007 D-Town (Dallas nickname)".
- Buckels, Lucas (2016-03-22). "Slang You Need to Know to Survive in DFW". Thrillist. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
- "Economic Development". City of Deer Park, Texas. Archived from the original on 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
Why the "Birthplace of Texas"? Deer Park is the site where initial treaty documents securing Texas' independence from Mexico were drafted following the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836.
- "Behind The Badge". NBC News. 29 January 2010.
- Claims to Fame - Braggadocio, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
- Eagle Lake, Texas Archived 2008-12-24 at the Wayback Machine official website, accessed December 25, 2008
- Tagline Guru City Branding Survey, Tagline Guru website, accessed August 18, 2009
- Based on the lyrics of Marty Robbins' song El Paso City
- Amazon.com's Description of Brides And Sinners in El Chuco: Short Stories quotes Publishers Weekly: "El Paso is El Chuco ("the disgusting one") to locals of the border town where Granados sets the 15 stories of this debut."
- City of El Paso website Archived 2009-07-12 at the Wayback Machine, accessed June 15, 2010. "Mild weather and below average cost of living has attracted several new residents and businesses to the Sun City."
- Archived 2013-08-02 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 25, 2013
- Fort Worth, Texas, Handbook of Texas History Online
- Oliver Knight and Cissy Stewart Lale (1953) Fort Worth, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, page 109: "Fort Worth in 1880 was being hailed as the Queen City of the Prairie."
- "Fredericksburg the Texas Hill Country". Fredericksburg Convention and Visitor Bureau. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
- Queen City,Time (magazine), January 30, 1928, accessed April 13, 1928.
- Handbook of Texas Online - GONZALES, TX, accessed June 15, 2008
- Prison city; life with the death penalty in Huntsville, Texas, Reference & Research Book News, May 2007
- Huntsville: Death Capital, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, Episode 637, May 16, 2003
- Karla Faye's Final Stop: How my hometown deals with being the execution capital of the world, Christianity Today, July 13, 1998
- Tomato Capital of the World (online book advertisement); accessed October 5, 2009
- http://jasper.agrilife.org
- Historic Downtown Kingsville Archived 2008-09-18 at the Wayback Machine website, accessed August 17, 2008
- History of Lake Jackson Archived 2011-08-16 at the Wayback Machine, City of Lake Jackson website, accessed August 26, 2011
- Barry Popik, Hub of the Plains (Lubbock nickname), March 14, 2008. BarryPopik.com. Accessed February 8, 2012
- Marlin Website
- https://visitmcallen.com/about-us/history/ VisitMcAllen.com
- Atul Gawande, The Cost Conundrum, The New Yorker, June 1, 2009, page 36
- Did You Know... Archived 2009-02-11 at the Wayback Machine, McAllen Economic Development Corporation website
- Midland/Odessa, TX: History, Rand McNally.com, accessed September 8, 2010
- Claims to Fame - Products Archived 2007-04-08 at the Wayback Machine, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
- Claims to Fame - Fish, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
- City of Nacogdoches website, accessed September 10, 2010
- Welcome to Palacios, Texas Archived 2011-04-26 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 6, 2011
- Katherine Ling, Buoyed by fresh petrodollars, 'Energy City' dares to hope, Greenwire (E&E Publishing), June 2, 2008. "Battered by the petroleum industry's decline in the 1980s and hit hard by Hurricane Rita in 2005, the self-proclaimed "Energy City" has struggled for years with high unemployment, crime and pollution."
- David Ball, Group wants to bring solar energy to Port Arthur, Port Arthur News, December 2, 2008. "Chatman said Port Arthur still wants to be known as energy city."
- http://www.roanoketexas.com/
- San Angelo, Texas, in 1922, Ranch & Rural Living magazine, 15 January 2008
- A Changed Oasis Archived 2009-01-07 at the Wayback Machine, Short Grass Country website. "In a deft switch of wording, San Angelo changed its slogan from The Wool Capital Of The World to The Wool Capital Of The Nation. The Chamber of Commerce office confirmed the change. While I waited, the telephone tape said over and over, 'San Angelo is the oasis of West Texas'..."
- Extreme Makeover: San Angelo. ASU Students Surprised by Stores, Shopping now Available Archived 2009-08-02 at the Wayback Machine, ASU RamPage, Angelo State University, September 9, 2005
- Our Properties: Sunset Mall, San Angelo Texas Archived 2009-08-02 at the Wayback Machine, Willett Companies, Inc., website, accessed December 25, 2008
- Popik, Barry (December 20, 2007). "Alamo City (San Antonio nickname)". The Big Apple.
- Popik, Barry (January 20, 2008). "Countdown City or 210 (San Antonio nickname)". The Big Apple.
- Popik, Barry (May 2016). "River City (San Antonio nickname)". The Big Apple.
- Hall, E., "Transcript of letter from E. Hall to James F. Perry", December 9, 1835. Accessed May 24, 2019. University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History. "[I] have been surrounded by applicants for Texas service and have provided 50 to sail in Scho Santiago for Brasoria and hope they will be provided with facilities to go to San fillipe or San Antone."
- Olmsted, Frederick Law, "Journey through Texas, or, A saddle-trip on the southwestern frontier : with a statistical appendix", Dix, Edwards & Co., New York: 1857, p. 187. Accessed May 24, 2019. University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History. "They give us fifty cent a pound for our butter in San Antone!"
- Marini, Richard A., "You know you're from San Antonio if ...", mySa, San Antonio Express-News, March 21, 2012. 11 references to 'San Antone'.
- Ayala, Christine, "No, Obama, it's not called 'San Antone'", Dallas Morning News, May, 2016. "The use of "San Antone" is most common in music, featured in songs from Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and George Strait, to name a few."
- "City of San Antonio unveils 'Military City USA' trademark logo". Joint Base San Antonio. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
- "San Marvelous (San Marcos nickname)".
- Motto ought to be boffo, Irvine World News, February 22, 2004
- City of Smiley City Website, accessed Oct. 9, 2020
- City of Smithville City Website, accessed Nov. 2, 2011
- City of Texas City website, accessed January 5, 2008
- City of The Colony website, accessed July 20, 2008
- Handbook of Texas Online - VICTORIA COUNTY, accessed June 15, 2008
- Hal Crowther, Gather at the River: Notes from the Post-millennial South, page 86. "Baylor, the world's largest Baptist university, sets the moral tone for the town secular Texans call 'the Buckle of the Bible Belt.'"
- Brief History, City of Weatherford website. "Named by the State Legislature as the Peach Capital of Texas, Weatherford and Parker County growers produce the biggest, sweetest, juiciest peaches in all of Texas... Known as the Cutting Horse Capital of the World, Weatherford is home to dozens of professional trainers [and] hall-of-fame horses."
External links
- a list of American and a few Canadian nicknames
- U.S. cities list
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