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. 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.Muench, David [http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cced/economies/communityindicators/communityslogans.pdf "Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts"] , December 1993, accessed April 10, 2007.] Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth" are also believed to have economic value. Their economic value is difficult to measure, but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.Alfredo Andia, [http://www.monu.org/monu7/Branding.pdf Branding the Generic City :)] , MU.DOT magazine, September 10, 2007]

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.

A-C

*Abilene
** ABTEXFact|date=December 2007
** The Key CityFact|date=December 2007
** Lene Town
*Alpine - Gateway to the Big Bend. [ [http://www.alpinetexas.com/mayor.html Message from the Mayor] , 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."]
*Alvin - Lil A-TownFact|date=December 2007
*Amarillo - The Yellow Rose of Texas (amarillo is Spanish for yellow)Fact|date=December 2007
*Anahuac - Alligator Capital of Texas. [http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/animals.html Claims to Fame - Animals] , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.] A symbolic "capital" designated by the Texas Legislature, listed in " [http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/capitals.html Official Capital Designations] ", Texas State Library and Archives Commission, accessed July 3, 2008]
*Anson - Crossroads of West TexasFact|date=December 2007
*Anthony - Leap Year Capital of the World (shared with Anthony, New Mexico) [ [http://www.leapyearcapital.com/ World Wide Leap Year Birthday Club in Anthony TX/NM the Leap Year Capital of the World ] ]
*Arlington
**AggtownFact|date=December 2007
*Athens - Blackeyed Pea Capital of the World. [http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/agriculture.html Claims to Fame - Agriculture] , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.]
*Austin
** A-T-XFact|date=December 2007
** The Capital City
** Bat City [ [http://www.batcityreview.com Bat City Review | The University of Texas at Austin ] ] [ [http://www.batcon.org/home/index.asp?idPage=122 Welcome to Bat Conservation International ] ]
** City of the Violet Crown [ [http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/city_of_the_violet_crown_austin_nickname/ The Big Apple: City of the Violet Crown (Austin nickname) ] ]
** Live Music Capital of the World [http://www.taglineguru.com/monikerlist.html U.S. City Monikers] website, accessed January 5, 2008] [ [http://www.austintexas.org/music/ Austin Music and Musical Attractions - Live Music in Austin, TX ] ]
** Silicon HillsFact|date=December 2007
** The People's Republic of Austin Fact|date=October 2008
* Baird - Antique Capital of Texas
* Bandera - Cowboy Capital of the World. [http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/index.html Claims to Fame - Favorites] , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.]
* Bellmead
* Bertram - Home of the Oatmeal Festival
* Big Spring - the spring, spring city, get by with murder town (Paul Harvey comment)Fact|date=June 2008
* Breckenridge - Mural Capital of Texas
* Brownsville - Chess Capital of Texas
* Buda - Outdoor Capital of Texas
*Caldwell - Kolache Capital of Texas. [http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/food.html Claims to Fame - Food] , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.]
*Clifton - Norwegian Capital of Texas. [http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/ethnic.html Claims to Fame - Ethnic Groups] , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.]
*Commerce - Bois d'arc Capital of Texas
*Corpus Christi
**CorpusFact|date=December 2007
**Sparkling City by the SeaFact|date=December 2007
*Corsicana - Fruit Cake Capital of the World.
*Crystal City - Spinach Capital of the World. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9F0CE6DC1430F931A2575AC0A965958260 The World Capital of Whatever] , "The New York Times" by Harold Faber, September 12, 1993.]
*Cuero - Turkey Capital of the World. [http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/birds.html Claims to Fame - Birds] , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.]

D-F

*Dallas
**D-TownFact|date=December 2007
**BIG D
**Where the East endsFact|date=December 2007
**America's Favorite CityFact|date=December 2007
**Metroplex (with Fort Worth)
*Danevang - Danish Capital of Texas.
*Del Rio
**Delightful Del RioFact|date=December 2007
** Little DFact|date=December 2007
* Denison - Wine Root Stock Capital of the World
* Denton
** Denton, AmericaFact|date=December 2007
** DenTexFact|date=December 2007
** North of OrdinaryFact|date=December 2007
** Little D (Texas band Fishboy produced a Denton tribute album with this title)Fact|date=December 2007
** Redbud Capital of Texas
* Dickens - Wild Boar Capital.
* Dublin - Irish Capital of Texas
*Duncanville - City of Champions. [http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/braggadocio.html Claims to Fame - Braggadocio] , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.]
* Electra - Pump Jack Capital of Texas
* Elgin - Sausage Capital of Texas.
* El Paso
**EPFact|date=December 2007
**Sun City, TexasFact|date=December 2007
**The City With a Legend [Based on the lyrics of Marty Robbins' song "El Paso City"]
**El Chuco [Amazon.com's Description of " [http://www.amazon.com/Brides-Sinners-El-Chuco-Stories/dp/0816524920 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."]
**El PachucoFact|date=June 2008
* Ennis - Bluebonnet City
* Floydada - Pumpkin Capital.
* Fort Worth
**FunkytownFact|date=December 2007
** Panther City [http://www.fortwortharchitecture.com/oldftw/vignettepanther1.jpg]
** Cowtown
** Where the West BeginsFact|date=December 2007
** Metroplex (with Dallas)
* Fredericksburg - Polka Capital of Texas
* Freeport
**Da Watta
**Watta Town
**F.P.T.
**El Agua
*Friona - Cheeseburger Capital of Texas

G-L

* Galveston - Oleander City. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,737166,00.html Queen City] , "Time (magazine)", January 30, 1928, accessed April 13, 1928.]
* Gatesville - Spur Capital of Texas
*George West - Storyfest Capital of Texas
*Georgetown - Red Poppy Capital of Texas
*Gilmer - Home of the Yamboree (refers to yams) Wanda McKinney, [http://www.southernliving.com/southern/features/southerners/article/0,28012,1044912,00.html Our Favorite Town Slogans] , "Southern Living", April 2005]
*Glen Rose - Dinosaur Capital of Texas
*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.) [ [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/hfg6.html/ Handbook of Texas Online - GONZALES, TX] , accessed June 15, 2008]
*Gun Barrel City - GBCFact|date=December 2007
*Hamilton - Dove Capital of Texas.
*Happy - The Town Without a Frown.
*Hawkins - Pancake Capital of Texas.
*Hearne - Sunflower Capital of Texas.
*Hereford - Town Without a Toothache.
*Houston -- "see Nicknames of Houston, Texas"
*Huntsville
**Prison City of Texas (the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is headquartered in Huntsville) [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0QLQ/is_/ai_n19295799 Prison city; life with the death penalty in Huntsville, Texas] , Reference & Research Book News, May, 2007]
**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) [ [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week637/cover.html Huntsville: Death Capital] , Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, Episode 637, May 16, 2003] [ [http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/1998/july13/8t8045.html Karla Faye's Final Stop: How my hometown deals with being the execution capital of the world] , "Christianity Today", July 13, 1998]
**The Big HFact|date=December 2007
* Hutto - Hippo Capital of Texas
*Jacksonville - Tomato Capital of the WorldFact|date=December 2007
*Jefferson - Bed and Breakfast Capital of Texas
*Justin - Boot Capital Of AmericaFact|date=April 2008
*Kaufman - Red Tail Hawk Capital.
*Katy - Rice Capital of the WorldFact|date=December 2007
* Kenedy
**Horned Lizard Capital of Texas
**Texas Horned Lizard Capital of the World
* Kilgore - Texas City of Stars
* Kingsville - Gem City of the Southwest [ [http://www.historic-kingsvilletx.com/ Historic Downtown Kingsville] website, accessed August 17, 2008]
* Knox City - Seedless Watermelon Capital of Texas
* Laredo
**The Gateway To MexicoFact|date=December 2007
**Gateway CityFact|date=December 2007
**The BorderplexFact|date=December 2007
* Llano - Deer Capital of Texas.
* Lockhart - Barbecue Capital of Texas.
* Longview - Purple Martin Capital of Texas
* Lubbock
**The Hub of the PlainsFact|date=December 2007
**The Hub CityFact|date=December 2007

M-Q

* Madisonville - Mushroom of Texas
* Marshall
**Athens of TexasFact|date=December 2007
**City of Seven FlagsFact|date=December 2007
**Gateway to TexasFact|date=December 2007
**Pottery Capital of the WorldFact|date=December 2007
* Mart - The City with a HeartFact|date=December 2007
* Mathis - Small Town. Big Lake. Great People.Fact|date=December 2007
* Mauriceville - Crawfish Capital of Texas
* McAllen
**McTown - (Pronounced "Mac Town")Fact|date=December 2007
**McCalliFact|date=December 2007
**The Texas TropicsFact|date=December 2007
**City of PalmsFact|date=December 2007
* McCamey - Wind Energy Capital of Texas
* McKinney - Mac Town Fact|October 2008
* Mesquite - Rodeo Capital of Texas
*Midland
** Ostrich Capital of Texas
** The Tall CityFact|date=December 2007
*Midlothian - Cement and Steel Capital of Texas. [http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/products.html Claims to Fame - Products] , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.]
*Mineola - Birding capital of East Texas.
*Mission Home of the Ruby Red Grapefruit
*Missouri City - Misery City, Mo CityFact|date=December 2007
*Mount Pleasant - Bass Capital of Texas. [http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/fish.html Claims to Fame - Fish] , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.]
*Nacogdoches
**The Oldest Town in TexasFact|date=December 2007
**Blueberry Capital of TexasFact|date=December 2007
**Capital of Texas Forest CountryFact|date=December 2007
* Navasota - Blues Capital of Texas
*Odessa - Jackrabbit Capital of Texas or Jackrabbit-Roping Capital of Texas
*Orange - The Fruit
*Paris - Crape Myrtle City
*Plano
** Gymnastics Capital of the WorldFact|date=December 2007
** Hot Air Balloon Capital of Texas
*Port Aransas - Port A
*Quitman - Big Bass Capital of Texas.

R-T

*Rio Grande City
**The Hill Country of the ValleyFact|date=March 2008
* Round Rock - Daffodil Capital of Texas
* San Angelo
**The Wool and Mohair Capital of the WorldFact|date=May 2008
**The River City (All three branches of the Concho River flow through the city)Fact|date=May 2008
**The Concho City (After the Concho River/Concho Valley region)Fact|date=May 2008
**The Pearl of the Conchos (There is a pink/lavender pearl found only in the Conchos called the Concho Pearl)Fact|date=May 2008
**The Oasis of West Texas (About the only city in West Texas with rivers and lakes [3 of each] )Fact|date=May 2008
**The Land of Sand and Jello (phonetics)Fact|date=May 2008
**Angelo (People in the Concho Valley not living in San Angelo, such as those from small towns, just call it Angelo)Fact|date=May 2008
*San Antonio
**Alamo CityFact|date=December 2007
**Military City U.S.A.Fact|date=December 2007
**Mission CityFact|date=December 2007
**River CityFact|date=December 2007
**San Antone
**San AntoFact|date=December 2007
**SA TownFact|date=December 2007
**Americas City (due to the Tower Of Americas, tallest observation tower in America until 1996)Fact|date=December 2007
**San AnFact|date=December 2007
* Sanderson - Cactus Capital of Texas
* Sansom Park - City on the Move. [http://web.archive.org/web/20070421021404/http://irvineworldnews.com/Astories/febs22/cityside.htm Motto ought to be boffo] , "Irvine World News", February 22, 2004]
*Sugar Land
**Sweet Land of SugarFact|date=December 2007
**The next Fort WorthFact|date=December 2007
**New HoustonFact|date=December 2007
* Temple - Wildflower Capital of Texas
*Terlingua - Chili Capital of the World.
*Texas City
**City By the Bay [ [http://www.texas-city-tx.org/ City of Texas City website] , accessed January 5, 2008]
**Toxic CityFact|date=January 2008
*The Colony
**City by the Lake [ [http://www.ci.the-colony.tx.us// City of The Colony website] , accessed July 20, 2008]
*Turkey - Western Swing Capital of the World.
*Tyler
**City of RosesFact|date=December 2007
**Rose Capital of the World.

U-Z

*Victoria
** The Crossroads of South Texas [ [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/VV/hcv3.html/ Handbook of Texas Online - VICTORIA COUNTY] , accessed June 15, 2008]
*Waco
**Huaco or Hueco (Native Spanish spellings)Fact|date=December 2007
**2-5-4
**The Heart of TexasFact|date=December 2007
**The Buckle of the Bible Belt [Hal Crowther, [http://books.google.com/books?id=E15SdQQFnJwC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=%22Buckle+of+the+Bible+Belt%22+waco&source=web&ots=MCyzj697b1&sig=pFEpUyR41snyI7WwiBuXLZ3rzfo&hl=en 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.'"]
** New ZionFact|date=December 2007
* Waxahachie - Crape Myrtle Capital of Texas
* Weatherford
** Peach Capital of Texas [http://www.ci.weatherford.tx.us/index.asp?NID=721 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."]
** Watermelon Capital of the World.
** Cutting horse capital of the world.
* Weslaco - Citrus Capital of Texas
* West - Czech Heritage Capital of Texas
* West Tawakoni - Catfish Capital of Texas
* Wichita Falls
** The City that Faith BuiltFact|date=December 2007
** The Gateway to Texas
* Wills Point - Bluebird Capital of Texas.

ee also

*List of city nicknames in the United States
*List of cities in Texas

References

External links

* [http://got.net/~landauer/lists/CityOf.html a list] of American and a few Canadian nicknames
* [http://www.usacitiesonline.com/mottos.htm U.S. cities list]