List of city nicknames in Maryland

This partial list of city nicknames in Maryland compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that cities in Maryland are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to municipal governments, local people, outsiders or their tourism boards or chambers of commerce. 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.[1] Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth"[2] are also believed to have economic value.[1] Their economic value is difficult to measure,[1] but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.[2]

Some unofficial nicknames are positive, while others are derisive. The unofficial nicknames listed here have been in use for a long time or have gained wide currency.

List of nicknames

• Annapolis
  • Crabtown[3]
  • Naptown[4]
• Baltimore
  • America's Comeback City[5]
  • Bodymore, Murdaland[6]
  • Charm City[5][7]
  • The City of Firsts[8][9]
  • The City That Reads[10]
  • Crab Cake Capital of the World[11]
  • The Greatest City in America[12]
  • Harm City[13]
  • Mobtown[14][15]
  • Monument City[16]
• Columbia – The Next America[17]
• Crisfield – Seafood Capital of the World[11]
• Cumberland – Queen City of the Alleghenies[18]
• Frederick
  • Key City[19]
• Hagerstown
  • Hub City[20]
  • Maryland's Gateway to the West[20]
• Silver Spring
  • The Paris of the Mid-Atlantic[21]
• Takoma Park
  • Azalea City[22]
  • The People's Republic of Takoma Park[23]

See also

• List of city nicknames in the United States

References

1. Muench, David "Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts" Archived March 9, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, December 1993, accessed April 10, 2007.
2. Alfredo Andia, Branding the Generic City :) Archived May 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, MU.DOT magazine, September 10, 2007
3. , Irvine World News, February 22, 2004
4. Arin Shortz, Know All About Naptown Archived December 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Charms of the Chesapeake website, accessed April 18, 2012.
5. U.S. City Monikers, Tagline Guru website, accessed January 5, 2008
6. Van Smith and Fred Siegel, Can Mayor O’Malley Save Ailing Baltimore?, City Journal, Winter 2001
7. Popik, Barry."Charm City (summary)". The Big Apple. Nicknames of Other Places. March 25, 2005. URL retrieved on May 5, 2007.
8. "Baltimore; The City of Firsts". City of Baltimore, Maryland. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
9. "Baltimore City Heritage Area". Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
10. "WHAT MAKES BALTIMORE THE CITY THAT READS?". Baltimore Urbanite. Archived from the original on August 29, 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
11. Faber, Harold (September 12, 1993). "The World Capital of Whatever". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
12. O'Mara, Richard. "Backstory: Baltimore - 'Home of 1,000 Slogans'". The Christian Science Monitor. January 5, 2006. URL retrieved on January 27, 2007.
13. Entry from July 18, 2008: Harm City, Barry Popik's blog, accessed August 10, 2009
14. Connery, William. "Maryland’s Mob Town Supplied Links Through Rail and Fort". May 2002. URL retrieved on January 27, 2007.
15. Smith, Van. "Mob Rules" Archived January 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Baltimore City Paper. October 6, 2004. URL retrieved on January 27, 2007.
16. "Best Monument". 2005 Baltimore Living Winners. Baltimore City Paper. September 21, 2005. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
17. The Next America Revisited Archived September 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Levinson D. (2003) The Next America Revisited. Journal of Planning Education and Research. Summer 2003, Volume 22, Number 4, pp. 329-345.
18. Patrick H. Stakem (2008). Railroading Around Cumberland. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-5365-8. Retrieved November 10, 2012. Located at the confluence of Wills Creek and the Potomac River, Cumberland, Maryland, is known as the Queen City of the Alleghenies.
19. "Key City Food & Farm Market | The City of Frederick, MD - Official Website". www.cityoffrederick.com. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
20. Hagerstown, Maryland, mdoe.org Maryland Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 15, 2008.
21. "Data citation needed". Scientific Data. 6 (1): 27. April 10, 2019. doi:10.1038/s41597-019-0026-5. ISSN 2052-4463. PMC 6472333. PMID 30971699.
22. Claims to Fame - Plants Archived December 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
23. Amit R. Paley, Takoma Park Council Backs Same-Sex Unions, Washington Post, July 15, 2004, page B01.