List of city nicknames in South Carolina

This partial list of city nicknames in South Carolina compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that cities in South Carolina 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. Many of the unofficial nicknames listed here have been in use for a long time or have gained wide currency.

• Abbeville
  • Pretty. Near. Perfect.[3]
  • "The Birthplace and Deathbed of the Confederacy"[4]
• Aiken
  • "A Place Like No Other"[5]
  • The Winter Colony
• Aynor Little Golden Town
• Anderson – The Electric City[6][7]
• Barnwell – Gateway to the Low Country
• Blacksburg – The Iron City[7][8]
• Bluffton – Heart of the Lowcountry[9]
• Charleston
  • Chucktown
  • The Chuck
  • The Big Sweet Grass Basket[10]
  • The Holy City[11]
• Cheraw
  • The Prettiest Town in Dixie[12]
• Chesterfield
  • The Heart of the Carolinas[13]
• Clemson
  • Tiger Town
  • Title Town
• Columbia
  • The Capital of Southern Hospitality[10]
  • Cola City/Town[7]
  • River City[7]
  • Soda City
  • Capital City
• Elgin – Home of the Catfish Stomp[7][10]
  • Paris of the Midlands
• Greenville – Textile Capital of the World[14][15]
• Greenwood – The Emerald City[16]
• Lancaster – The Red Rose City[17]
• Myrtle Beach – Golf Capital of the World[18]
• North Augusta – South Carolina's Riverfront[19]
• Orangeburg – The Garden City[20]
• Rock Hill – The Gateway to South Carolina
• Ruby
  • Jewel City of the South
• Spartanburg
  • The Hub City[7][21]
  • Sparkle City[7][10][22]
• Sumter – The Gamecock City[23]
• Walterboro - "The Front Porch of the Lowcountry"[24]
• Winnsboro – Rock City[7]

See also

• List of city nicknames in the United States

References

1. Muench, David "Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts" Archived 2013-03-09 at the Wayback Machine, December 1993, accessed April 10, 2007.
2. Alfredo Andia, Branding the Generic City :) Archived 2008-05-21 at the Wayback Machine, MU.DOT magazine, September 10, 2007
3. "Abbeville, SC | Official Website". www.abbevillecitysc.com. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
4. "Abbeville's History | Abbeville, SC". www.abbevillecitysc.com. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
5. "Home". Visit Aiken SC. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
6. Appreciate the arts, Editorial in Anderson Independent Mail, accessed April 13, 2007. "Head on down North Main to the courthouse square to visit the statue of William Church Whitner, the man who put the "electric" in the Electric City. He holds his pocket watch and looks at a street light that is about to light up for the first time, marking the first long-distance transmission of electricity in the South."
7. SC City Nicknames Guide, SciWay (South Carolina's Information Highway) website, accessed July 6, 2011
8. Iron City leaders to be sworn-in, The Gaffney Ledger, March 30, 2007, accessed April 13, 2007. "Blacksburg Mayor David Hogue and councilmen Joe Ross and Mike Patterson will be sworn in Sunday to new four-year terms at 3 p.m. at Iron City Place, 101 S. John St., Blacksburg."
9. http://discoversouthcarolina.com/products/28503
10. U.S. City Monikers, Tagline Guru website, accessed January 5, 2008
11. Charleston, South Carolina, SciWay (South Carolina's Information Highway) website, accessed February 19, 2010
12. "Cheraw, SC". www.cheraw.com. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
13. "HOME". chesterfieldsc. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
14. G'vegas On the Retirement of Bill Workman, Senator Lindsey Graham transcript of floor speech, accessed April 13, 2007. "Over the past few decades, Greenville and upstate South Carolina have slowly been transformed from being a textile capital of the world to a much more diversified economy."
15. Greenville, South Carolina, RelocateAmerica website (accessed January 10, 2008)
16. City Manager, accessed April 13, 2007. "Have a great time exploring and learning about our wonderful City and about the special quality of life that we have all come to know as Greenwood, the Emerald City."
17. , accessed October 5, 2018.
18. Faber, Harold (1993-09-12). "The World Capital of Whatever". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
19. "History of North Augusta". www.lookawayinn.com. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
20. Sciway, accessed 13 March 2015.
21. Flynn, Sean P. "Classic cars to rumble through Spartanburg en route to West", Spartanburg Herald Journal, April 6, 2007, accessed April 13, 2007. "The Great American Race is coming to the Hub City."
22. Putting sparkle back in the "Sparkle City", WHNS, March 26, 2007, accessed April 13, 2007. "As more people invest, they are putting the sparkle back in "Sparkle City."
23. The (Sumter, SC) Item. February 1, 2015.
24. http://thecolletonian.com/walterboro-the-front-porch-of-the-lowcountry-rocks-into-the-holidays/