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]
• Hagerstown
  • Hub City^[19]
  • Maryland's Gateway to the West^[19]
• Takoma Park
  • Azalea City^[20]
  • The People's Republic of Takoma Park^[21]

See also

• List of city nicknames in the United States

References

1. Muench, David "Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts", December 1993, accessed April 10, 2007.
2. Alfredo Andia, Branding the Generic City :), MU.DOT magazine, September 10, 2007
3. , Irvine World News, February 22, 2004
4. Arin Shortz, Know All About Naptown, 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 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
9. "Baltimore City Heritage Area". Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
10. "WHAT MAKES BALTIMORE THE CITY THAT READS?". Baltimore Urbanite. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
11. The World Capital of Whatever, The New York Times by Harold Faber, September 12, 1993.
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". Baltimore City Paper. October 6, 2004. URL retrieved on January 27, 2007.
16. "Best Monument". 2005 Baltimore Living Winners. Baltimore City Paper. 2005-09-21. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
17. The Next America Revisited, 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. Hagerstown, Maryland, mdoe.org Maryland Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
20. Claims to Fame - Plants, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
21. Amit R. Paley, Takoma Park Council Backs Same-Sex Unions, Washington Post, July 15, 2004, page B01.