List of city nicknames in Georgia (U.S. state)

This partial list of city nicknames in Georgia compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that cities in Georgia 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.

Nicknames by city

• Abbeville – Wild Hog Capital of Georgia^[3]
• Albany – The Good Life City^[4]
• Alpharetta – Awesome Alpharetta!^[5]
• Ashburn – Peanut Capital of the World^[6]
• Athens – The Classic City^[7]
• Atlanta

• Contemporary nicknames of Atlanta include, in alphabetical order:
  • The A/da A: It is used in local media such as Only in the A, a video channel shown on MARTA rapid transit trains in Atlanta^[8] and Straight from the A, a popular^[9] Atlanta-based blog targeted at African Americans.^[10] "The A" or "da A" is also used in hip hop and rap songs such as Ludacris and Lloyd's "How We Do It (in da A)", Lil Scrappy's "The A", and T.I.'s "In da A". Atlanta newspaper Creative Loafing listed as one of its "reasons to love Atlanta" that it's "the only city easily identified by just one letter".^[11]
  • A-Town^[12]
  • The ATL,^[13] for its airport code
  • Badstreet, U.S.A.: City nickname coined by professional wrestling stable The Fabulous Freebirds, who were billed from Atlanta.
  • The Big A, trucker CB slang
  • The Big Peach^[14]
  • Black mecca^[15]
  • City in a Forest^[16] or City of Trees,^[17] for its unique tree canopy
  • Dogwood City^[18]
  • Empire City of the South^[19]
  • Hot 'Lanta, now more commonly spelled Hotlanta, first popularized by an instrumental song performed by the Allman Brothers Band. It debuted on their live album At Fillmore East, released in July 1971, the fifth song on the album.^[20][21]
  • Hollywood of the South, became popular recently due to the city's boom in the film industry.^[22]
• Historical nicknames for the city include:
  • Gate City, Gate City of the South, or Gate City of the New South (from Reconstruction through the early 20th century)^[23][24]
  • New York of the South^[25] (1870s–1890s)
  • Chicago of the South (1880s–1900s): for Atlanta's "new men, new industries, new buildings, and new spirit" - though it was often remarked that the nickname was not quite accurate in terms of the size of Atlanta vs. the much larger Chicago^[26][27][28]
  • The City Too Busy to Hate^[29][30] (during Jim Crow and the Civil Rights struggle)
  • Convention City of Dixie (Land) (1910s–1920s)^[31][32]
  • Dogwood City^[18]
• Augusta
  • The Garden City^[33]
• Blakely – Peanut Capital of the World^[6]
• Canon – The Big Gun^[14]
• Canton
  • Film Capital of North Georgia
• Claxton – Fruitcake Capital of the World^[34][35]
• Colquitt – Mayhaw Capital of the World^[34][35]
• Columbus
  • The Lowell of the South^[36]
  • The Fountain City^[37]
• Cordele – Watermelon Capital of the World^[6]
• Dalton – Carpet Capital of the World^[38][39]
• Darien – Hidden Gem of the Golden Isles^[40]
• Dawson – Spanish Peanut Capital of the World^[35]
• Decatur – People's Republic of Decatur^[41]
• Dublin - The Emerald City^[42]
• Elberton – The Granite City^[43]
• Ellijay – Georgia's Apple Capital^[6]
• Fort Valley – Peach Capital of Georgia^[6]
• Gainesville – Poultry Capital of the World^[38]
• Griffin – Iris City^[44]
• LaGrange – The Greatest Little City^[45]
• Lithonia – City of Granite^[43]
• Macon
  • The Central City^[46]
  • Cherry Blossom Capital of the World^[47]
  • Maconga^[48]
• Metter – Everything's Better in Metter^[49]
• Milledgeville – Old Capitol City^[50]
• Milton – Rich White Bitches
• Nashville – City of Dogwoods^[44]
• Newnan – City of Homes^[44]
• Powder Springs – P-Town^[44]
• Quitman – The Camellia City^[51]
• Sandersville – Kaolin Capital of the World^[38]
• Savannah
  • America's Most Haunted City^[52]
  • Turf Grass Capital of the World^[53]
• Sylvester- Peanut Capital of the World^[54]
• Thomasville – City of Roses^[55]
• Thomson
  • Camellia City of the South^[56]
  • Tournament City^[56]
• Tifton – The Friendly City^[57]
• Valdosta
  • The Azalea City^[58]
  • Winnersville U.S.A.^[59]
• Vidalia – Sweet Onion Capital of the World^[6]
• Warner Robins – Georgia's International City^[60]
• Warwick – The Grits Capital of Georgia or The Grits Capital of the World^[61]
• Waynesboro – Bird Dog Capital of the World^[53][62]

See also

• List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state)
• List of city nicknames in the United States

References