New York City Nicknames: From the Big Apple to Gotham (and the Myth of the 100 Nicknames)

You may have seen it on social media: "New York is the only city in the world with more than a hundred nicknames." It is a catchy fact and it gets shared a lot, but is it true?

The short answer: New York has 98 documented nicknames in a single source, and more than 100 if you combine several sources. But there is no evidence that it is "the only city in the world" with that many.

In this guide we check the claim with data and trace the real origin of close to 40 names the city has carried, from the Big Apple, which was born at a New Orleans racetrack, to Gotham, which began as a literary joke. We also tell you where you can see some of these nicknames in person on your trip.

How Many Nicknames Does New York Have? Fact-Checking the Viral Claim

The list of 98

The biggest collection of New York nicknames known comes from the book Nicknames and Sobriquets of U.S. Cities and States (second edition, 1970) by Joseph Nathan Kane and Gerard L. Alexander, which gathers 98 nicknames for the city.

Etymologist Barry Popik, the leading authority on the origins of New York's nicknames (The Wall Street Journal described him as "the restless genius of American etymology"), transcribed that full list on his website in 2005 under the title "98 Nicknames." That is why outlets such as Voice of America say that Popik's site collects "almost 100 nicknames."

And the "more than 100"?

If you add more recent nicknames that are not in the 1970 list, such as "The City So Nice They Named It Twice," "The Center of the Universe" or "The Greatest City in the World," the total passes 100. So "more than 100 nicknames" is defensible if you combine sources, although a good part of the original list is made of promotional slogans from the mid-20th century, such as "The Vacation City" or "The Restaurant City."

Is it the only city in the world with that many?

There is no evidence of it. No worldwide count compares the number of nicknames of cities. Rome, for example, has collected epithets for centuries, such as "Caput Mundi" or "the Eternal City," and Paris is "the City of Light," but nobody has counted them in the same detail.

What can be said is that New York is very likely the American city with the most documented nicknames, and that is already a lot.

Verdict: the viral claim is exaggerated. The number is close to reality, but the exclusivity ("the only one in the world") does not hold up.

The Most Famous New York Nicknames at a Glance

Why Is New York Called the Big Apple?

It is the city's most famous nickname and also the one that drags the most myths. This is its real story, as reconstructed by Barry Popik from newspapers and horse-racing records.

Before 1920: "big apple" as a prize

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, "big apple" was already used in the United States to mean something very desirable, a prize or a sure thing. In 1909, writer Edward S. Martin used the metaphor in his book The Wayfarer in New York, saying that "the big apple" (New York) took a disproportionate share of the national sap. But it was not yet a nickname.

1920: the stable hands of New Orleans

In January 1920, horse-racing reporter John J. Fitz Gerald of the New York Morning Telegraph was at the Fair Grounds racetrack in New Orleans. There he heard two African American stable hands say that after that season they were heading to "the big apple," their name for the New York racetracks, where the best prizes were. Popik dated that scene, probably to January 14, 1920, using horse-sale records of the time.

1921-1924: Fitz Gerald popularizes the term

Fitz Gerald's first known printed use is from May 3, 1921. On February 18, 1924 he launched his column "Around the Big Apple," with an explanation that became famous: the Big Apple was the dream of every lad who ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen, and there was only one, New York.

The 1930s: Harlem and jazz

In 1934 a nightclub called the Big Apple opened in Harlem, at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue (today Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard). Jazz musicians adopted the term: making it in New York meant "playing the Big Apple." They did not invent the nickname, but they spread it across the country.

1971: the campaign that revived it

By the 1960s the nickname had almost disappeared. In 1971, Charles Gillett, president of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau (the city's tourism office, today NYC & Company), relaunched it in a campaign to attract visitors at a time when New York had a very poor image. Gillett was a jazz fan and remembered the nickname from those musicians. The campaign, with stickers and red apples everywhere, was a success, and ever since, everybody has called the city by that name.

1997: Big Apple Corner

On February 12, 1997, Mayor Rudy Giuliani signed the law naming the southwest corner of West 54th Street and Broadway "Big Apple Corner" in honor of Fitz Gerald, who lived in the old Hotel Bryant there (today the Hotel Ameritania) from 1934 to 1963.

One warning almost no guide gives: the hotel plaque was lost in renovations, and the street sign went missing in 2021. According to Barry Popik's research, a replacement went up in July 2024. Signs can disappear again, so it is worth checking when you visit.

False myths about the Big Apple

"It comes from a brothel run by a woman named Eve" is false. Barry Popik showed that this story was invented on a website.

"It comes from the apple sellers of the Great Depression" is false. Fitz Gerald was already using the term in 1921, years before the 1929 crash.

"It is because the state produces a lot of apples" is unrelated. New York State is indeed a major apple producer (second in the country, behind Washington), but the nickname does not come from there.

"Jazz musicians invented it" is a half-truth. Musicians spread it in the 1930s, but they did not create it.

Why Is New York Called Gotham?

Washington Irving and Salmagundi (1807)

On November 11, 1807, writer Washington Irving (author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) and his friends published in the satirical magazine Salmagundi a piece that called New York "the thrice-famous and delightful city of Gotham." It was a jab: Irving was comparing New Yorkers to the inhabitants of a famous English village.

The "wise fools" of Gotham, England

Gotham is a real village in Nottinghamshire, England, and its name means, according to experts, something like "goat town." According to the legend, in the Middle Ages its villagers pretended to be mad so that King John would not build a royal road through the village. Ever since, the "wise men of Gotham" have meant people who seem foolish but are very cunning. New Yorkers, far from being offended, loved the nickname.

From Irving to Batman

More than a century later, in Batman #4 (December 1940), writer Bill Finger named the superhero's city Gotham City, inspired, according to the New York Public Library, by an ad for a jeweler called "Gotham Jewelers." That is why many people today link Gotham with Batman, but New York's nickname is 133 years older.

Empire City and Empire State: George Washington's Letter

On April 10, 1785, George Washington wrote to the mayor and city council of New York to thank them for a tribute. In that letter, preserved in the U.S. National Archives (Founders Online), he described the state of New York as "at present the Seat of the Empire." That phrase gave rise to the nickname "Empire State" for the state, and from there "Empire City" for the city, which already appears in print in 1836.

And yes, the Empire State Building (1931) is named after that nickname. Every time you look at it, you are looking at the legacy of a letter from George Washington. If you want more on the building, read our guide to the Empire State Building and NYC skyscrapers.

The City That Never Sleeps

"The City That Never Sleeps" appears in American newspapers in 1907 and 1912, in stories about the city's night mail and electric lighting. But its big boost came with the song "New York, New York," by John Kander and Fred Ebb, sung by Liza Minnelli in Martin Scorsese's 1977 film and turned into an anthem by Frank Sinatra in 1980 with the line "I want to wake up in a city that doesn't sleep."

And the nickname is still true: the New York subway runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Other New York Nicknames and Where They Come From

The City So Nice They Named It Twice. It plays on the full name "New York, New York" (New York City, New York State). The phrase was said by jazz singer Jon Hendricks in 1959, in a recording of the song "Manhattan" (on George Russell's album New York, N.Y.), and it was later popularized by TV host David Letterman.

The Melting Pot. It comes from The Melting Pot, a play by Israel Zangwill that premiered in 1908 and presented the United States as a great crucible where immigrants from all over the world blend. New York, the gateway for millions of immigrants through Ellis Island, became the perfect example.

The Capital of the World and the Center of the Universe. "The Capital of the World" was popularized by writer E. B. White in his essay Here Is New York (1948), just as the city was preparing to host the United Nations headquarters. "The Center of the Universe" was a favorite of Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. (1954-1965), and today it is used mostly for Times Square, which you can read about in our Times Square guide.

Fun City and Fear City. During the transit strike that paralyzed the city in January 1966, Mayor John Lindsay said that, despite everything, he still thought it was "a fun city." Columnist Dick Schaap turned it, ironically, into a nickname in the New York Herald Tribune. Nine years later, in the middle of the economic crisis, the police and firefighter unions handed out a pamphlet titled "Welcome to Fear City" to protest budget cuts.

Metropolis. Superman's city, which appears under that name in 1939, is inspired by New York. It is often said that if Gotham is New York at night, Metropolis is New York by day.

Knickerbocker. In 1809, Washington Irving published a humorous history of New York signed by a fictional Dutch historian, Diedrich Knickerbocker. The character was so successful that "Knickerbocker" came to mean "lifelong New Yorker." It is where the New York Knicks, the basketball team, get their name.

Concrete Jungle. It was popularized by the song "Empire State of Mind" (2009) by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, with its famous chorus: "concrete jungle where dreams are made of."

The Greatest City in the World. It became popular thanks to the musical Hamilton (2015) by Lin-Manuel Miranda, in the song "The Schuyler Sisters."

The Modern Gomorrah. In 1875, Reverend Thomas De Witt Talmage preached from Brooklyn against the vices of Manhattan, which he called "the modern Gomorrah."

The Historic Names: New Amsterdam, New York and New Orange

Before its nicknames, New York had several official names. New Amsterdam (1624-1664): the Dutch founded a settlement in southern Manhattan in the mid-1620s and built Fort Amsterdam. New York (1664): the English took the colony in 1664 and renamed it in honor of the Duke of York, the future King James II of England. New Orange (1673-1674): during the Anglo-Dutch war, the Dutch recovered the city and named it after William III of Orange. It lasted only a year: in 1674 it went back to English hands and regained the name New York.

Watch out for a very common mistake: the name New York was not given by the Dutch but by the English, in 1664. To go deeper into the city's past, read our History of New York from New Amsterdam to global capital.

The Nicknames of the Five Boroughs

Curious and Forgotten Nicknames

The 1970 list of 98 nicknames hides real gems that almost nobody uses today: Bagdad on the Hudson, Hong Kong of the Hudson, Babylonian Bedlam, The Big Town and The Big Burg, City of Skyscrapers, City of Islands, City of Orchestras, Crossroads of the World (today tied to Times Square), Fashion Capital of the World, Financial Capital of the World, The University of Telephony, Wonder City and The Wonderful Town. If you want the full list of 98 nicknames, you can read it on Barry Popik's website (barrypopik.com).

Where to See New York's Nicknames in Person

Many of these nicknames have a real place you can visit. Big Apple Corner is at the southwest corner of West 54th Street and Broadway, next to the Hotel Ameritania, where Fitz Gerald lived. The Empire State Building is at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, and its name comes from the nickname born of George Washington's letter. Times Square is the "crossroads of the world" and the "center of the universe." The United Nations headquarters, on First Avenue, is why New York is called "the capital of the world." Harlem is the cradle of the jazz scene that spread "the Big Apple" in the 1930s. Madison Square Garden is home to the Knicks, heirs of the "Knickerbocker" name. At Citi Field in Queens, the Mets' stadium, a giant apple appears every time the team hits a home run. And Queens, the "World's Borough," is one you can discover on our Contrasts Tour.

Want to discover these stories on the ground? On our Manhattan tour we pass through Midtown, Times Square and the Empire State, and our guides tell you the origin of the Big Apple, Gotham and the city's most famous nicknames. And if you want to get to know the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn, boroughs with nicknames of their own, we are waiting for you on our New York Contrasts Tour.

Frequently Asked Questions About New York's Nicknames

How many nicknames does New York have? The largest documented list gathers 98 nicknames (Kane and Alexander, 1970), published online by etymologist Barry Popik. If you add more recent sources, the total passes 100.

Is it true that New York is the only city in the world with more than 100 nicknames? There is no evidence. No worldwide count compares cities. What is likely is that it is the American city with the most documented nicknames.

Why is New York called the Big Apple? Because of horse-racing reporter John J. Fitz Gerald, who popularized the term in the 1920s after hearing it from stable hands in New Orleans. For them, "the big apple" meant the New York racetracks, with the best prizes. In 1971, a tourism campaign turned it into the city's official nickname.

Who invented the Big Apple nickname? No single person invented it, but John J. Fitz Gerald popularized it in print starting in 1921, and Charles Gillett relaunched it in 1971.

Where is Big Apple Corner? At the southwest corner of West 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan, where Fitz Gerald lived from 1934 to 1963.

Why is New York called Gotham? Because of writer Washington Irving, who in 1807 humorously compared New Yorkers to the "wise fools" of the English village of Gotham. Batman took the name in 1940.

Why is New York the "Empire State"? Because of a letter from George Washington in 1785 in which he called the state of New York "the Seat of the Empire."

What does "the city so nice they named it twice" mean? It is a play on words with "New York, New York." Singer Jon Hendricks said it in 1959.

What was New York called before? New Amsterdam during the Dutch period. The English renamed it New York in 1664, and for a brief period (1673-1674) it was called New Orange.

What are the nicknames of New York's boroughs? Manhattan is "The City," Brooklyn the "Borough of Churches," the Bronx "The Boogie Down," Queens "The World's Borough" and Staten Island "The Forgotten Borough."

One City, a Hundred Names

The Big Apple, Gotham, the city that never sleeps, the capital of the world... Each New York nickname tells a chapter of its history, from a New Orleans racetrack to a satirical magazine of 1807, from a letter by George Washington to a Sinatra song. It may not be the only city in the world with more than a hundred nicknames, but few can boast that every one of its names hides such a good story.

About the author: Real's Tours NYC, a local tour operator in New York offering tours in Spanish. Our guides tell these stories every day to travelers on the streets of Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn.

Related Articles:

Why Is Manhattan Called Manhattan? Origin & True Meaning

History of New York: New Amsterdam to Global Capital

Empire State Building & NYC Skyscrapers: The Era of Giants

Sources: Barry Popik (barrypopik.com); Joseph Nathan Kane and Gerard L. Alexander, Nicknames and Sobriquets of U.S. Cities and States (1970); New York Public Library (NYPL); U.S. National Archives (Founders Online); Voice of America; Wikipedia, "Nicknames of New York City."

Real's Tours NYC is an independent tour operator and is not affiliated with Barry Popik, NYC & Company, the New York Mets, the Empire State Building or any other organization or work mentioned in this article.