List of United Kingdom county nicknames
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2022) |
This is a list of nicknames for counties of the United Kingdom. This includes the counties of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Counties are only included if they have a nickname.
List
[edit]| County | Nickname | Origins and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bedfordshire | Clangers | From Bedfordshire clangers |
| Berkshire | Berks The Royal County |
Shortening of Berkshire Due to Windsor Castle being in the county |
| Berwickshire | Duns-shire | Due to Duns being the county town |
| Buckinghamshire | Bucks | Shortening of Buckinghamshire |
| Cambridgeshire | Cambs | Shortening of Cambridgeshire |
| Carmarthenshire | Carms / Sir Gar | Shortening of Carmarthenshire / Welsh for Carmarthenshire |
| Ceredigion | Cardiganshire | Ceredigion is from the ancient kingdom but Cardiganshire is sometimes colloquially used instead |
| Clackmannanshire | The Wee County | Smallest county in Scotland and the UK by area.[1] |
| Cornwall | Kernow | Cornish name for Cornwall |
| County Antrim | The Glenmen | From the Glens of Antrim |
| County Armagh | The Orchard County The Cathedral County |
Due to large number of orchards Due to the Primate of All Ireland being based in the county |
| County Durham | Land of the Prince Bishops | From the Bishops of Durham.[2] |
| County Down | The Mourne County | From the Mourne Mountains |
| County Fermanagh | The Maguire County | From the Medieval Lord, Baron Maguire |
| County Londonderry | The Oak-Leaf County | Derry, an anglicisation of Doire, is Irish for oak grove, leading to an oak leaf being used on the county crest |
| County Tyrone | The Red Hand County | From the Red Hand of Ulster on the county's GAA crest |
| Derbyshire | Derbys | Shortening of Derbyshire |
| Denbighshire / Sir Ddinbych | Denbs / Ddinbych | Shortening of Denbighshire / Shorthand from Welsh |
| Fife | Kingdom of Fife | Referring to the old Kingdom of Fife |
| Flintshire / Sir y Fflint | Flints / Fflint | Shortening of Flintshire / Shorthand from Welsh |
| Gloucestershire | Glos
The King's County |
Shortening of Gloucestershire
The current King, King Charles III, has his family residence in this county. |
| Hampshire | The Hog County Jane Austen's County |
Wild boar hunting in the New Forest[3] Jane Austen born in Hampshire[4] |
| Hertfordshire | Herts | Shortening of Hertfordshire |
| Isle of Anglesey / Ynys Môn | Môn | Shortened from the Welsh name for Anglesey |
| Kent | The Garden of England | From the county's produce of fruit and agricultural crops |
| Kincardineshire | The Mearns | From the Anglicisation of the Scots Gaelic word for The Stewartry |
| Lancashire | The Red Rose County | From the red rose symbol of the Duchy of Lancaster |
| Leicestershire | Leics | Shortening of Leicestershire |
| Lincolnshire | Lincs or yellowbellies | Shortening of Lincolnshire, old name for Lincoln’s yellow belly soldiers |
| Middlesex | The Capital County | Location of London, capital of England [5] |
| Monmouthshire / Sir Fynwy | Mons / Fynwy | Shortening of Monmouthshire / Shorthand from Welsh |
| Norfolk | Nelson's County | Naval officer Horatio Nelson born in Norfolk.[6] |
| Northamptonshire | Rose of the Shires | Central position within England.[7] |
| Northumberland | Northd | Shortening of Northumberland |
| Nottinghamshire | Notts
Robin Hood's Country |
Shortening of Nottinghamshire
From the legend of Robin Hood.[8] |
| Oxfordshire | Oxon | Shortening of Oxfordshire |
| Peeblesshire | Tweeddale | Due to being part of the district of Tweeddale |
| Pembrokeshire / Sir Benfro | Pembs / Benfro | Shortening of Pembrokeshire / Shorthand from Welsh |
| Shetland | Zetland | From the archaic spelling for Shetland |
| Shropshire | Salop | From old abbreviations for Shropshire |
| Staffordshire | Staffs | Shortening of Staffordshire |
| Sussex | Sx | Shortening of Sussex |
| Warwickshire | Warks | Abbreviation for Warwickshire |
| Wiltshire | The Moonraker County | Local gin-smuggling story.[9] |
| Worcestershire | Worcs | Shortening of Worcestershire |
| Yorkshire | God's Own Country | Self-proclaimed |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Williams (31 August 2020). "Zoom Into Clackmannanshire". NLS. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ^ "THE PRINCE BISHOPS OF DURHAM".
- ^ Moore, Amanda (3 September 2012). "What Is A Hampshire Hog?".
- ^ Morton, Anna. "Hampshire: Jane Austen's County".
- ^ http://capitalcounty.co.uk/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Dann, Niamh (September 2021). "A 'Nelson's county' tour of Norfolk that retraces the steps of our most iconic historical figure".
- ^ Lucas. "So is Northamptonshire a good place to live? The most Googled questions revealed".
- ^ Pearce (6 April 2020). "The Robin Hood Trail: 20+ Amazing Robin Hood Places to Visit & Uncover the Legend!".
- ^ Castelow, Ellen. "The Moonrakers".