List of city nicknames in Kentucky

This partial list of city nicknames in Kentucky compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that cities and towns in Kentucky 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 for Lexington and Louisville celebrate the Bluegrass Region's horse farms and the state's most famous horse race, the Kentucky Derby, held at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

• Bardstown – Bourbon Capital of the World ^[3]
• Bellevue – B-town
• Benham – The Little Town That International Harvester, Coal Miners, and Their Families Built ^[4]
• Berea – Folk Arts and Crafts Capital of Kentucky ^[5]
• Bowling Green
  • Vette City ^[6]
  • The Park City ^[7]
• Burnside – The Only Town on Lake Cumberland ^[8]
• Cave City – Gateway to Mammoth Cave ^[9]
• Covington – Gateway to the South ^[10]
• Crestwood – Whiskers ^[11]
• Cumberland – Black Bear Capital of Kentucky ^[12]
• Danville – City of Firsts ^[13]
• Elizabethtown – E Town ^[14]
• Elkhorn City – Gateway to the Breaks ^[15]
• Fort Thomas – The City of Beautiful Homes ^[16]
• Grayson – Heart of the Parks ^[17]
• Hazard – Queen City of the Mountains ^[18]
• Hopkinsville – Hoptown ^[19]
• Hyden – Redbud Capital of the World ^[20]
• Lexington
  • Athens of the West ^[21]
  • Horse Capital of the World ^{[22] [23]}
• Louisville
  • City of Beautiful Churches ^[24]
  • Derby City ^{[24] [25]}
  • The Fall City (reported in the 1880s) ^[26] or Falls City ^[24]
  • Gateway to the South ^[27]
  • River City ^{[24] [28]}
  • The Ville ^[29]
• Madisonville – Best Town on Earth ^[30]
• Manchester – City of Hope ^[31]
• Mayfield – Pearl of the Purchase
• Middlesboro
  • The Athens of the Mountains ^[32]
  • The City Built Inside a Meteorite Crater ^[33]
  • Crater City ^[34]
  • Little Las Vegas ^[35]
  • The Magic City ^[36]
• Monticello – Houseboat Capital of the World ^[37]
• Mount Sterling – Gateway Between the Bluegrass and the Mountains ^[38]
• Owensboro – Barbecued Mutton Capital of the World ^[39]
• Paducah – Quilt City ^[40]
• Paintsville – The City Between the Lakes ^[41]
• Paris – Thoroughbred Capital of the World ^[42]
• Pikeville – The City That Moves Mountains ^[43]
• Prestonsburg – The Star City of Eastern Kentucky ^[44]
• Renfro Valley – Kentucky's Country Music Capital ^[5]
• Shelbyville – The Gateway to the Bluegrass ^[45]
• Simpsonville – American Saddlebred Capital of the World ^[46]
• Somerset
  • Car Cruise Capital of Kentucky
  • Spirit of Southern Kentucky
• Williamsburg – Your Gateway to the Cumberlands ^[47]

See also

• List of city nicknames in the United States
• List of cities in Kentucky

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. Claims to Fame – Products Archived 2007-04-08 at the Wayback Machine Epodunk. Retrieved on 2010-10-16
4. City of Benham Archived 2012-07-24 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-10-19
5. Claims to Fame – Art Archived 2018-08-29 at the Wayback Machine Epodunk. Retrieved on 2010-10-16
6. We Go Places-Bowling Green, Kentucky Retrieved on 2010-2-9
7. explorekentucky.com ^[usurped] Retrieved on 2010-2-9
8. Burnside, Kentucky tourism Retrieved on 2010-10-15
9. Cave City, Kentucky Official website. Retrieved on 2010-10-15
10. City of Covington, Kentucky Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-2-9
11. Solganville, USA Awards For Best City Mottos and Monikers Retrieved on 2010-10-16
12. "Cumberland". Kentucky Tourism - State of Kentucky - Visit Kentucky, Official Site. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
13. "City of Danville, Ky – City of Firsts". Archived from the original on 2008-03-29.
14. Finley, Marty (October 19, 2010). "E'town Moves Trick or Treat to Sunday". The News-Enterprise. Retrieved 2010-10-19.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
15. Elkhorn City, Kentucky Archived 2017-02-26 at the Wayback Machine Official website. Retrieved on 2010-10-15
16. History of Fort Thomas Archived 2010-09-23 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-10-19
17. City of Grayson, Kentucky Retrieved on 2010-10-16
18. Hazard/Perry County Tourism Retrieved on 2010-10-19
19. Hopkinsville/Christian County Visitors Bureau Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-2-9
20. Hyden, Kentucky Welcome Sign Retrieved on 2010-12-19
21. Lexington, Kentucky:Athens of the West National Park Service. Retrieved on 2010-10-15
22. Claims to Fame – Animals Archived 2011-11-06 at the Wayback Machine Epodunk. Retrieved on 2010-10-16
23. Visit Lexington, Kentucky, accessed April 7, 2007. "Visiting a horse farm while you're in the Horse Capital of the World is a uniquely Bluegrass kind of experience you'll long remember."
24. Jonathan Meador, Art: Behold the mega church Archived 2011-01-28 at the Wayback Machine , LEO Weekly, January 20, 2010. "Louisville has its fair share of nicknames — River City, Falls City, Derby City, Aliville ... the list goes on. But there's one nickname that you might not be aware of: Due to the numerous and varied houses of worship within the city limits, Louisville was once known as the 'City of Beautiful Churches'."
25. Louisville Historic Tours, Historic Old Louisville Visitors Center website, accessed June 27, 2010
26. Smoky City Retrieved on 2010-10-16
27. Horse Racing in Kentucky, Part II, accessed April 7, 2007. "By then Louisville businesses had severed their northern ties since the only market for Louisville-made tools and food staples was in the war-ravaged South, making "former Confederate officers and soldiers precious commodities when the city's Board of Trade began promoting Louisville as the 'Gateway to the South.'"
28. Parking Authority of River City. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
29. "GameDay in the Ville". 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
30. Rich Davis, Words to live by; Pride extends from 'Best Town on Earth' to 'Hub of Universe', Evansville Courier & Press, January 27, 2008. "Until a few decades ago, Madisonville, Ky., had 'Best Town on Earth' signs spanning some of its thoroughfares. 'It goes back to 1903 when the local paper, then known as the Madisonville Daily Hustler, ran a contest to come up with a slogan,' says mayoral assistant Leslie Curneal."
31. Griffith, Wendy (May 2, 2004). "Town's Radical Change a "Hope For America"". Christian Broadcast Network News. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
32. Art Council Formed in Middlesboro Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Middlesboro Daily News. Retrieved on 2010-10-15
33. Middlesboro, Kentucky Welcome Sign Retrieved on 2010-05-29
34. Stephen Woodward (2009). "BBC comes to the 'Crater'". Middlesboro Daily News.
35. Cumberland Manor Bed and Breakfast Archived 2010-12-19 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-10-15
36. Matheny, Ann D. (2003). The Magic City: Footnotes to the History of Middlesborough, Kentucky, and the Yellow Creek Valley. Middlesboro, Kentucky: Bell County Historical Society. ISBN   0-9677765-2-X. Retrieved on 2010-10-15
37. First Southern National Bank - Wayne County Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-05-29
38. {https://mtsterlingtourism.com/} Retrieved on 2020-06-01
39. The Capital of Whatever The New York Times by Harold Faber, September 12, 1993. Retrieved on 2010-10-16
40. Paducah takes center stage in Quilt City USA Archived 2012-09-05 at archive.today , Kentucky Educational Television , February 23, 2004.
41. Official site of the City of Paintsville Archived 2019-03-09 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-2-9
42. City of Paris, Kentucky Retrieved on 2010-11-25
43. official site of The City of Pikeville, Kentucky, accessed April 7, 2007. For the origin of this motto, see Pikeville Cut-Through.
44. Prestonsburg Convention and Visitors Bureau Retrieved on 2010-10-16
45. City of Shelbyville, Kentucky Retrieved on 2010-10-19
46. City of Simpsonville Retrieved on 2010-10-19
47. City of Williamsburg, Kentucky Archived 2010-11-09 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-10-15

External links

• a list of American and a few Canadian nicknames
• U.S. cities list