List of city nicknames in Kentucky explained

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" are also believed to have economic value. Their economic value is difficult to measure, 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.

• 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

External links

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

Notes and 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. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/products.html Claims to Fame – Products
4. http://www.benhamky.org/ City of Benham
5. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/arts.html Claims to Fame – Art
6. http://www.wegoplaces.com/KYBowlingGreen_Region_423_Cat_Information.aspx We Go Places-Bowling Green, Kentucky
7. http://www.kentuckyexplorer.com/nonmembers/00-10014.html explorekentucky.com
8. http://www.burnsidetourism.com/ Burnside, Kentucky tourism
9. http://www.cavecity.com/ Cave City, Kentucky
10. http://www.covingtonky.com/index.asp?fn=news&id=1569&cmonth=12&cyear=2009 City of Covington, Kentucky
11. http://www.taglineguru.com/sloganvilleawards.html Solganville, USA Awards For Best City Mottos and Monikers
12. Web site: Cumberland . 2023-06-20 . Kentucky Tourism - State of Kentucky - Visit Kentucky, Official Site . en.
13. Web site: City of Danville, Ky – City of Firsts . https://web.archive.org/web/20080329044254/http://ci.danville.ky.us/ . 2008-03-29 .
14. News: E'town Moves Trick or Treat to Sunday. Finley. Marty. October 19, 2010. The News-Enterprise. 2010-10-19.
15. http://www.elkhorncity.org/ Elkhorn City, Kentucky
16. http://www.ftthomas.org/History.html History of Fort Thomas
17. http://www.graysonky.net/ City of Grayson, Kentucky
18. http://hazardperrytourism.com/ Hazard/Perry County Tourism
19. http://www.visithopkinsville.com/events/ViewAttractions.asp?Category=All%20Attractions Hopkinsville/Christian County Visitors Bureau
20. https://archive.today/20120913003828/http://www.redbubble.com/people/annlarry19886/art/4568904-2-redbud-capital-of-the-world Hyden, Kentucky Welcome Sign
21. http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/lexington/athens.htm Lexington, Kentucky:Athens of the West
22. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/animals.html Claims to Fame – Animals
23. http://www.visitlex.com/ Visit Lexington, Kentucky
24. Jonathan Meador, Art: Behold the mega church, 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. http://www.louisvillehistorictours.com/operators.html Louisville Historic Tours
26. http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/summary12/ Smoky City
27. http://www.derbypost.com/kentucky2.html Horse Racing in Kentucky, Part II
28. http://www.louisvilleky.gov/PARC/ Parking Authority of River City
29. Web site: GameDay in the Ville . 2009-01-31 . 2008-02-09.
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. News: Town's Radical Change a "Hope For America". Griffith. Wendy. May 2, 2004. Christian Broadcast Network News. 2010-10-19.
32. http://middlesborodailynews.com/bookmark/9579131 Art Council Formed in Middlesboro
33. http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM6DMV_Middlesboro_Ky_The_City_Built_Inside_a_Meteorite_Crater Middlesboro, Kentucky Welcome Sign
34. Web site: BBC comes to the 'Crater' . Stephen Woodward . Middlesboro Daily News . 2009.
35. http://www.bbonline.com/ky/cumberlandmanor/ Cumberland Manor Bed and Breakfast
36. Book: Matheny, Ann D. . The Magic City: Footnotes to the History of Middlesborough, Kentucky, and the Yellow Creek Valley . 2003 . Bell County Historical Society . . 0-9677765-2-X . Retrieved on 2010-10-15
37. https://www.fsnb.net/c/Our_Communities/Wayne_County-Monticello.php First Southern National Bank - Wayne County
38. Retrieved on 2020-06-01
39. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9F0CE6DC1430F931A2575AC0A965958260 The Capital of Whatever
40. http://www.ket.org/pressroom/2004/10/QCUL__.html Paducah takes center stage in Quilt City USA
41. http://www.paintsville.org/ Official site of the City of Paintsville
42. http://www.paris.ky.gov/ City of Paris, Kentucky
43. http://www.cityofpikeville.com/ official site of The City of Pikeville, Kentucky
44. http://www.prestonsburgky.org/ Prestonsburg Convention and Visitors Bureau
45. http://www.shelbyvillekentucky.com/ City of Shelbyville, Kentucky
46. http://www.cityofsimpsonvilleky.com/ City of Simpsonville
47. http://www.williamsburgky.com/new/ City of Williamsburg, Kentucky