List of United Kingdom county nicknames

Summary

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 Shortening of Lincolnshire
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

  1. ^ Williams (31 August 2020). "Zoom Into Clackmannanshire". NLS. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  2. ^ "THE PRINCE BISHOPS OF DURHAM".
  3. ^ Moore, Amanda (3 September 2012). "What Is A Hampshire Hog?".
  4. ^ Morton, Anna. "Hampshire: Jane Austen's County".
  5. ^ http://capitalcounty.co.uk/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ Dann, Niamh (September 2021). "A 'Nelson's county' tour of Norfolk that retraces the steps of our most iconic historical figure".
  7. ^ Lucas. "So is Northamptonshire a good place to live? The most Googled questions revealed".
  8. ^ Pearce (6 April 2020). "The Robin Hood Trail: 20+ Amazing Robin Hood Places to Visit & Uncover the Legend!".
  9. ^ Castelow, Ellen. "The Moonrakers".