List of United Kingdom county nicknames

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

County Nickname Origins and notes
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 St Patrick's Cathedral (Church of Ireland) and St Patrick's Cathedral (Catholic) both being in the city of Armagh
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
Derbyshire Derbys Shortening of Derbyshire
Denbighshire / Sir Ddinbych Denbs / Ddinbych Shortening of Denbighshire / Shorthand from Welsh
County Down The Mourne County From the Mourne Mountains
County Durham Land of the Prince Bishops From the Bishops of Durham.[2]
County Fermanagh The Maguire County From the medieval lords, the Maguire (Mag Uidhir) family.
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 Hants
The Hog County
Jane Austen's County		 Shortening of Hampshire
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
Isle of Wight Vectis Ancient Roman name for the county. Locals are called Vectensians
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
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
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 Northants / Rose of the Shires Shortening of Northamptonshire / 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
County Tyrone The Red Hand County
The O'Neill County
"Tyrone among the bushes"		 From the Red Hand of Ulster on the county's GAA crest
From the Uí Néill, medieval lords.[9]
Of unknown origin. Possibly popularised in a poem A Sigh for Old Times by Strabane poet William Collins[9][10][11]
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.[12]
Worcestershire Worcs Shortening of Worcestershire
Yorkshire God's Own Country Self-proclaimed

See also

References

  1. ^ Williams (31 August 2020). "Zoom Into Clackmannanshire". NLS. Retrieved 10 May 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. ^ a b Hughes, Martin; Gerry Coughlan (March 2007). "Regional variations: County nicknames". Irish Language and Culture. Lonely Planet. pp. 195–202. ISBN 978-1-74059-577-3.
  10. ^ Corry, Eoghan (2005). The GAA book of lists. Dublin: Hodder Headline Ireland. pp. 182–3. ISBN 978-0-340-89695-2.
  11. ^ Dolan 2006, p.108
  12. ^ Castelow, Ellen. "The Moonrakers".
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