List of football club nicknames in the United Kingdom

This is a list of nicknames for United Kingdom football clubs. Nicknames are usually preceded by 'The'. The origins of some nicknames are unclear with various stories being put forward.

The usual basis for nicknames are:

• Local industry
• Colour(s) of home strip
• Name of club
• Name of area or ground
• Logo

England

Nickname	Club(s)	Reason
Addicks	Charlton Athletic	A corruption of the word 'haddocks', named after a local fish and chip shop
Ash Trees	Ashford Town	The emblem of the town, derived both from the name of the town and from the large tree that stood in the centre of the town for many years
Atom Men	AFC Aldermaston	Named after the local Atomic Weapons Research Establishment
Avenue	Bradford Park Avenue	The club has always been known colloquially as "Avenue"
Badgers	Stalybridge Celtic
Baggies	West Bromwich Albion	Acquired when the players played in long shorts
Bantams	Bradford City	A reference to the claret and amber colours of the club's strip[1]
Beavers	Hampton & Richmond Borough	From the name of the ground, Beveree, itself named after a mansion in whose former grounds it is situated.
Bees	Basildon	Based on colour of home strip
	Brentford	Misinterpretation of an 1890s chant "Buck up Bs"
Biscuitmen	Reading	Referred to former Huntley and Palmers biscuit factory in the town (not used since the 1980s)
Black Cats	Sunderland	Named after the Black Cat gun battery which stood on the river Wear. Also references the lucky black cat which led to the team winning the FA Cup[2]
Blades	Sheffield United	Local links with steel and cutlery.
Blues	Birmingham City	Colour of home football kit
	Chelsea	Colour of home football kit
	Everton	Colour of home football kit
	Grays Athletic	Colour of home football kit
	Ipswich Town	Colour of home football kit
	Shrewsbury Town	Colour of home football kit
	Southend United	Colour of home football kit
	Worcester City
	Wycombe Wanderers	Colour of home football kit
Boro	Harrow Borough	Based on club's name
	Middlesbrough	Short version of name
	Stevenage	Short version of original name, Stevenage Borough
Brewers	Burton Albion	Local links to the brewing industry
Bury	St Margaretsbury	Short version of name
Canaries	Norwich City	Initially due to popularity of canary breeding in Norfolk, later home strips are the same colour as the bird, and is now used in the club's logo
Castle	Newcastle Town F.C.	Short version of name
Cards / Cardinals	Woking	From the Cardinal red of the red and white shirt halves,[3] cards being a shortening of the nickname
Carpetmen	Kidderminster Harriers	The modern carpet industry was founded in the area
Chairboys	Wycombe Wanderers	Local links to the furniture making industry
Cherries	Bournemouth	Stadium built on a cherry tree orchard
Citizens	Manchester City	Developed from 'City'
City	Manchester City	Based on club name
Clarets	Burnley	Colour of home strip
Cobblers	Northampton Town	Local links to the shoe making industry
Cod Army	Fleetwood Town	Local links to the fishing industry
Cottagers	Fulham	From club's ground, Craven Cottage, which has a cottage in the corner
Cumbrians	Carlisle United	From Cumbria, the county the club are from
Daggers	Dagenham & Redbridge	Based on club name
Dale	Rochdale	Short version of name
Diamonds	Rushden & Diamonds	Short version of name, used by its predecessor club
Dolly Blues	Lancaster City	Derived from the fact that team originally played in the same colour as the 'Dolly Blue' washing tablets
Donny	Doncaster Rovers	The regional nickname of the town
Dons	AFC Wimbledon	See Wimbledon F.C.
	Hendon F.C.	Taken from latter part of 'Hendon'
	MK Dons	See Wimbledon F.C.
Eagles	Bedford Town	The emblem of Bedford features an eagle
	Crystal Palace	Taken from nickname of Benfica
FCUM	FC United of Manchester	Abbreviation of the club's name
Filberts	Leicester City	Seldom used, derives from previous ground being located on Filbert Street
Fleet	Gravesend and Northfleet	Short version of name
Fosse	Leicester City	Original name was Leicester Fosse, which derived from The Fosse Way. Name still in use by commentator Stuart Hall
Foxes	Leicester City	Outline of Leicestershire on a map resembles a fox's head, Hunting tradition of the county[4]
Gas	Bristol Rovers	Old ground next door to a Gasworks
Gills	Gillingham	Short version of name
Glassboys	Stourbridge F.C.	Stourbridge was a centre of glass making
Glaziers	Crystal Palace	Reference to The Crystal Palace. No longer used
Glovers	Yeovil Town	Local links to the glove making industry
Grecians	Exeter City	Grecians was, for centuries, the nickname for people from the St Sidwells parish of Exeter where the ground is situated
Greens	Hendon F.C.	The club's home colours
Gulls	Torquay United	Seaside link
Gunners	Arsenal	Local links to military arsenal/due to the founders was in fact workers on a local arms factory
Hammers	West Ham United	Although this may initially appear to be based on a simple shortening of the name, observation of the club's crest will reveal crossed metalworking/rivetting hammers, indicating the club's origins as the football team of Thames Ironworks
Harriers	Kidderminster Harriers	Short version of name
Hatters	Luton Town	Local links to hat making industry
	Stockport County	One of Cheshire's and Britain's main hatting industry towns
Heed	Gateshead	Based on shortening of Gateshead, and the local pronunciation of Head
Hoops	Queens Park Rangers	Design of home strip
Hornets	Watford	Colour of strip
Imps	Lincoln City	Legend of the imp statue in Lincoln Cathedral (also "Red Imps")
Ingfielders	Ossett Town	So nicknamed after the name of the ground, Ingfield)
Iron	Scunthorpe United	Local links to the iron industry
	Braintree Town	The club was formed as Manor Works, the works team of the Crittall Window Company, from which they gained their nickname Iron.
Irons	West Ham United	The club's origins as the football team of Thames Ironworks
Knitters	Hinckley United	Local links to the Knitwear and Hosiery industry
Lambs	Tamworth	Team plays at The Lamb Ground, named after a local pub
Latics	Oldham Athletic	Short version of name
	Wigan Athletic	Short version of name
Lilywhites	Preston North End	Colour of home strip
	Fulham	Colour of home strip
	Cambridge City	Colour of home strip
	Tottenham Hotspur	Colour of home strip
Linnets	Burscough	Name of a bird sometimes known as the 'green linnet'; nickname used for teams that play in green
	King's Lynn Town F.C.	Also formerly used by its predecessor club King's Lynn F.C.
	Runcorn Linnets	Name of a bird sometimes known as the 'green linnet'; nickname used for teams that play in green. Also used by related now dissolved Runcorn F.C. Halton
Lions	Aston Villa	Featured on badge
	Guiseley A.F.C.
	Millwall	Featured on badge
Magpies	Newcastle United	Based on black and white colour of home strip
	Notts County	Based on black and white colour of home strip[5]
	Maidenhead United	Based on black and white colour of home strip.
	Chorley	Based on black and white colour of home strip.
Mariners	Grimsby Town	The club is based on the coast
Millers	Rotherham United	Based on ground name (Millmoor)
Minstermen	York City	York Minster is a famous landmark in the city
Monkey hangers	Hartlepool United	During the Napoleonic wars the citizens of Hartlepool allegedly hanged a monkey believing it to be a French spy.[6]
Mushrooms	Hayes & Yeading United	Due to the fact that the club's Board keep the club's supporters in the dark.
Nailers	Belper Town	The manufacture of nails was formerly a widespread cottage industry locally
O's	Leyton Orient	Before squad numbers on shirts, Orient players wore large letter Os on their shirt backs
Owls	Sheffield Wednesday	Based on name of local area (Owlerton), after a visitor to the city drew a cartoon depicting Sheffield Wednesday as an owl
Peacocks	Leeds United	(Virtually obsolete). Stems from the former name of the Elland Road stadium, The Old Peacock Ground, which was in turn named after the nearby The Old Peacock pub[7]
Pilgrims	Boston United	Local links to the pilgrims who went to the New World
	Plymouth Argyle	Local links to the pilgrims who went to the New World
Pirates	Bristol Rovers	Local links to shipping
Pompey	Portsmouth	The nickname for the city of Portsmouth, originating from the nautical abbreviation of "Portsmouth Point" to "Po'm. P."
Pool	Blackpool	Short version of name
	Liverpool	Short version of name
Pools	Hartlepool United	Short version of name when known as Hartlepools United
Poppies	Kettering Town	Stadium built on a former poppy field
Posh	Peterborough United	Believed to derive from former manager Pat Tirrel proclaiming that he was looking for: "Posh players for a posh team"[8]
Potters	Stoke City	Local links to the pottery industry
Puritans	Banbury United	Traditionally in the town's history, many inhabitants were strongly involved in the Puritan movement
QPR	Queens Park Rangers	Abbreviation of club name
Quakers	Darlington	Local links to religious movement
R's	Queens Park Rangers	Final initial of club abbreviation, QPR
Railwaymen	Crewe Alexandra	Local links to railways
Rams	Derby County	Folk song "The Derby Ram", and by extension an emblem of the city[9]
Rebels	FC United of Manchester	The club having been formed by disaffected fans after the takeover of Manchester United by Malcolm Glazer. None of the fans refer to the club by this, it is purely a media name, primarily used by the Manchester Evening News.
Red Devils	Crawley Town
	Manchester United	Nickname originally belonged to nearby rugby league team Salford
Red Imps	Lincoln City	Colour of home kit and legend of the imp statue in Lincoln Cathedral
Reds	Liverpool	Colour of home kit
	Nottingham Forest	Colour of home kit
Riversiders	Blackburn Rovers	After a side of the ground adjacent to a river
Robins	Altrincham	Colour of home kit same as a robin's chest
	Bracknell Town
	Bristol City	Colour of home kit same as a robin's chest
	Charlton Athletic	Colour of home kit same as a robin's chest
	Cheltenham Town	Colour of home kit same as a robin's chest
	Evesham United
	Ilkeston
	Swindon Town	Colour of home kit same as a robin's chest
Royals	Reading	The town is in the Royal County of Berkshire
Saddlers	Walsall	Links to the saddle making industry
Saints	Brackley Town
	Southampton	St. Mary's Young Men's Association[10]
	St Albans City
Salop	Shrewsbury Town	Traditional name for the town of Shrewsbury and also Shropshire as a county (Latin name Salopia)
Sandgrounders	Southport	Town is on a stretch of coast known for its expansive sandy beaches
School of Science	Everton	1928, comment of Everton's attractive style of play with the team being called 'scientific' or 'the school of science
Seagulls	Brighton & Hove Albion	Based on coast, also a response to the similar-sounding nickname 'Eagles' of their rivals Crystal Palace
Seals	Chester City	Old ground named Sealand Road
Seasiders	Blackpool	Based on coast
Shakers	Bury	Club's first chairman, JT Ingham, said before a Lancashire Cup game with Blackburn, "We will shake them. In fact, we are the Shakers."[11]
Shaymen	Halifax Town	Originates from the club's ground, same nickname as its predecessor club
Shots	Aldershot Town	Short version of name
Shrews	Shrewsbury Town	Short version of name
Shrimps	Morecambe	Related to the fishing/shrimping industry in the region and Morecambe Bay's famous "potted shrimps"
Shrimpers	Southend United	A historic local industry; alliterative
Silkmen	Macclesfield Town	Local links to the silk industry
Sky Blues	Coventry City	Colour of home strip
	Manchester City	Colour of home strip
Smoggies	Middlesbrough	From the industrial pollution, or smog, from the steel and chemical plants surrounding the town
Spireites	Chesterfield	Reference to famous crooked spire in the town
Spitfires	Eastleigh	The first test flight of the Supermarine Spitfire was at the airport in Eastleigh
Sports	Eastbourne Borough	Due to team's previous name of Langney Sports F.C.
Spurs	Tottenham Hotspur	Based on the spurs that the fighting cockerel wears on its leg, of which comes from Harry Hotspur's fighting cockerels in Shakespeare's Henry IV Part1
Spartans	Blyth Spartans
Stags	Mansfield Town	Stag head on their crest
Stones	Maidstone United	Based on the club's name
	Wealdstone F.C.	Based on the club's name
Stripes	Stevenage Borough	Based on the pattern of the home strip
Super Hoops	Queens Park Rangers	Based on the pattern of the home strip
Tangerines	Blackpool	Colour of their home kit
Tarn	Barnsley F.C.	'Town' spoken in the local accent.
Terras	Weymouth	Club plays in a terracota coloured kit
Terriers	Huddersfield Town	Named after the Yorkshire Terrier breed of dog - based on a vote of their supporters to create a nickname
Teyn	Northampton Town	Town said in a Northampton accent
Tics	Wigan Athletic	Shorterned version of 'Latics' (Which is a nickname in itself)
Tigers	Gloucester City	Colours of home strip
	Hull City	Colours of home strip
Toffees / Toffeemen	Everton	Back in the 1950s and 1960s a woman in a blue and white dress used to walk around before the game and throw toffees to people in the crowd, a tradition since revived. The other league teams then referred to them as the "Toffees"[12]
Toon	Newcastle United	Local pronunciation of 'Town', meaning City Centre where the ground is situated
Tractor Boys	Ipswich Town	Local links to agriculture[13]
Tricky Trees	Nottingham Forest	Crest is a tree
Trotters	Bolton Wanderers	In the 19th century, one of their pitches was adjacent to a piggery and clearances often end up in there. Players had to 'trot' through the pig-pens to retrieve the balls.[14]
Two Blues	Bishop Auckland	The kit features two shades of blue, originating from the colours of Oxford University and Cambridge University.
Tykes	Barnsley F.C.	Colloquial name for a Yorkshireman.
Tynesiders	Gateshead	Gateshead is located on Tyneside
U's	Cambridge United	Initial of name
	Colchester United	Initial of name
	Oxford United	Initial of name
	Sutton United	Initial of name
Valiants	Port Vale	Based on official name
Vics	Northwich Victoria	Based on shortening of official name
Vikings	Doncaster Rovers	Based on the club badge, as well as Rovers being a term for Vikings
	Goole AFC	Based on the town's Viking history.
Villans	Aston Villa	Based on official name and for being traditional rivals of Birmingham City
Wednesday	Sheffield Wednesday	Original name of the club
Whites	Dover Athletic
	Fulham	Colour of their home strip. Sometimes referred to as the Lillywhites
	Leeds United	Main colour of home strip
	Preston North End
	Salisbury F.C.	Same nickname as its predecessor club
Wolves	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Based on shortening of name
Wombles	AFC Wimbledon	Reference to the Wombles
Yellows	Cambridge United	Colour of home kit
	Mansfield Town	Colour of home kit
	Sutton United	Colour of home kit
Yeltz	Halesowen Town	Origin of the name has been lost track of
Yids	Tottenham Hotspur	Based on the high concentration of Jewish fans

Defunct clubs

Nickname	Club(s)	Reason	Current use
A's	Walthamstow Avenue F.C.		No longer in use
Bulls	Hereford United	After the local breed of cattle
Diamonds	Rushden & Diamonds	Short version of name	Used by its successor club
Dons	Wimbledon F.C.		The two clubs that emerged from the surrounding controversy of its relocation, AFC Wimbledon and MK Dons, both retained the nickname.
Linnets	Runcorn F.C.	Name of a bird sometimes known as the 'green linnet'; nickname used for teams that play in green	Currently used by phoenix club Runcorn Linnets F.C.
	King's Lynn F.C.		Also formerly used by its successor club King's Lynn Town F.C.
'Owd Reds	Accrington F.C.		No longer in use, not associated with current Accrington Stanley
Shaymen	Halifax Town	Originates from the club's ground	Used by its successor club
Squirrels	Formby	Formby's nature reserve is home to one of England's largest remaining populations of red squirrels
Wombles	Wimbledon F.C.	Reference to the Wombles	Adopted by AFC Wimbledon
Whites	Salisbury City		Nickname retained by successor club Salisbury F.C.

Northern Ireland

Nickname	Club(s)	Reason
Bannsiders	Coleraine	River Bann is close by
Bhoys	Lurgan Celtic	Named after Celtic F.C.
Blues	Linfield	Original kits were blue in colour
Candy Stripes	Derry City	Kit colour is red and white stripes
Eagles	Armagh City
Gers	Carrick Rangers	Abbreviation of team name
Glens	Glentoran	Abbreviation of team name
Hatchetmen	Crusaders
Lurgan Blues	Glenavon	Reference to the club's hometown and kit colour
Mourneview Aces	Glenavon	Named after Mourneview Park and the nearby estate which shares its name
Ports	Portadown F.C.	Abbreviation of team name
Red and Blues	Ards	Kit colour is blue and red
Reds	Cliftonville	Kit colour is red
Seasiders	Bangor	Bangor, County Down, is a sea-fronted town
Sky Blues	Ballymena United	Colour of team shirt
Stute	Institute	Abbreviation of Institute
Wee Hoops	Donegal Celtic	A reference to the Celtic F.C.-style kit
Whites	Lisburn Distillery	Kit colour is white

Scotland

Nickname	Club(s)	Reason
Accies	Hamilton Academical	Short for Academical
Arabs	Dundee United	The nickname 'the Arabs', refers to the fans only and NOT the team (coined after a Scottish Cup game at Tannadice in 1963 when copious amounts of sand were put on the frozen pitch).
Bairns	Falkirk	From the ancient motto of the town parish - "Better meddle wi the deil than the Bairns o Falkirk"
Bears	Rangers	Shortening of the rhyming slang Teddy Bears. Fans are also known as Bluenoses and The People
Bhoys	Celtic	From early promotional material. The 'h' was used to capture the Irish accent of the team's original fanbase.
Binos	Stirling Albion	Contraction of Albion
Black and Whites	Elgin City	Club colours.
Blue Brazil	Cowdenbeath	An ironic nickname invented by the clubs own supporters in the early 1990s during a particularly bad run of form which has endured since
Blues	Stranraer	Club colours.
Blue Toon	Peterhead	The town of Peterhead is nicknamed the Blue Toon.
Borderers	Berwick Rangers	The town of Berwick lies on the English-Scottish border
Buddies	St Mirren	The club play in Paisley and a person from Paisley is called a Buddie.
Bully Wee	Clyde	Small team who would bully bigger teams - wee bullies
Cabbage and Ribs	Hibernian	Rhyming slang for Hibs
Caley / Caley Thistle	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Short version of the name
City	Brechin City
	Edinburgh City
	Elgin City
Dees	Dundee
Diamonds	Airdrieonians	After the distinctive red 'V', or diamond, on the home kit which was first worn in 1912
Dons	Aberdeen	Stadium lies next to the River Don.
Doonhamers	Queen of the South	A term used for people from Dumfries
Fifers	East Fife
Gable Endies	Montrose	Wealthy merchants in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries dominated the town and built their houses in a Dutch style, gable to gable. Hence the town and the football have inherited the sobriquet, "gable-enders"
Galabankies	Annan Athletic	Home stadium is called Galabank.
Gers	Rangers	Abbreviation of the club name 'Rangers'.
Harry Wraggs	Partick Thistle	Rhyming slang for Jags. Harry Wragg was a famous jockey in the 1930s
Hedgemen	Brechin City	A hedge runs along one side of Glebe Park.
Hibees	Hibernian	Short version of the name
Honest Men	Ayr United	From a line in Robert Burns' poem 'Tam O' Shanter: 'Auld Ayr, wham ne'er a toun surpasses, for honest men an' bonnie lasses.'
Hoops	Celtic	From famous hooped home shirt
Jags	Partick Thistle	In colloquial Scottish a 'jag' is the sting of a nettle or thistle.
Jam Tarts	Heart of Midlothian	Rhyming slang for Hearts
Killie	Kilmarnock	Short for Kilmarnock.
Light Blues	Rangers	Comes from a newspaper description of a 'light and speedy' Rangers team of the 1870s.
Lions	Livingston	Club badge has a lion on it.
Loons	Forfar Athletic	Local name for 'lads' which were given to Angus Athletic's 2nd XI, composed largely of younger players who broke off to form Forfar Athletic.
Morton	Greenock Morton	Part of the full name
Pars	Dunfermline Athletic	(rumoured)It was founded by dockyard workers in Rosyth, which originated from Plymouth Argyle supporters, hence the abbreviation which stands for: Plymouth Argyle Rosyth Supporters.
Red Lichties	Arbroath	Owing to the red light that used to guide fishing boats back from the North Sea to the harbour (Lichtie being a Scots word for light)
Rovers	Raith Rovers
Saints	St Johnstone
	St Mirren
Shire	East Stirlingshire
Sons	Dumbarton	Shortened form of "Sons of the Rock" a term used for a person from Dumbarton. Their stadium was for many years, directly under Dumbarton Rock
Spiders	Queen's Park	The narrow black and white stripes of their kit supposedly resembles a spider’s web
Staggies	Ross County	The stag seen on the club's crest. *This name refers mainly to supporters.
Steelmen	Motherwell	A reference to the (former) steelworks at nearby Ravenscraig
Super Js	St Johnstone	A reference to St Johnstone being the only league club in Scottish (or English) football with a J in its name
Tangerines	Dundee United	Colour of their home kit
Teddy Bears	Rangers	Rhyming slang (when spoken with a Glaswegian accent, 'Bears' rhymes with 'Gers'.
Terrors	Dundee United	Coined in the early 1960s as a tribute to their fighting spirit especially at Tannadice (Before this they were known as the Black and Whites).
Tic	Celtic	Short version of the name
Tims	Celtic	Allegedly originates with the "Tim Malloys", a 1900s Irish Catholic street gang from Calton, Glasgow. Used to refer to both the club itself and to its supporters.
Ton	Greenock Morton	Short version of the name
Warriors	Stenhousemuir
Wasps	Alloa Athletic	Their traditional home strip is black and yellow
Waysiders	Airdrieonians	The Town of Airdries name may be taken from the Gaelic word “Airdidh” meaning a sheiling or wayside town. “The Waysiders” was the club nickname until the 1950s when the “Diamonds” became more popular
Wee Gers	Berwick Rangers	To differentiate between their Rangers and other bigger clubs called Rangers in Scotland.
Wee Rovers	Albion Rovers	A self acknowledgement of the clubs status as one of the smaller clubs in the Scottish league. In use since the 1920s
Well	Motherwell	Short version of the name

Wales

Nickname	Club(s)	Reason
Ancients	Cefn Druids	A reference to the druids who were prevalent around 2000 years ago
Bluebirds	Cardiff City	Colour of home football kit and possibly named after 1909 children's play 'Blue Bird'
Blues	Cardiff City	Colour of home football kit
Canaries	Caernarfon Town F.C.	Due its yellow and green strip, a nickname that dates from 1895.
Citizens	Bangor City
Exiles	Newport County	Club were forced to play several seasons in Gloucestershire by the FAW
Ironsides	Newport County	Association with steelworks and other heavy industries
Jacks	Swansea City	Seamen from the town formerly referred to as 'Swansea Jacks', also after the dog Swansea Jack
Lakesiders	Bala Town
Lilywhites	Rhyl F.C.
Linnets	Barry Town	Named after the bird, based on the club's initial green and red coloured strips
Magpies	Barmouth & Dyffryn United
Martyrs	Merthyr Town F.C.
Musselmen	Conwy United F.C.	From the local mussel (shellfish) industry
Red Dragons	Wrexham	Featured on logo
Robins	Wrexham	Colour of home kit same as a robin's chest
Seasiders	Prestatyn Town F.C.
Steelmen	Port Talbot Town	Port Talbot is home to one of the largest steelworks on the continent
Swans	Swansea City	Short version of the name
Wingmakers	Airbus UK Broughton	Refers to being the works team of the Airbus UK factory

See also

• Lists of nicknames – nickname list articles on Wikipedia

References

1. "History, Bradford City FC". theBRADFORDCITYsite. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009.
2. "Black Cat Nickname". Sunderland A. F. C.
3. http://www.wokingfc.co.uk/history/
4. "Leicester City Club Profile". ratetheref.co.uk.
5. "Notts County, History". Notts County.
6. "Monkey Legend". Hartlepool United.
7. "WAFLL - Elland Road History". WAFLL. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
8. "Peterborough United, History". Peterborough United.
9. "Derby County". Extra Football.
10. Juson, Dave; Bull, David (2001). Full-Time at The Dell. Hagiology Publishing. p. 23. ISBN 0-9534474-2-1.
11. "Bury, History". Bury Football Club.
12. "Everton History". ToffeeWeb.
13. "Tractor boys making noise". BBC Sport. 19 December 2000. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
14. "Alternative History: Bolton Wanderers". My Eyes Have Seen The Glory.