List of country nicknames
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This list of country nicknames compiles the aliases and slogans that countries are sometimes known by, officially and unofficially, to locals, outsiders or their tourism boards.
[edit] Albania
- Land of the Eagles - from a folk etymology of the native name, Shqipëria
[edit] Australia
- Oz - from the pronunciation 'Oz-tralia'
- Down Under
- Aussie
- The Lucky Country
- Aus
[edit] Belarus
- White Rus' - translation of the name 'Belarus'
- Great Lithuania or Great Litva - used by some Belarusian intellectuals, derived from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
- Kryvia (Kryǔja)- derived from the first Belarusian state, the Kryvic Principality of Polatsak.
[edit] Bhutan
- Land of the thunder dragon - translation of Bhutanese name for the country (Druk Yul)
- The Last Shangri-La, referring to a fictional Himalayan paradise
[edit] Brazil
- Pindorama - from Tupi, "land of palm trees". Almost always used disparagingly, when discussing some backward aspect of the country
- Land of the Future - after a book by Stefan Zweig
[edit] Burkina Faso
- Land of the Upright Men - translation of the name 'Burkina Faso'
[edit] Cameroon
- The Armpit of Africa - from its location on the 'armpit' between west and central Africa
- The Hinge of Africa - from its location on the 'hinge' between west and central Africa
[edit] Canada
- The Great White North
- Canadialand
- 51st state - due to Canada's perceived similarity with the United States of America
- A few acres of snow - a quotation from Voltaire about 18th-century Canada's perceived economic unworth as a colony
- Soviet Canuckistan - first use by Pat Buchanan, from Canada's perceived anti-American and left-wing political alignment.
- America's Cousin
- America Junior
- The True North Strong and Free - Taken straight from the National Anthem of Canada, "O Canada". Describing how many see their nation.
- Soviet Republic of Canada - due to American perceptions of the 'general' leftwing alignment of most Canadians and "socialist nature".
[edit] Chad
- The Dead Heart of Africa - from its remoteness and largely desert climate
[edit] Chile
- Land of Poets, due to its two Nobel Prize winners in literature (Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda)
- England of South America, due to its prosperous economy since the 1980 decade, thanks to the Chilean Miracle
[edit] Colombia
- Locombia - from "loco" + "-mbia": the country of the crazy (or eccentric) people
[edit] Congo, Democratic Republic of the
- DRC - abbreviated to distinguish it from Congo-Brazzaville
[edit] Costa Rica
- Switzerland of Central America - referring to the financial prosperity and peaceful nature
[edit] Croatia
- Lijepa naša (Our beautiful) - term which Croats use when speaking about their country
[edit] Czech Republic
- Bohemia and Moravia - from the two ancient kingdoms that form the country
[edit] Ethiopia
- Abyssinia
- Burnt face - how Greeks used to call them to refer to Ethiopians' dark skin.
- Kush (Cush) - referring to the biblical name of people in that area.
- The Mother Land (la patria) - referring to the origin of mankind and due to the oldest archeological findings located in the country.
[edit] Finland
- 'Land of the Midnight Sun' - specifically the northern section within the arctic circle
- 'Land of a Thousand Lakes' - referring to the fact that Finland has over 188,000 lakes
[edit] France
- L'Hexagone (The Hexagon) - from the shape of the country
- La fille ainée de l'Eglise (Church's older daughter) - nickname of controversial origin
- L'Etat de céder - The Surrender State
[edit] Greece
- Hellas - today's Greek still name their country as their Ancient forefathers did (so perhaps 'Greece' is the nickname here)
Greek people have only relatively recently called themselves Ellines. Actually until the revolution in 1821 they called themselves Rumaioi, and theoretically their new country could have been 'Rumelia' or even 'Rumania'. There is a subtle but distinct conceptual and ideological difference between 'Ellinismos' or Hellenism, and 'Romeosyne', which is a related with Byzantine awareness as a Christian Orthodox successor to Rome.
- Achaea - Homeric term
[edit] Hungary
- Land of the Huns (Attila The Hun)
[edit] Iceland
- Land of the midnight sun (this is also attributed to the other Nordic countries)
- Frón - sometimes with the prefix 'farsælda' which means prosperous, as a reference to a patriotic poem by Jónas Hallgrímsson.
- Landið bláa - The blue land
- Ástkæra hrímhvíta móðir - Loving snowhite mother. This is another reference to the same poem as above.
- Ísaland - Ice land, the Icelandic version with an added 'a' giving ice a plural meaning
- Fögru landi ísa - beautiful land of ice (only used in dative). This is a reference to another poem by Jónas Hallgrímsson
- Köldu landi ísa - cold land of ice (also only used in dative)
- Klakinn - The Ice
- Skerið - The Reef
- Kletturinn - The Rock
- Guðsvolaða land - Land forgotten by God
- Silvia Nótt Sæmundsdóttir land- Land of Silvia Night
[edit] India
- The Jewel in the Crown - given by the British at the time of British India.
- The Subcontinent
- Bharat
- Hindustan
- Largest Peninsula
[edit] Indonesia
- Emerald of the equator - because of its location
- The Lungs of the world - because of its rain forrest
[edit] Iran
- Persia - Historical name
- The Islamic Republic
[edit] Iraq
- Mesopotamia - Historical name
- Mess 'O Potamia - Parody of "Mesopotamia", popularized by Jon Stewart
[edit] Ireland (the island)
- The Emerald Isle - from the lush green of the Irish landscape
- Erin - from the Irish name for Ireland (Éire), most commonly used in the expression 'Erin Go Bragh'
- Hibernia - Latin name for Ireland
- Land of saints and scholars - from the strong educational and religious tradition in Ireland in the middle ages
- Poor old woman - from the Irish Sean Bhean Bhocht, a traditional nationalist song (also spelt phonetically as 'Sean Van Vocht')
- Silk of the kine - from the Irish síoda na mbó
- The Old Sod - faux-maudlin term used by the Irish abroad
See also #Northern Ireland
[edit] Republic of Ireland
- The South or (sometimes) Southern Ireland - as distinct from Northern Ireland
- The Twenty-Six counties - as distinct from the 32 counties of the whole island; now chiefly a derogatory term used by anti-partition republicans
- The Free State - name of the first southern state after partition; now exclusively a derogatory term used either by anti-partition republicans or some unionists
[edit] Israel
- Eretz Israel - 'land of Israel' in Hebrew
- Holy Land - due to the religious significance of the region
- Land of Milk and Honey
- Little Satan - anti-Israel pejorative term used almost exclusively by the Iranian government
- The Zionist Entity - used quite frequently in the radical islamist and far-left literature to deny Israel's status as a nation
[edit] Italy
- The Boot (Lo Stivale) - from the shape of the country
- The Peninsula (La Penisola) - as an antonomasia
- The Beautiful Country (Il Belpaese)
- Land of saints, poets and sailors
[edit] Japan
- Land of the Rising Sun - more or less a translation of the Chinese name 日本, later adopted into Japanese as Nihon or Nippon.
[edit] Kazakhstan
- Horde, Kazakh Horde - tsarist name Казацкая орда, Казачья орда was used to the Kazakh Khanate, a heir of the Golden Horde.
[edit] Korea (North/South)
- Land of the morning calm
- The Hermit Kingdom
See also Names of Korea
[edit] Lebanon
- Middle East's Switzerland - from its reputation for financial prosperity (at least before the Civil War) as much as from its ski resorts
- The Pearl of the Mediterranean
- Land of Milk and Honey - The 'milk' came from the snow-covered mountain peaks; the 'honey' from the fragrant woods.
[edit] Lesotho
- The Kingdom in the Sky - due to the fact that Lesotho is high up in the Drakensberg Mountains
[edit] Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of
- FYROM - the abbreviation
- Greece's Mexico - from its relative poverty and perceived outflux of cheap immigrant labor.
[edit] Malaysia
- Bolehland or Boleh Land - from the infamous 'Malaysia Boleh' slogan.
- Bolehnesia (and its citizens, Bolehnesians) - from the word 'Boleh' and Indonesia.
[edit] Mongolia
- Land of the blue sky
- Mongoria - etymology unknown
[edit] Netherlands
- Holland - commonly used interchangeably with 'Netherlands' but can only be regarded as a nickname. Gained fame because Holland is a region inside the Netherlands that is (and has been throughout history) the most important part of the country, encompassing the major cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the Hague as well as other, famous or legendary, places such as Alkmaar, Gouda and Leiden. In that sense, it is entirely comparable to a widely incorrect habit on continental Europe in referring to the 'United Kingdom' as 'England'.
[edit] New Zealand
- God's Own Country
- Godzone - abbreviation of the above nickname
- Land of the long white cloud - from English translation of Māori name for the islands (Aotearoa)
- The shakey isles - due to the number of earthquakes
- Kiwiland
- Australia's Canada - due to the perceived similarities between Australian-Kiwi and American-Canadian relations
[edit] Pakistan
- 'Land of the Indus Valley Civilization'
- 'Eighth Wonderer of the World'
[edit] Paraguay
- 'An island surrounded by land' - first used by author Augusto Roa Bastos in reference to both the country's insularity and landlocked geography
[edit] Philippines
- Pearl of the Orient/ "Perlas ng Silangan"
- Gateway to Asia/Melting Pot of Asia
- Pinas - shortened form of the Filipino word "Pilipinas", which means "Philippines"
- SMS or Texting Capital of the World
- Juan de la Cruz (or John) - national personification
[edit] Portugal
- Lusitania - from the Roman province of the same name which covered much of the country, more commonly used is Lusophone (Portuguese speaking)
- Rectângulo - Rectangle in Portuguese after the shape of the country
- Pays du Soleil - Country of the sun in French
- Metropole - Metropolis, because it was the centre of a colonial empire.
[edit] Russia
- Mother Russia
- Rus
[edit] Rwanda
- Land of a thousand hills - from the hilly geography of the country
[edit] Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Sugar City - Sugar was the main export for 365 years, every year, from 1640 - 2005.
- Mother Colony of the West Indies (Saint Kitts) - Saint Kitts was home to the first British colony in the Caribbean in 1623, and the first French colony in the Caribbean in 1624.
- Queen of the Caribees (Nevis) - In the 17th and early 18th centuries, Nevis made more money per capita than any other British colony.
[edit] Saint Lucia
- Helen of the West - The beautiful island changed hands continually over the 17th and 18th centuries as both the British and French heavily contested it, similar to the story of Helen of Troy.
[edit] Singapore
- The Fine Country - Used in a sarcastic or satirical manner; it playfully describes the highly efficient nature of law enforcement in Singapore as the island nation is known to have meted out high fines for petty offences such as littering.
- The Garden City - The island nation is known for its lush amount of greenery, even in its city streets.
- The Lion City
- The little red dot
[edit] Slovenia
- The Country on the Sunny Side of the Alps (or simply "On the Sunny Side of the Alps") - Originally a tourist slogan, this popular nickname refers to Slovenia's position between the Alps and the sunny Adriatic coast.
- The Green Piece of Europe - Tourist slogan
- Europe in miniature - Tourist slogan
[edit] South Africa
- Azania - used by some black nationalists for representing the 'real South Africa'
- Rainbow Nation - term coined by Desmond Tutu to describe the multiethnic nature of post-apartheid South Africa, and in very wide use today
- Mzansi - this term is widely used by urban South African youth. It comes from umzantsi, which is Xhosa for "south"
- Seffrica - A centralised, lax way of referring to South Africa.
- The Republic - New Zealand and Australian rugby supporters often refer to South Africa as The Republic
[edit] Soviet Union
- The Great Bear - used by some during the Cold War to symbolize this one 'super power'
[edit] Spain
- La piel de toro, the bull's skin - from the country's shape
- Hispania - old Roman name
[edit] Sri Lanka
- Pearl of the Indian Ocean
- India's teardrop - from the country's shape
- Pearl of the Orient - again, from the country's shape
- Ceylon
- Traprobain
- Serendib - by Arab navigators in the in the 6th and 7th centuries
- Zeilan - by the Portuguese
[edit] Sweden
- Svea - poetical name for Sweden (originally a tribe near Stockholm)
- See also Mother Svea
[edit] Switzerland
- Helvetia - Latin name for the country
- Land of chocolate and cuckoo clocks
- Land of milk and money
[edit] Taiwan
- Formosa - name given by Portuguese and by which it was known in the Western world until post-World War II
[edit] Tajikistan
- Crownies - (i.e. people who have crowns in their head) word driven from Persian "toj" meaning "crown".
[edit] Thailand
- The Land of Smiles - after the perceived gentleness of its inhabitants
- Siam - after the ancient Kingdom
[edit] Tonga
- Friendly Islands - former name for the islands, though still used to refer to them
[edit] Turkey
[edit] Ukraine
- Little Russia - archaic name, used during Russian Empire rule
- Bread Basket of Europe - from the rich dark soil and the vast fields of wheat
[edit] United Kingdom
- 51st state - due to the UK's perceived similarity with/deference to America
- Across the Pond - occasionally used by Americans, but can be used by UK residents to describe America as well
- Albion - ancient name, often used specifically as a name for England
- Blighty - originally a slang name for Britain, often used sentimentally during warfare by soldiers
- Britannia - Latin name for Britain, specifically England, though now used to refer to the entire island
- Perfidious Albion - ancient name, used in Spain and caused by the historic relations between both countries since the kingdom of Philip II.
- The Soggy Isles - this name is given to the UK by the many Australian and South African immigrants working there, due to the rainfall and greyness.
- Disunited Queendom - name used by some to more accurately describe the country's status
- UKoGBaNI - an abbreviation for The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which is sometimes seen online.
- England - often used by people in other countries to erroneously refer to the UK as a whole.
[edit] England
- Anglia - Latin and Polish name for the country
- Green and pleasant land - from the opening line of William Blake's poem 'Jerusalem'
- Land of hope and glory - from the patriotic song of the same name
- Pommieland, Pomgolia - Australians and New Zealanders
- South of the Border - Scots
- Sceptre'd Isle - from act 2 scene 1 of Shakespeare's King Richard II: "This royal throne of kings, this sceptre'd isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands, This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England"
- Londontown
- La perfide Albion or Albion perfide. Perfidious Albion Used by the French who considered the English to be faithless and unreliable.
- land of the chavs - what old people call the young.
- land of the wuthering - as stated in Emily BrontĔ's epic novel Wuthering heights.
[edit] Northern Ireland
- Norn Iron - derived from the pronunciation of the words "Northern Ireland" in an exaggerated Ulster accent
- The North - used by Nationalists/Republicans to emphasise Irish geographic unity (sometimes 'the north of Ireland')
- The Province - used by Unionists/Loyalists to emphasise unity with Britain
- Six Counties - used by Nationalists/Republicans to play down Northern Ireland's status as a political entity (sometimes with the prefix 'occupied')
- The Occupied 6 - used by Nationalists/Republicans in reference to the perceived occupation by the British Army in Northern Ireland which consists six of the thirty two historical counties of Ireland
- Ulster - one of the four ancient Provinces of Ireland, Northern Ireland contains six of its nine counties
- Tuisceart Éireann - "Northern Ireland" in the Irish Language.
[edit] Scotland
- Alba - Scots Gaelic The word for Scotland in Scot's Gaelic.
- Caledonia - Latin name for the country, after the Caledonii
- Scotia - Latin name for the country, after the Scoti
- Bonnie Scotland or Bonny Scotland. Scots derived from French 'bonne' for 'good'.
- Scotland the Brave also a favourite pipe tune and song
[edit] Wales
- Cambria - Latin name for Wales, from the Welsh name Cymru
- Land of my fathers - from the anthem's English name.
[edit] United States of America
- The U.S. - common abbreviation
- America - a widely used shorthand
- The States - a widely used colloquial name
- Uncle Sam - America's national personification.
- Lady Liberty - another one of America's national personifications.
- Home of the Brave - from the national anthem 'The Star Spangled Banner'
- Land of the Free - from the national anthem 'The Star Spangled Banner,
- Amerika - German spelling of 'America,' used to suggest Nazism/Fascism (note also Amerika (Kafka novel))
- AmeriKKKa - Used occasionally by American anarchists and other political extremists on both the left and right
- Columbia - poetic name, now rarely used
- Great Satan - chiefly Muslim epithet alleging American imperialism and also dissoluteness
- The global cancer - Referring to the perceived impact of its global economy.
- Uncle Sugar - used by University of Chicago political science and international relations professor John Mearsheimer to describe the United States' massive power and wealth during World War II
- Uncle Sap - used in reference to America's perceived extension of aid to other countries against her own best interests.
- Uncle Sucker - used in reference to America's welfare fraud problem
- Yankeeland/Yanklandia - Aussie and English usage
- Gringolandia - Used by Spanish-speaking Latin Americans
- The World - Sometimes used by military personnel stationed in another country (mainly overseas).
- Land of the Big PX - Used by military personnel during the Vietnam War
[edit] Uruguay
- South America's Switzerland - from its reputation for financial prosperity
[edit] Vietnam
- 'Nam, the - shortening of 'Vietnam,' a widespread nickname during the Vietnam War period
- Hell's Own Heat - used by American soldiers, particularly those from colder climates.
- DRV - from Democratic Republic of Vietnam
[edit] See also
- Placename etymology
- National personification
- List of country name etymologies
- List of city nicknames
- List of U.S. state nicknames
