List of city nicknames in Mississippi

This partial list of city nicknames in Mississippi compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that cities in Mississippi 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"^[2] are also believed to have economic value.^[1] Their economic value is difficult to measure,^[1] 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.

• Artesia - Johnson Grass Capital of the World^[3]
• Belzoni - Catfish Capital of the World.^[3][4][5]
• Biloxi - The Playground of the South^[6]
• Greenwood - Cotton Capital of the World.^[7]
• Gulfport
  • Root Beer Capital of the World.^[4]
  • Where Your Ship Comes In^[8]
• Hattiesburg - Hub City^[9]
• Jackson
  • Chimneyville ^[8][10]
  • City with Soul.^[11]
• Long Beach - Radish Capital of the World^[12]
• Meridian - The Queen City^[13][14]
• Oxford
  • The literary center of the South^[15]
  • The Little Easy (in reference to New Orleans, the "Big Easy")^[15]
• Port Gibson - The town too beautiful to burn^[16]
• Senatobia - The Five Star City^[17]
• Vicksburg
  • The Gibraltar of America.^[18]
  • Red Carpet City of the South^[6][8]
  • Take Me to the River^[8]

See also

• List of city nicknames in the United States

References

1. Muench, David (December 1993). "Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts" (PDF). University of Wisconsin Extension. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
2. Alfredo Andia, Branding the Generic City :), MU.DOT magazine, September 10, 2007
3. Wanda McKinney, Our Favorite Town Slogans, Southern Living, April 2005
4. The World Capital of Whatever, The New York Times by Harold Faber, September 12, 1993.
5. Claims to Fame - Fish, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
6. U.S. City Monikers, Tagline Guru website, accessed January 5, 2008
7. Claims to Fame - Agriculture, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
8. Tagline Guru City Branding Survey, Tagline Guru website, accessed August 18, 2009
9. Mayor's Message, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, accessed April 22, 2007. "Hattiesburg's population first took off as a center of the lumber and railroad industries giving us our nickname “The Hub City.”"
10. Lynch, Adam. "Chump Change for Chimneyville", Jackson Free Press, April 4, 2007, accessed April 22, 2007
11. "Image Committee launches “City With Soul” campaign", Jackson, Mississippi Convention & Visitors Bureau. Accessed April 10, 2008.
12. "The Hancock Story: A Legacy of Strength, Stability, Service, & Opportunity". Hancock Bank.
13. Mozella G. Mitchell. New Africa in America: the blending of African and American religious and social traditions among Black people in Meridian, Mississippi, and surrounding counties. p. 27. ISBN 9780820424255.
14. William Smith. Lauderdale County, Mississippi, four families, 1835-1936. p. 102.
15. History of Oxford, Oxford, Mississippi website, accessed May 5, 2009
16. Port Gibson, Mississippi
17. City of Senatobia website
18. National Military Park Louisiana/Mississippi: Vicksburg, National Park Service. Accessed June 13, 2007. "Jefferson Davis called Vicksburg "The Gibraltar of America." By the summer of 1862, Vicksburg was the nail holding the Confederacy together."