50 Fun Facts About Famous Nicknames

Which astronaut's nickname began as a sister's attempt to say 'brother' and became his legal name?

Buzz Aldrin got the name when his sister Fay pronounced 'brother' as 'buzzer', which the family shortened. The second person to walk on the Moon made it his legal first name in 1988.

Which US city was dubbed the Big Apple in a 1920s sportswriter's horse-racing columns?

New York got the name from John J. Fitz Gerald of the Morning Telegraph, who reportedly heard stable hands call its racetracks 'the big apple'.

Which politician was first dubbed the Iron Lady by a Soviet army newspaper after a 1976 speech?

Margaret Thatcher embraced the insult within a week. The Red Star paper meant it as a jab at her hard line on Moscow, and she repeated it proudly to her own party in Finchley.

Which Western star got the nickname Duke as a boy from his Airedale terrier of the same name?

John Wayne walked to school with his dog Duke, so a local fireman began calling the boy 'Little Duke'. He preferred the nickname to his given first name and kept it for life.

Big Ben is strictly the nickname of which part of the clock tower at London's Palace of Westminster?

The great bell is the real Big Ben, a 13.5-ton giant named either for Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw its installation, or for the boxer Ben Caunt. The tower only borrowed the name.

Which American rocker became the Boss by collecting his band's nightly pay and sharing it out?

Bruce Springsteen handled the money in his early bands, paying each bandmate after the show. Another story traces the name to Monopoly games he played with other Jersey Shore musicians.

Which former child star of a Motown family group became known worldwide as the King of Pop?

Michael Jackson's publicists embraced the title in the late 1980s, around the time a film legend handed him a Soul Train award as 'the true king of pop, rock and soul'.

Which wrestler turned film star debuted as Rocky Maivia before trimming his ring name to the Rock?

Dwayne Johnson's first ring name combined those of two wrestlers in his family: his father, Rocky Johnson, and his grandfather, Peter Maivia.

Which city on Lake Michigan is known as the Windy City, a name spread by rivals in Cincinnati?

Chicago was first widely labelled the Windy City in 1876, after it overtook its Ohio rival in the meatpacking trade. Lake breezes and long-winded politicians are the other suspects.

Which band became the Fab Four after press officer Tony Barrow wrote of a 'fabulous foursome'?

The Beatles got the phrase from Barrow's sleeve notes for an album, and the media shortened it as Beatlemania took hold.

Which European capital is called the City of Light, mainly for its role in the Enlightenment?

Paris is 'la Ville Lumière' to the French, a title it earned in the 18th century as a centre of education and the sciences.

Which slugger, whose sale by the Boston Red Sox was blamed for a curse, was the Sultan of Swat?

Babe Ruth was also 'the Bambino', and his sale was followed by an 86-year championship drought in Boston that fans named the Curse of the Bambino.

Which singer of 'Respect' was first crowned the Queen of Soul on stage by a radio DJ in the 1960s?

Aretha Franklin got the title when radio personality Pervis Spann announced during a theatre show that she should be crowned. Rolling Stone later twice named her the greatest singer of all time.

Which country star of 'Ring of Fire' was called the Man in Black for his all-dark stage wardrobe?

Johnny Cash said he wore all black on behalf of the poor and hungry and the 'prisoner who has long paid for his crime'. He even recorded a song explaining the choice.

Which US president was called the Gipper after playing dying football star George Gipp on screen?

Ronald Reagan played Gipp in Knute Rockne, All American, and reporters revived the name four decades later while he campaigned for the White House.

Which island was first called the Emerald Isle in a 1795 poem by the physician William Drennan?

Ireland appears as the 'Emerald Isle' in Drennan's When Erin First Rose. The lush vegetation behind the image is the product of a mild climate and frequent rainfall.

Which singer, once billed as the Hillbilly Cat, was later crowned the King of Rock and Roll?

Elvis Presley was also sold as 'The King of Western Bop' and 'The Memphis Flash' in his first years on the road, before the grander title took over.

Who became the Lady with the Lamp after her night rounds among wounded Crimean War soldiers?

Florence Nightingale got the image from a report in The Times, which pictured her making her solitary rounds 'with a little lamp in her hand' once the medical officers had retired.

Which heavyweight champion was dubbed the Louisville Lip for trash talk he delivered in rhyme?

Muhammad Ali modelled his boasts on the wrestler 'Gorgeous George' Wagner, whose talking he had seen pull huge crowds. His rhymes are now counted among the roots of hip-hop.

Which frigate earned the nickname Old Ironsides by capturing HMS Guerriere in the War of 1812?

USS Constitution was repeatedly saved from scrapping by public adoration, and is now the oldest naval vessel still afloat.

Which capital was first called the Eternal City by the poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC?

Rome was 'Urbs Aeterna' to Tibullus, and Ovid, Virgil and Livy all took up the phrase. Its other well-known title, the City of Seven Hills, comes from its geography.

Which Louisiana city is the Big Easy, possibly for how easily musicians once found work there?

New Orleans is also the Crescent City, a name that alludes to the curving course of the Lower Mississippi River around and through it.

Which country is called the Land of the Rising Sun because its name means 'sun origin'?

Japan is written 日本 and pronounced Nihon or Nippon. The older reading, Nippon, is favoured for official uses such as banknotes and postage stamps.

Which US state is called the Lone Star State after the single star on its 1836 republic's flag?

Texas flew the star during its war for independence from Mexico. Its lone star may date to 1819, when the Long Expedition against Spanish rule is said to have carried one on its flag.

Which French singer, just 142 cm tall, took her stage surname from slang meaning 'the Sparrow Kid'?

Édith Piaf, born Édith Gassion, got the name 'La Môme Piaf' from the nightclub owner who discovered her, inspired by her nervousness and tiny frame. She later wrote the lyrics to 'La Vie en rose'.

Which singer of 'Strange Fruit' was nicknamed Lady Day by her friend and music partner Lester Young?

Billie Holiday returned the favour by calling him 'Prez'. She also used Lady Day as a pseudonym on a recording made while she was under contract to Columbia.

Which crooner of 'My Way' was known as both Ol' Blue Eyes and the Chairman of the Board?

Frank Sinatra put the first nickname on his 1973 comeback album, Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back, released when he came out of retirement.

Which French king cultivated his image as the Sun King, the centre of the universe 'without equal'?

Louis XIV had court artists portray him as the god Apollo in sculpture, paintings and the decor of major monuments.

Which general did French troops nickname the Little Corporal after the Battle of Lodi?

Napoleon Bonaparte is said to have personally directed some of the guns at Lodi, which may be why his men chose the rank. The victory let him occupy Milan five days later.

Which playwright is known as the Bard of Avon after the river in his Warwickshire home town?

William Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, and by 1800 he was so firmly enshrined as the national poet that 'the Bard' alone was enough.

Which German field marshal was dubbed the Desert Fox for his tank campaigns in North Africa?

Erwin Rommel was called 'der Wüstenfuchs' in German and Allied reporting alike, as his Western Desert operations built his name as one of the war's ablest tank commanders.

Which inventor was dubbed the Wizard of Menlo Park after the New Jersey site of his laboratory?

Thomas Edison built what is now considered the first industrial research laboratory at Menlo Park, and drove his staff there to exhaustion.

Which Prohibition-era gangster loathed his nickname Scarface, while close friends called him Snorky?

Al Capone got the scars as a young doorman, when a woman's brother slashed his face three times with a knife after he insulted her. 'Snorky' was a term for a sharp dresser.

Which crusading English king, crowned in 1189, was called the Lionheart for his skill in war?

Richard I had already taken command of his own army by the age of 16, putting down rebellions in Poitou against his father.

Which Brazilian footballer, a World Cup winner at 17, was nicknamed O Rei, 'the King'?

Pelé was also known during his career as 'the Black Pearl' and 'the King of Football', and Brazilians often called him simply 'the King'.

Which golfer born Eldrick got his nickname from a South Vietnamese colonel, his father's friend?

Tiger Woods was named in honour of Colonel Vuong Dang Phong, who was known by the same nickname. A college teammate later tried a less flattering one: 'Urkel'.

Which baseball star did sportswriters name the Iron Horse during his run of 2,130 consecutive games?

Lou Gehrig's record stood for 56 years and was considered unbreakable until Cal Ripken Jr. surpassed it in 1995. The streak ended when illness forced him out of the lineup in 1939.

Which Revolutionary War officer became the Swamp Fox after eluding a British colonel for 26 miles?

Francis Marion owed the name to his pursuer: Banastre Tarleton supposedly said that 'as for this old fox, the Devil himself could not catch him'.

Which action star was nicknamed the Austrian Oak in the days when he won seven Mr. Olympia titles?

Arnold Schwarzenegger collected another nickname in politics: 'the Governator', a blend of 'Governor' and 'Terminator'.

Which rugby nation's 1905 touring side, the Originals, was the first to be called the All Blacks?

New Zealand picked up the name on that tour of Britain; in team member Billy Wallace's telling, a London newspaper reported that the visitors played as if they were 'all backs'.

Which NFL lineman was named the Refrigerator by a teammate squeezed beside him in an elevator?

William Perry heard the line 'Man, you're about as big as a refrigerator' as a college freshman in 1981, when the two players were taking their laundry to be washed.

Which NBA forward, later a TV studio analyst, was nicknamed the Round Mound of Rebound?

Charles Barkley's physical size and skills also earned him the name 'Crisco Kid', while his physical style of play brought the grander 'Sir Charles'.

In which Winter Olympic sport did Britain's Eddie the Eagle finish last in both his events in 1988?

Ski jumping had no other British competitors, which is why he switched to it after failing to make the grade as a downhill skier. He still held the national record until 2001.

Which guitarist was named Slowhand as a pun on crowds slow handclapping while he replaced a string?

Eric Clapton got the name from Giorgio Gomelsky, and later used it as the title of a 1977 album that contained 'Wonderful Tonight'.

Which Scottish city is nicknamed Auld Reekie, Scots for Old Smoky, after the haze over its Old Town?

Edinburgh got the name from country people who saw its chimney smoke from afar; a character in Walter Scott's The Abbot says it can be seen hovering 'at twenty miles' distance'.

Which Prussian statesman, who gave the 'iron and blood' speech of 1862, became the Iron Chancellor?

Otto von Bismarck earned the nickname, 'Eiserner Kanzler' in German, through his Realpolitik and firm governance.

Which pirate, recorded as Edward Teach, reportedly tied lit fuses under his hat to frighten enemies?

Blackbeard prowled the West Indies and Britain's American colonies until 1718. People who actually met him wrote his surname as 'Thatch', not the form a Boston newspaper made standard.

Which wide-body airliner, the original Jumbo Jet, was also nicknamed Queen of the Skies?

The Boeing 747 was the first wide-body airliner of all, and 'Jumbo Jet' was a term coined by the aviation media to describe its size.

Which British broadcaster, led in its first years by John Reith, is informally known as Auntie?

The BBC is also informally called 'the Beeb'. Reith was appointed its general manager in December 1922, a few weeks after the company made its first official broadcast.

Which institution is called the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street after a 1797 James Gillray cartoon?

The Bank of England has had its headquarters on Threadneedle Street, in London's main financial district, since 1734, decades before Gillray's satire gave it the name.