What are the nicknames of the English Premier League teams?

kopiosatu SG

You hear the names of all the famous English sides, but have you ever thought why they are called what they are?

First of all, you need to remember that density and amount of clubs in England means not everyone gets to name themselves for the city they play in. Some clubs even play in the same stadium as another team on a permanent or temporary basis.

A good way to imagine the English Premier League is that England is about the size of the state of Georgia. Imagine having seven professional teams with their own 30-40,000 seat stadiums just in Atlanta.

In recent years, there have been up to seven clubs from London in the EPL at any one time, none of which go by the city's name. In fact, they are scattered to the four corners of the city with their own distinct fan bases. Some are named for their neighborhood, a church or the original founders. Unlike American sports, the teams differentiate themselves by their names and colors because they are often as close as a few blocks from each other. Tottenham and Arsenal are within two miles of each other in North London while Everton and Liverpool's stadiums are separated by a few hundred yards. The best analogy for how densely packed the teams are in the U.S. could be college basketball teams in the same city like the Big 5 in Philadelphia or even high school football in Texas.

Either way, do not call an English team by both their club name and nickname. You will really not sound in the know by calling the team the Arsenal Gunners. It's one or or the other. Even worse would be Portsmouth Pompey or Middlesbrough Boro. Just to confuse you, English professional hockey and basketball teams take their cue from American teams like London Towers or Sheffield Sharks. It's really a matter of culture and perspective.

Read on and soon you will know your Teesside from your Tyneside.

Arsenal
Founded: 1886
Nickname: Gunners

The club was originally founded in south London by workers at Woolwich Arsenal Armament Factory. After moving to North London, the name was shortened to Arsenal. The nickname Gunners comes from what the workers used to make, when they weren't playing soccer, of course. They play in Highbury which is the name of the stadium and the area around it.

Aston Villa
Founded: 1874
Nickname: Villains

Located in the steel city of Birmingham in the West Midlands, Aston Villa were founded by four members of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel cricket team who were looking for a sport to play during the winter. The Aston part of the name came from nearby Aston University. Indeed, their first match was played against Aston Brook St. Mary's. Villains is a natural extension of Villa, which is what most soccer fans in the know call them. They even play their matches at Villa Park.

Birmingham City
Founded: 1875
Nickname: Blues

Founded in 1875 under the name of Small Heath Alliance, it was not until 1905 that they were known as Birmingham City. The nickname Blues comes from their uniforms. They are only called 'City' when it is clear the reference is to them, usually on a TV broadcast or on their own website. City could refer to any number of teams in England.

Blackburn
Founded: 1875
Nickname: Rovers

The men who formed the club had 17 members of the Blackburn Grammar School in the city of the same name. However, the team could not just call itself Blackburn as their main rival at the time was Blackburn Olympic. They took the name Rovers which was a common name in English soccer to describe teams that moved from ground to ground to play games. Doncaster, Bristol and Tranmere are other clubs who call themselves Rovers. The club is located a half-hour drive north of Manchester.

Bolton Wanderers
Founded: 1874
Nickname: Trotters

Founding members of the soccer league, Bolton Wanderers are one of seven original members to have never won the topflight. They were originally known as Christ Church. The club got their name because they wandered to so many different playing fields and headquarters in their early existence that it was suggested that the club should change its name to Bolton Wanderers, and in 1877, the name came into being. If only some Bolton supporter would lecture us in excruciating detail on how they became the Trotters. Bolton is a town located between Liverpool and Manchester, or as we like to think of it, south of the North Pole.

Charlton Athletic
Founded: 1905
Nickname: Addicks

Charlton is the area in southeast London where the team plays. According to the team's official website, one theory on their nickname is that the phrase is simply a corrupted form of Athletic, but the majority of historians agree the most likely explanation dates back to a fish and chip shop in 1908 and that Addicks derived from haddock. At that time, Arthur Bryan was a local fishmonger who helped underwrite the cost of establishing Charlton at The Valley, and the club and its opposition used to dine on fish suppers following matches. The story goes that if the team lost they would dine on the less popular cod but a victory would secure a haddock supper. Charlton have also been known as the Robins and the Valiants, but these references have been forgotten in the last decade

Chelsea
Founded: 1905
Nickname: Blues

The pride of Southwest London, Chelsea's origin dates back to the 1870's as well. Their stadium, Stamford Bridge, was originally used by a track and field team. The land was purchased by two brothers with the intent of turning it into a soccer ground. Initially the stadium was offered to Fulham FC to play there, they turned down the chance and so instead a new side, Chelsea FC, was born in 1905 and moved into the new Stamford Bridge stadium. Their nickname, of course, comes from their uniforms. The Lion on their logo is descendant from England's national team which is known as the Three Lions.

Everton
Founded: 1878
Nickname: Toffees

Located in Liverpool, the club was founded by St. Domingo Methodist Church which was looking to find an activity for its cricket players to do in the winter. St. Domingo FC became Everton FC in 1878, named for the district around the church, because other city residents wanted to join the team. In 1892, they moved from Anfield to Goodison Park, their present home. Even though they have been known as the Blues for their royal blue kits, they are also called "The Toffees" or "The Toffeemen".

According to an Everton's fan site, there are two versions to explain how this name was adopted: the better known is that, in those days, a Mrs Noblett had a candy store near Goodison called Mother Noblett's Toffee Shop, where she advertised and sold her tasty merchandise on match days. Another reason might be that there was a house called Ye Anciente Everton Toffee House near the Queen's Head hotel. The word "toffee" also referred to Irishmen, of which there was a large population in the Liverpool area at the turn of the century.

Fulham
Founded: 1879
Nickname: Cottagers

A church named St Andrews of West Kensington found the club in 1879 in London as Fulham St Andrews. Over the next decade, that name was dropped to just Fulham. They are called the Cottagers because their home since 1896 has been Craven Cottage. They are actually in a groundshare this year with Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road while Craven Cottage is re-built.

Leeds United
Founded: 1920
Nickname: Whites

Leeds is between Manchester and York in the north central part of the country.. Leeds United entered the league in 1920 after being formed from the ashes of Leeds City. They are called the Whites for the all-white uniforms they wear at home.

Leicester City
Founded: 1884
Nickname: Foxes

Leicester Fosse Football Club played friendlies in their first four years of existence before signing their first professional in 1888. The team struggled financially through different leagues in the early 20th century. When Leicester was upgraded from a borough to a city, the team's name changed to Leicester City in 1919. The club entered the league in 1894 and have never been out of the top two divisions. Foxes comes from the proliferation of hunting activity in the area in central England.

kopiosatu SG

Liverpool
Founded: 1882
Nickname: Reds

In 1888, Everton was the biggest team in the city of Liverpool and played their matches at Anfield. When Everton bolted Anfield in 1892, the owner of the ground, John Houlding, decided to bring a team into the abandoned ground. According to Liverpool's website, the famous stand was called "The Kop" after the Liverpool Echo newspaper compared it in the early 1900's to the Spionkop; the hill where Boer guerrillas had inflicted a heavy defeat on the British army a few years earlier in the Boer War in South Africa. Their nickname comes from their all red uniforms.

More importantly, their anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone" was not originally a song created by the club itself, but rather from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical "Carousel". Liverpool native Gerry Marsden from the "Gerry and the Pacemakers" popularized it in the 1960s and the fans in the kop took it up. The song gained great reverence for its comfort for Liverpool fans after the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 that killed 96 fans.

Manchester City
Founded: 1880
Nickname: Blues

They started their existence as Gorton St Marks', but seven years later, they became Ardwick FC. In 1894, the club became a limited liability company and changed their name again to Manchester City. While Manchester United has set up camp on the West side of the city, Manchester City now plays in East Manchester at their new ground, City of Manchester Stadium. Like many clubs, they are known as 'City', but they are mostly called the Blues for their uniforms.

Manchester United
Founded: 1878
Nickname: Red Devils

The club was founded as Newton Heath by members of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway company, but that team went bankrupt in 1902 leading to the formation of Manchester United. The club was known since the turn of the 20th century as United, but in the late 40's and early 50's when Talismanic manager Matt Busby led the team to its greatest successes, the media and fans referred to the club as "Busby's Babes." Sadly, in 1958, a airplane crash in Munich took the lives of seven players as well as injuring Busby himself. After the crash, Busby's Babes seemed inappropriate so a new name was sought. English rugby club Salford toured France wearing red shirts and became known as "The Red Devils". Busby liked the sound of it, thinking a devil was more intimidating to opponents than angelic babes. He declared Manchester United should also be known as the "The Red Devils" and soon the club began incorporating the devil logo into match programs and scarves. In 1970 the club badge was redesigned, but now with a devil in the center holding a pitch-fork

Middlesbrough
Founded: 1879
Nickname: Boro

Middlesbrough lies on the Tees River on the North Sea. While it is one of the oldest soccer clubs in England, it was also reformed as recently as 1986 after financial irregularities put it out of business. Their new stadium, built in 1995, is called the Riverside and takes it name from the Tees. Fans like to call the club Boro, which is simply an abbreviation of the club's name. Their red and white crest has a lion (Roary) on it. A few years ago, rival fans began calling Middlesbrough supporters Smogmonsters and some Boro fans have now embraced this term as well as Smoggies. Some people think this term came from the misconception that there is heavy pollution around the Tees River. However, it is actually in reference to its steel and chemical industrial past.

Newcastle
Founded: 1881
Nickname: Magpies

First, Newcastle is one of the northernmost English cities near the border with Scotland, and their people have a very distinct culture and linguistic differences. Newcastle is a club that came from the merger of two clubs Newcastle West End and Newcastle East End in 1892 although both had begun 11 years earlier.

Since Newcastle wears black and white jerseys, they have been called Magpies, which is a black and white bird. You will also hear them described as Tynesiders for being on the Tyne River and Geordies which all Newcastle residents are called. You might hear Newcastle called Toon which is a word in Newcastle for town. An unofficial slang has developed there called Newcastle English. Newcastle fans are often called the Toon Army.

Portsmouth
Founded: 1898
Nickname: Pompey

Located on the Southern coast of England, Portsmouth is England's major naval base on the English Channel. The nickname Pompey is not exactly well-defined. Some claim it relates to the French warship Le Pompee captured in 1793 which became guardship of Portsmouth Harbor. Other tales have it coming from General Pompey from the Roman Empire. While still others believe the name descends from English sailors in 1781 in Egypt scaling Pompey's Pillar near Alexandria. Their feat earned them the Fleet's tribute as 'The Pompey Boys'. Either way, Pompey and Portsmouth are interchangeable.

Southampton
Founded: 1885
Nickname: Saints

They are located on the English channel just west of Portsmouth. A club that has only recently come into prominence, Southampton were formed in 1885 and became founder members of Division 3 in 1920. They remained in this division until 1960 and finally made it to the top division 6 years later. Originally known as Southampton St. Mary's - the nickname Saints stuck. You will also see them referred to as Soton which is simply an abbreviation of the club's name.

Tottenham Hotspur
Founded: 1882
Nickname: Spurs

They took their name from the gallant adventures of Harry Hotspur, a Shakespeare character and Hotspur FC was born, soon changed to Tottenham Hotspur to avoid confusion with London Hotspur. The club used to play near Tottenham Court Road, hence the name, before moving to North London.

Wolverhampton Wanderers
Founded: 1877
Nickname: Wolves

Another of the many clubs in the West Midlands, Wolves are located just north of Birmingham. they began as St. Luke's in 1877, but merged with a cricket club two years later called Wanderers. They have played at Molineux since 1889 although it has been refurbished many times. One of the best teams in England in the 1950's, financial problems drove them into the fourth division in the mid-80's. They were back in the top flight 20 years later.

iveco SG

Originally posted by kopiosatu:
[b]Tottenham Hotspur
Founded: 1882
Nickname: Spurs

They took their name from the gallant adventures of Harry Hotspur, a Shakespeare character and Hotspur FC was born, soon changed to Tottenham Hotspur to avoid confusion with London Hotspur. The club used to play near Tottenham Court Road, hence the name, before moving to North London.

[/b]

While Tottenham Court Rd is the name of a street in London's CBD, the name "Tottenham" also refers to a suburb in the north of the conurbation.

Since you are at it, I would appreciate if you could enlighten us about why Wigan is referred to as "Latics".