Unique Nicknames for People From Around the World

No matter where in the world you live, there’s a term to describe people from that location. These words are known as demonyms, and in many cases, they simply take the name of that location and tack on a suffix. For example, folks from the United States of America are widely known as Americans, while someone from Germany’s capital is referred to (in English) as a Berliner. But not all demonyms are so overt, and some possess more interesting etymological constructions. Let’s look at seven fascinating nicknames for people from different regions.

The demonym “Porteño” is most often used to refer to natives or inhabitants of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It’s also used — albeit less commonly — as a literal reference to people from any other Spanish-speaking port city. The term combines the Spanish term puerto (“port”) with the suffix -eño (used to indicate a place of origin). “Porteño” has been in use since 1826, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Argentinian Porteños are often regarded as having more in common culturally with Europeans than the rest of South America, which is due to an influx of European immigrants who came to Buenos Aires during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Yinzers are natives or residents of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, or the city’s metropolitan area. This demonym is derived from the catchall slang term “yinz,” which dates back to 1810. Yinzers use “yinz” to address two or more people, much like how Southerners use “y’all.” “Yinz” — and in turn, “Yinzer” — is believed to have come from Scottish immigrants who had a similar-sounding slangy contraction for “you ones.”

The term “Novocastrian” refers to those from both the English city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Australian city of Newcastle in New South Wales. We can trace this term’s origins back to 1080, when a literal new castle was built in the area that would later be called Newcastle upon Tyne. The region surrounding the castle became known as Novocastrum — taken from the Latin novo (“new”) and castrum (“fort”). People in the region were subsequently referred to as Novocastrians, and though the city’s name eventually changed, the demonym remained in use.

Ancient Phoenicians inhabited the Mediterranean region in the Iron Age, but in modern times, this demonym refers to the natives and residents of Phoenix, Arizona. However, there’s no connection between the ancient Phoenicians and modern Arizonans. The ancient group may have gotten its name from Greek, specifically phoinix (a term meaning “purple”), as Greeks traded for purple dye from the Phoenicians. People in Arizona, however, get their demonym from the mythical bird that inspired the name of the city.

Aguascalientes is the third-smallest Mexican state and contains a capital city of the same name. That name translates from Spanish to English as “hot waters,” but the people of that region go by a different term: “Hidrocálidos.” This demonym is essentially a synonym of the city and state name, as hidro means “hydro” and cálido means “warm.” So in essence, the people from that location are more or less known as “water warmers.”

You could refer to each of the Beatles — or any other Liverpool, England, native — as a Scouser. This demonym is of relatively recent origin, with roots dating to 1959. It’s derived from the name of a popular Northern European stew called lobscouse, which is often shortened to simply “scouse.” The dish is considered a staple of Liverpool cuisine. As an alternative, you can refer to people from Liverpool as Liverpudlians. This term is essentially a play on words, as it replaces “pool” with a suffix influenced by the similar term “puddle.”

Someone from the state of Oklahoma may proudly refer to themselves as a Sooner, though this term wasn’t always a point of pride. It was coined in the wake of the Indian Appropriation Act of 1889, which stripped Indigenous people of their land so that white homesteaders could claim it. Some people entered the unassigned lands before entry was permitted (for the sake of staking a better claim), and because they arrived so early, they were referred to as Sooners. It was only after 1908 that the nickname took on a positive meaning when it was adopted by the University of Oklahoma for its football team. By the 1920s, it became a proud local nickname that shed its previous negativity.