The amazing history of football clubs’ nicknames

English Premier League side Everton, from Liverpool, adopted The Toffees from a toffee shop near its ground. The shop was called ‘Mother Noblett’s’ and sold mint. According to Everton records, in the 1950s and 1960s, a woman dressed up as ‘Mother Noblett’ would walk around the edge of the pitch and throw toffees into the crowd, helping the nickname to develop.
But some clubs like Hull City who have played in orange and black for the majority of their existence, or Newcastle with their black and white stripes go the simple ride. ‘The Tigers’ is as easy a jump as Hull City’s stripes so is ‘The Magpies’ for Newcastle.

For many, hearing commentators call Sheffield Wednesday ‘The Owls’ gives the impression that probably the English town had plenty the peculiar night birds associated with bad omens doing nocturnal rounds and hooting.
But record of the Championship side has nothing like it. There isn’t even anecdotes suggesting that, like owls, some of the Wednesday players, officials or fans were spotted spinning their head around 360 degrees on their shoulders. 
“Instead it’s a lot more simplistic than that – their home ground of Hillsborough was built in the Olwerton district of Sheffield,” says Football Stadiums, a soccer website.

Canaries gives Norwich kit idea
Fans of English Championship table toppers Norwich did not pick on the canaries moniker after their bright yellow and green trim kit, but the club is actually the one that redesigned itself long after the nickname had nestled in the hearts of the fans.
Originally, the club was nicknamed the Citizens (“Cits” for short), and played in light blue and white halved shirts. But in February 1907, the canaries nickname – after the brightly coloured yellow birds that are famous for breeding in the city – turned en vogue. A new kit design was commissioned and launched the following season.

Fifteen years later, Norwich City completed its canaries transformation with a new badge, putting a canary on the club’s crest.
Meanwhile, Arsenal has had so many names before it settled for one resonating with its nickname. Originally called Dial Square when it was formed by workers from a munitions factory in 1886, many felt the name didn’t work for a football club so they became Royal Arsenal just a month after forming. 

In 1893 they became Woolwich Arsenal and in 1914 when, after moving to north London, it didn’t make sense to keep the ‘Woolwich’ part in their name any more. They became ‘The Arsenal’ and later simply Arsenal, but the links to their past were never forgotten. The club’s origins from a munitions factory is still remembered today in their nickname of ‘The Gunners.’
Football Stadiums also explains a similar tale about why West Ham United are known as ‘The Hammers’. The side was formed in 1895 as Thames Ironworks by the local ironworks’ foreman and the team was made up of its employees. To this day, they not only have that nickname but also have two crossed hammers on their crest.

Are Bolton pigs?
If you do not like pigs or whatever is associated with this animal, you probably have severe dislike for Bolton Wanderers, aka ‘The Trotters.’
While the nickname might suggest laziness of roaming around – as in Wanderers – Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, has this to say: “The club’s nickname of ‘The Trotters’ has several claimed derivations; that it is simply a variation on ‘Wanderers,’ that it is an old local term for a practical joker, or that one of the grounds used before the club settled at Pikes Lane resided next to a piggery, causing players to have to “trot” through the pig pens.
Take your pick, which one best describes Bolton’s moniker? Just know this, pigs are good animals.

Meanwhile, there is this one, West Bromwich Albion, who proudly go around calling themselves ‘The Baggies.’ Why? Were they perhaps playing in oversized tent-like shorts?
Some sites indicate that money from supporters used to be collected into big bags. Supporters reportedly took to shouting, “Here come the bag men!” which developed into “Here come the baggies!” over time.

The ridiculous nicknames
While some fans might be proud of their clubs’ nicknames likes The Bluebirds (Cardiff City) or The Swans (Swansea City), others cringe at the thought of their own quite ludicrous and stupid nicknames. Charlton Athletic are called ‘The Addicks’ – a bastardisation of the word ‘haddock’ (lean white flesh of fish) and was given to them because the ground was built near to a well-known fish and chip shop.

Take Kidderminster Harriers, as an example. Kidderminster was the home of the modern carpet industry, so the football club took on the nickname of ‘The Carpetmen’. Similarly, Wycombe was the home of the local furniture making industry so Wycombe Wanderers became known as ‘The Chairboys’.
Football Stadiums indicates that Hartlepool United are the owners of one of the game’s most ridiculous nicknames and accompanying stories. During the Napoleonic War, tensions were high in the coastal town of Hartlepool. Suspicion was thrown on anyone that wasn’t immediately recognised by someone who could vouch for them. 

“That is the rationale for why the citizens of Hartlepool decided to hang a monkey, believing it to be a French spy. Whether that story is true or not is largely irrelevant – what we do know is that the club continues to be known as ‘The Monkey Hangers’ to this day,” the site says.

Why are Sunderland called Black Cats?
Forget ‘The Owls’ of Sheffield Wednesday. Sunderland is the thing. While in Africa many dread the thought of owls, it is actually the fear of an imaginery black cat that gave Sunderland its bizarre nickname. The tales are not even close to some curse or witches, but it is said that during the Napoleonic Wars, there were four gun batteries located on the mouth of the city’s River Wear. It was officially named the John Paul Jones Battery but one night one of the people who manned it fled screaming, saying he heard the howling of a black cat that was similar to the sound of the ‘devil himself.’ The battery was henceforth known as the Black Cat Battery and the animal became associated with the city.

The Red Devils

After the Munich Air Crash of 1958, Manchester United manager Matt Busby started on rebuilding but found that the famous ‘Matt’s Babes’ seemed inappropriate so a new name was sought. Matt’s Babes had been born from the grooming programme Busby had undertaken years earlier by promoting youngsters into the first team. English rugby club Salford had toured France in the 1930s 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 United were also ‘The Red Devils’ and soon the club began incorporating the devil logo in match programmes and scarves. In 1970, the club badge was redesigned, but now with a devil in the centre holding a pitch-fork. 

Chelsea Pensioners

English Premier League side Chelsea were called ‘The Pensioners’ until the mid 50s because of their association with the famous Chelsea Hospital, home to British war veterans – the Chelsea Pensioners. This association continues to this day with loyal pensioners being given eight seats for every home game at Stamford Bridge. Club is also called The Blues.

Deportivo Alaves’ nickname comes from the Basque language. ‘Baba’ references fava beans, and zorro means ‘sack’. So, in an allusion to the large amounts of favas that were produced in the Alava province, Alaves are literally called ‘the beanbags’. 
In the Valencian style of speaking, saying ‘che’ is the same as saying ‘hey’. ‘Levantinos’, who hail from the east coast of Spain, are easily identifiable throughout the rest of the country by their usage of this slang term.
In 1967, Villarreal (who play in yellow) were promoted to Spain’s third division. Around that time, a band called Los Mustangs covered ‘Yellow Submarine’, originally by the Beatles. The cover became popular in Spain, and so, Villarreal became known as ‘the Yellow Submarine’!

Bayer Leverkusen was founded by employees of the pharmaceutical company Bayer AG, which which is alluded to in their nickname (which translates to ‘The Company XI’).
Koln’s nickname is a reference to the club’s mascot, a male goat named Hennes who, in turn, was named after former Koln player and manager Hennes Weisweiler.
Augsburg is known as the Fuggerstadt (the Fugger city). It acknowledges the Fugger family, who were a notable business and banking entity during the Renaissance period.

Paderborn don’t really have a nickname, though the club still have an interesting backstory. For many years, Paderborn had two football clubs – TuS Schloss Neuhaus and Paderborn. They eventually merged into TuS Paderborn/Neuhaus in 1985, and officially changed their name to SC Paderborn 07 in 1997. The 07 refers to 1907, the year TuS Schloss Neuhaus was founded.

Hertha Berlin’s full name is Hertha Berliner Sport-Club von 1892, and the team was named for a steam ship. ... Some of its nicknames include ‘Die Alte Dame’, which means ‘the old lady’ in German and ‘Die Blau-Weßen’ the blue-whites, both in reference to the eponymous steam ship.
Union Berlin are nicknamed Die Eisernen (The Iron Ones) for their linkage with the working-class industrial factory workers, making them the perfect example of a middleman’s team.

Borussia Moechengladbach are nicknamed ‘The Foals.’
In 1964–65, the Moechengladbach signed the youngsters, Jupp Heynckes and Bernd Rupp, and some of the youth team joined the professional squad. Their average age of 21.5 years was the lowest of all regional league teams. They earned the nickname “foals” due to their low average age as well as their carefree and successful play. Reporter Wilhelm August Hurtmanns coined the nickname in his articles in the Rheinische Post. He was taken with the style of Borussia and wrote that they would play like young foals.

Founded in 1905, FSV Mainz 05’s nickname Die Nullfünfer (The O-Fives) is a reference to the year the club was founded, which also is a part of the club’s name.

  Spainish La Liga

Team        Nickname(s)        Translation    
Athletic Club    Los Leones, Los Rojiblancos    The Lions, The Red and Whites    
Atletico Madrid    Los Colchoneros        The Mattress Makers
Barcelona    Blaugrana        ‘blau’ is blue and ‘grana’ deep red    
Celta Vigo    Os Celestes        The Sky Blues    
Deportivo Alaves    Los Babazorros, El Glorioso     ‘Baba’ is ‘fava’ beans, ‘zorro’ is ‘sack’
Eibar        Los Armeros        The Gunsmiths    
Espanyol        Los Periquitos        The Budgerigars
Getafe        Los Azulones        The Deep Blues     
Granada        Los Nazaries        Nasrids (the Nazrid Dynasty)    
Leganes        Los Pepineros        The Cucumber Growers    
Levante        Los Granotas        The Frogs    
Mallorca        Los Bermellones        The Vermilions    
Osasuna        Los Rojillos        The Reds    
Real Betis    Betis, Los Verderones    Lilywhites, The Big Greens
Real Madrid    Los Blancos, Meringues    The Whites, The Meringues    
Real Sociedad    Txuri-urdinak        The Whites and Blues    
Real Valladolid    Los Albivioletas        The White and Violets    
Sevilla        Los Hispalenses        The Ones from Hispalis    
Valencia        Los Che            In Valencian, ‘che’ is ‘hey’
Villarreal        El Submarino Amarillo    The Yellow Submarine

  Italian Serie A

Team        Nickname(s)        Translation    
Atalanta        I Nerazzurri        The Black and Blues    
Bologna        I Rossoblu, I Veltri        The Red and Blues, The Greyhounds    
Brescia        Le Rondinelle        The Little Swallows
Cagliari        Gli Isolani            The Islanders    
Fiorentina    La Viola            The Purple One    
Genoa        I Rossoblu, l Grifone    The Red and Blues, The Griffin    
Hellas Verona    I Gialloblu        The Yellow and Blues    
Inter        I Nerazzurri        The Black and Blues    
Juventus        La Vecchia Signora        The Old Lady    
Lazio        I Biancocelesti        The White and Sky Blues    
Lecce        I Giallorossi        The Yellow and Reds    
Milan        I Rossoneri        The Red and Blacks    
Napoli        Gli Azzurri        The Blues    
Parma        I Gialloblu, I Crociati    The Yellow and Blues, The Crusaders    
Roma        I Giallorossi        The Yellow and Reds    
Sampdoria    I Blucerchiati        The Blue-circled 
Sassuolo        I Neroverdi        The Black and Greens    
SPAL        I Biancazzurri        The White and Blues    
Torino        Il Toro, i Granata        The Bull, The Maroons    
Udinese        I Bianconeri        The White and Blacks

  German Bundesliga

Team        Nickname(s)        Translation    
Augsburg        Die Fuggerstadter        Residents of the Fugger City    
Bayer Leverkusen    Die Werkself        The Company XI    
Bayern        Die Roten        The Reds    
BVB Dortmund    Die Schwarzgelben        The Black and Yellow    
Monchengladbach    Die Fohlen        The Foals    
Eint. Frankfurt    Die Adler            The Eagles    
Fort. Dusseldorf    Die Flingeraner        From the district of Flingern    
Freiburg        Breisgau-Brasilianer    Brazilians of Breisgau    
Hertha Berlin    Die Alte Dame        The Old Lady    
Hoffenheim    Die Kraichgauer        From the Kraichgau region    
Koln        Die Geissbocke        The Billy Goats    
Leipzig        Die Roten Bullen        The Red Bulls    
Mainz        Die Nullfunfer        The O-Fives    
Paderborn    N/A             
Schalke        Die Konigsblauen        The Royal Blue    
Union Berlin    Die Eisernen        The Iron Ones    
Werder Bremen    Die Grun-Weissen         The Green-Whites    
Wolfsburg    Die Wolfe        The Wolves

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