List of country nicknames

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This list of country nicknames compiles the aliases and slogans that countries are sometimes known by, officially and unofficially, to locals, outsiders or their tourism boards.

Contents

Albania

Land of the Eagles - from a folk etymology of the native name, Shqipëria

Australia

Oz - from the pronunciation 'Oz-tralia'
Down Under
Aussie
The Lucky Country

Belarus

White Rus' - translation of the name 'Belarus'
Great Lithuania or Great Litva - used by some Belarusian intellectuals, derived from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Kryvia (Kryǔja)- derived from the first Belarusian state, the Kryvic Principality of Polatsak.

Bhutan

Land of the thunder dragon - translation of Bhutanese name for the country (Druk Yul)
The Last Shangri-La, referring to a fictional Himalayan paradise

Burkina Faso

Land of the Upright Men - translation of the name 'Burkina Faso'

Cameroon

The Armpit of Africa - from its location on the 'armpit' between west and central Africa
The Hinge of Africa - from its location on the 'hinge' between west and central Africa

Canada

51st state - due to Canada's perceived similarity with the United States of America
A few acres of snow - a quotation from Voltaire popularly believed to disparage Canada's perceived economic unworth (although it is in fact a misquote)
The Great White North
Soviet Canuckistan - first use by Pat Buchanan, from Canada's perceived anti-American and left-wing political alignment.

Chad

The Dead Heart of Africa - from its remoteness and largely desert climate

Croatia

Lijepa naša (Our beautiful) - term which Croats use when speaking about their country

Czech Republic

Bohemia and Moravia - from the two ancient kingdoms that form the country

France

L'Hexagone (The Hexagon) - from the shape of the country
La fille ainée de l'Eglise (Church's older daughter) - nickname of controversial origin

Greece

Hellas -today's Greek still name their country as their Ancient forefathers did (so perhaps 'Greece' is the nickname here)

Greek people have only relatively recently called themselves Ellines. Actually until the revolution in 1821 they called themselves Rumaioi, and theoretically their new country could have been 'Rumelia' or even 'Rumania'. There is a subtle but distinct conceptual and ideological difference between 'Ellinismos' or Hellenism, and 'Romeosyne', which is a related with Byzantine awareness as a Christian Orthodox successor to Rome.

Iceland

Land of the midnight sun (this is also attributed to the other Nordic countries)
Frón - sometimes with the prefix 'farsælda' which means prosperous.
Landið bláa - The blue land
Ástkæra hrímhvíta móðir - Loving snowhite mother
Ísaland - Ice land, the Icelandic version with an added 'a' giving ice a plural meaning
Fögru landi ísa - beautiful land of ice
Köldu landi ísa - cold land of ice
Klakinn - The Ice
Skerið - The Reef
Kletturinn - The Rock
Guðsvolaða land - Land forgotten by God

Indonesia

Emerald of the equator - because its location

Ireland

The Emerald Isle - from the lush green of the Irish landscape
Land of the Mythical Shamrocks and Leprechauns
Erin - from the Irish name for Ireland (Eire), most commonly used in the expression 'Erin Go Bragh'
Hibernia - Latin name for Ireland
Land of saints and scholars - from the strong educational and religious tradition in Ireland
Poor old woman - from the Irish Sean Bhean Bhocht, a traditional nationalist song (also spelt phonetically as 'Sean Van Vocht')
Silk of the kine - from the Irish síoda na mbó
The South - used by Nationalists/Republicans to emphasise Irish geographic unity
The Twenty Six counties - used by Nationalists/Republicans to emphasise Irish unity
The Old Sod - Self deprecating term used by the Irish

Israel

Eretz Israel - 'land of Israel' in Hebrew
Holy Land - due to the religious significance of the region
Land of Milk and Honey
Little Satan - pejorative nickname used almost exclusively by the Iranian government
The Zionist Entity - used quite frequently in the radical islamist and far-left literature to deny Israel's status as a nation

Italy

The Boot (Lo Stivale) - from the shape of the country
Land of saints, poets and sailors

Japan

Land of the Rising Sun - more or less a translation of the Chinese name 日本, later adopted into Japanese as Nihon or Nippon.

Kazakhstan

Horde, Kazakh Horde - tsarist name Казацкая орда, Казачья орда was used to the Kazakh khanate.

Korea (North/South)

Land of the morning calm
The Hermit Kingdom

See also Names of Korea

Lebanon

Middle East's Switzerland - from its reputation for financial prosperity (at least before the Civil War) as much as from its ski resorts
The Pearl of the Mediterranean

Lesotho

The Kingdom in the Sky - due to the fact that Lesotho is high up in the Drakensberg Mountains

New Zealand

God's Own Country
Godzone - abbreviation of the above nickname
Land of the long white cloud - from English translation of Māori name for the islands (Aotearoa)
The land of the long white shroud
The shakey isles - due to the number of earthquakes
Kiwiland

Norway

'Land of the Midnight Sun' - specifically the northern section within the arctic circle

Paraguay

'An island surrounded by land' - first used by author Augusto Roa Bastos in reference to both the country's insularity and landlocked geography

Philippines

Pearl of the Orient Seas

SMS or Texting Capital of the World

Portugal

Lusitania - from the Roman province of the same name which covered much of the country, more commonly used is Lusophone (Portuguese speaking)
Spain's Canada - jokingly applied due to the perception that, like Canada in relation to America, Portugal is hanging close by but is unimportant
Rectângulo - Rectangle in Portuguese after the shape of the country
Pays du Soleil - Country of the sun in French
Metropole - Metropolis, because it was the centre of a colonial empire.

Russia

Mother Russia

Rwanda

Land of a thousand hills - from the hilly geography of the country

Singapore

The Fine Country - Used in a sarcastic or satirical manner; it playfully describes the highly efficient nature of law enforcement in Singapore as the island nation is known to have meted out high fines for petty offences such as littering.

The Garden City - The island nation is known for its lush amount of greenery, even in its city streets.

The Lion City

Slovenia

The Country on the Sunny Side of the Alps (or simply "On the Sunny Side of the Alps") -- Originally a tourist slogan, this popular nickname refers to Slovenia's position between the Alps and the sunny Adriatic coast.

The Green Piece of Europe -- Tourist slogan

Europe in miniature -- Tourist slogan

South Africa

Azania - used by some black nationalists for representing the 'real South Africa'
Rainbow Nation - term coined by Desmond Tutu to describe the multiethnic nature of post-apartheid South Africa, and in very wide use today
Mzansi - this term is widely used by urban South African youth. It comes from umzantsi, which is Xhosa for "south"
Seffrica - A centralised, lax way of referring to South Africa.

Soviet Union

The Great Bear - used by some during the Cold War to symbolize this one 'super power'

Sri Lanka

Pearl of the Indian Ocean
India's teardrop - from the country's shape
Pearl of the Orient - again, from the country's shape
Ceylon
Traprobain
Serendib - by Arab navigators in the in the 6th and 7th centuries
Zeilan - by the Portuguese

Sweden

Svea - poetical name for Sweden (originally a tribe near Stockholm)
* See also Mother Svea

Switzerland

Helvetia - Latin name for the country
Land of chocolate and cuckoo clocks
Land of milk and money

Taiwan

Formosa - name given by Portuguese and by which it was known in the Western world until post-World War II

Thailand

The Land of Smiles - after the perceived gentleness of its inhabitants

Tonga

Friendly Islands - former name for the islands, though still used to refer to them

Turkey

Ukraine

Little Russia

United Kingdom

51st state - due to the UK's perceived similarity with/deference to America
Albion - ancient name, often used specifically as a name for England
Blighty - originally a slang name for Britain, often used sentimentally during warfare by soldiers
Britannia - Latin name for Britain, specifically England, though now used to refer to the entire island
Perfidious Albion - ancient name, used in Spain and caused by the historic relations between both countries since the kingdom of Philip II.
The Soggy Isles - this name is given to the UK by the many Australian and South African immigrants working there, due to the rainfall and greyness.

England

Anglia - Latin name for the country
Green and pleasant land - from the opening line of William Blake's poem 'Jerusalem'
Land of hope and glory - from the patriotic song of the same name
Pommieland, Pomgolia - Aussies and Kiwis
South of the Border - Scots
Sceptre'd Isle - from act 2 scene 1 of Shakespeare's King Richard II: "This royal throne of kings, this sceptre'd isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands, This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England"

Northern Ireland

The North - used by Nationalists/Republicans to emphasise Irish geographic unity (sometimes 'the north of Ireland')
The Province - used by Unionists/Loyalists to emphasise unity with Britain
Six Counties - used by Nationalists/Republicans to emphasise Irish unity (sometimes with the prefix 'occupied')
Ulster - one of the four ancient Provinces of Ireland, Northern Ireland contains six of its nine counties

Scotland

Caledonia - Latin name for the country, after the Caledonii

Scotia - Latin name for the country, after the Scoti

Wales

Cambria - Latin name for Wales, from the Welsh name Cymru

United States of America

Uncle Sam - America's national personification.
Lady Liberty - another one of America's national personifications.
Amerika - German spelling of 'America,' used to suggest Nazism/Fascism (note also Amerika (Kafka novel))
Columbia - poetic name, now rarely used
Great Satan - chiefly arab/muslim epithet alleging American imperialism and also dissoluteness
Home of the Brave - from the national anthem 'The Star Spangled Banner'
Land of the Free - from the national anthem 'The Star Spangled Banner,' often used sarcastically
The States - a widely used colloquial name
Uncle Sugar - used by University of Chicago political science and international relations professor John Mearsheimer to describe the United States' massive power and wealth during World War II
Yankeeland - Aussie usage
Global cancer - Referring to the ravaging and demoralizing impact of it’s global economy.
The World - Sometimes used by military personnel stationed in another country (mainly overseas).
Gringolandia - Mexican usage
11th province (or 4th territory) - due to America's perceived similarity with Canada

Uruguay

South America's Switzerland - from its reputation for financial prosperity

Vietnam

Nam - shortening of 'Vietnam,' a widespread nickname during the Vietnam War period

External link

[International Alternative Country Names]

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