A Baiana with her food stall in Salvador

A Baiana with her food stall in Salvador

We all know Londoner, Parisian and New Yorker. But what are the names for the citizens of other cities and states? Or, as we call them, demonyms?

Easy to make up one by adding -er or -ian (or -ois in French) to the name. But I’ve been long interested in the more obscure appellations and I’ve collected them here.

 

 

Britain

I bet even the Brits don’t know some of those names.

Bath: Bathonian

Birmingham: Brummie

Colchester: Colcestrian

Glasgow: Glaswegian

Guernsey: Sarnian

Hartlepool: Hartlepulian (with a u)

Isle of Jura: Diurach

Isle of Man: Manx

Isle of Wight: Vectian

Leeds: Loiner or the more posh-sounding Leodensian

Liverpool: Liverpudlian or Scouse

Manchester: Mancunian

Newcastle: Geordie but the correct form is Novocastrian

The Orkneys: Orcadian

Winchester: Wintonian

Yorkshire: Tyke

France

France presents us with a wonderful range of demonyms. Yes there are lots of –ien like Parisien or –ois like Auxerrois, but did you know these? (Male form only)

Aix-en-Provence: Aixois

Auvergne: Auvergnat

Béziers: Biterrois

Biarritz: Biarrot

Bordeaux: Bordelais

Brittany: Breton

Le Mans: Manceaux

Le Puy-en-Velay: Anicien

Lyon: Lyonnais

Metz: Messien

Nancy: Nancèien

Nice : Niçois

Paris: remember a Parisian is a Parisien in France

Poitiers: Poitevin

Rodez: Ruthénois

Savoy: Savoyard

St-Étienne: Stephanois

Europe

Ah, now we’re off.

Ancona: Anconitan

Antwerp: Antwerpenaar

Badajoz: Pacense

Barcelona: Barcelonés

Cádiz: Gaditano

Cork: not a Corker, but Corkonian

Cyprus: Cypriot. In fact, the inhabitant of almost every Greek island is an –iot: Mykoniot, Chiot, Corfiot, Tiniot, but Cretan, Parian, Rhodian and, of course, Lesbian.

Geneva: Genevois

Girona: Gironí, gironina

Greenland: Inuk, plural Inuit

Gruyères –Grúerien

The Hague: Hagenar

Helsinki: Stadilainen

Krakow: Krakovian

Lausanne: Lausannois

The small town of La-Tour-de-Peilz on the shores of Lake Geneva: Boéland (!)

Lisbon: Lisboeta

Lubljana- Ljubljánčan

Lviv: Leopolitan

Madrid: Madrileño

Malagae: Malagueño but also Malacitano

Monaco: Monegasque

Moscow: Muscovite

Munich: Münchner

Naples: Neapolitan or Napolitano

Oslo: Oslovian

Oviedo: Ovetense

Parma: Parmesano

Prague: Prazan in Czech, Praguer in English

Salamanca: Salmantino or Charro

San Marino: Sammarinese (with two m’s)

St Petersburg: Peterburgian or, in Russian, Piterech or Peterburzhech.

Tenerife: Tinerfeño or chicharrero

Twente: Tukker

Vatican: Here the adjective is the same as the city – Vatican. Is this unique?

Vienna: Viennese or Viennois

Warsaw: Varsovian

Zurich: Zürcher

Latin America & Caribbean

You can reach a completely new level of fun with Latin American demonyms.

Bahia: Baiano (no h).

Barbados: Bajan

Brasília: no, it’s not Brasilian, it’s Brasiliense or Candango.

Buenos Aires: Porteño

Honduras: Catracho

La Paz: Paceño

Lima: Limeño

Mexico City: Chilango

Minas Gerais: Mineiro

Monterey (Mexico): Regiomontano

Rio de Janeiro city: Carioca

Rio de Janeiro state: Fluminense

Rio Grande do Sul: Gaúcho

São Paulo city: Paulistano

São Paulo state: Paulista

Salvador (Brazil): Soteropolitano

Australasia

Australia: Australian but also Aussie

Melbourne: Melburnian (where did the ‘o’ go?)

New Zealand: New Zealander but also Kiwi

Northern Territory: Top Ender

Sydney: Sydneysider

Tasmania: Tasmanian or, as I prefer it, Taswegian

Victoria state: Gum Sucker

Western Australia: Sandgroper

North America

As you can imagine the Americans (don’t forget the term ‘Yanks’) don’t disappoint.

Connecticut: Nutmegger

Dallas: Dallasite

Hawaii: Hawaiian but also Kamaaina

Indiana: Hoosier

Los Angeles: Angeleno

Louisiana: Cajun

Massachusetts: Bay Stater

Michigan: Michigander or Yooper (Upper Peninsula only!)

New Jersey: New Jerseyite

Ohio: Buckeye

Oklahoma: Okie

Wisconsin: Sconnie

Wyoming:Wyomingite

Africa and Asia

On the whole, rather boring, except for Hong Kong, bless it. From Hong Kongese to Hong Kongolese, they’re rather fun to pronounce. Anyway, here are…

Burkina Faso: Burkinabé

Cairo: Cairene

Damascus: Damascene

Gaza: Ghazzawi

Istanbul: Istanbulu

Isfahan: Esfehooni

Kampuchea: Khmer

Madagascar: Malagasy

Manila: Manileño

Mumbai: Mumbaiker

Philippines: Filipino (with an F) or Pinoy

Tehran: Tehrooni

Tokyo: Edokko

UAE: Emirati

Zululand /kwaZulu: one Zulu, many Zulu, but the correct plural is amaZulu

Anyone have any strange demonyms for inclusion?