This partial list of city nicknames in New Jersey compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that cities, other municipalities, and other populated places in New Jersey are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to municipal governments, local people, outsiders or their tourism boards or chambers of commerce. City nicknames can help in establishing a civic identity, helping outsiders recognize a community or attracting people to a community because of its nickname; promote civic pride; and build community unity.[1]Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth"[2] are also believed to have economic value.[1] Their economic value is difficult to measure,[1] but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.[2]
Some unofficial nicknames are positive, while others are derisive. The unofficial nicknames listed here have been in use for a long time or have gained wide currency.
Nicknames of several New Jersey communities celebrate their status as Jersey Shore resorts.
^"Atlantic City Dream", Time (magazine), November 5, 1934. "Longtime dream of Atlantic City's Mayor Harry Bacharach has been a new railroad station for 'America's Playground'."
^Denville profile[permanent dead link], Daily Record (Morristown), accessed April 22, 2007. "Known as the 'hub' of Morris County -- because of its central geographic location and spot along major transportation routes — this township is home to one of the most traditional town centers in the county."
^Kuperinsky, Amy. "'The Jewel of the Meadowlands'?: N.J.'s best, worst and weirdest town slogans", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, January 22, 2015. Accessed July 12, 2016. "Garfield, a city spanning two square miles on the Passaic River, is 'The City of Champions' because of some athletic feats from the distant past — including a championship by the 1939 high school football team."
^"Hackensack", FDU Magazine, Fall / Winter 2001. Accessed June 14, 2007. "Billed as 'A City in Motion', Hackensack has been on the move since before the founding of the United States."
^'Friendly City' overtaxes residentsArchived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, Atlanticville. June 1, 2007. Accessed July 10, 2007. "Long Branch City Hall does it again! The 'Friendly City' will stick its residents with a tax increase."
^A wet day in the Hub City, from the Home News Tribune, September 23, 1999. "A few days short of 60 years, on Wednesday, Sept. 16, a dreary, drizzly day just ahead of the deluge of Hurricane Floyd, the Home News Tribune sent 24 reporters, 9 photographers and one artist into the Hub City, as it is known, to take a peek into life in New Brunswick as it is in 1999."
^City of PlainfieldArchived 2007-07-08 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 5, 2007. "On behalf of the City of Plainfield, I greet you with the passion and enthusiasm that hopefully you share for our Queen City, Plainfield, New Jersey."
^Union City 2000 Calendar; 2000; culled from History of West Hoboken and Union Hill by Ella-Mary Ryman; 1965 and "The Historical Background of Union City" by Daniel A. Primont, William G. Fiedler and Fred Zuccaro; 1964