The City of Chicago

Chicago has been called many names before, and more will come for sure as development of this great city never ends.

One of the most popular Chicago monikers would be "The Windy City." There has been much debate and confusion as to how Chicago got this monicker. Some say because Chicago is a naturally breezy area due to it's proximity to Lake Michigan. Some say it came from former rival city Cincinnati, describing Chicago as "windy" or full of bluster. The most popular origin of this nickname is that it was coined by the editor of the New York Sun, Charles Anderson Dana, in 1890 in reference to the city's claims for the World's Columbian Exposition.

Another popular nickname for Chicago is "Second City." Some people think that this nickname refers to Chicago being the second largest city, when in actuality it refers to Chicago's rebirth after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Here are some more minor Chicago nicknames:

• Chi-Town or Chitown
• Chicagoland
• The White City
• City by the Lake
• City of the Big Shoulders
• City of Broad Shoulders
• City of the Century
• The 312
• City on the Make
• The City That Works
• The Big Onion
• City in a Garden
• Hog-Butcher to the World
• Beirut by the Lake
• New York Done Right
• Illville
• I Will City
• Paris on the Prairie
• Sweet Home
• Heart of America
• The 773
• The Alley Capital of America

Do you have a nickname that is not on this list?