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Nicknames of San Francisco

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There are many nicknames of San Francisco, California that have been used throughout the city's history.[1][2]

  • AI Capital of the World – coined from the mid-2020s, reflecting the emergence and eventual prevalence of several artificial intelligence-oriented companies (otherwise known as start-ups or "unicorns") in the city.[3][4][5]
  • Baghdad by the Bay – title of a book of essays by Herb Caen, and a nickname he used for the city because of the cosmopolitan cultural diversity it shares with the medieval city of Baghdad[1]
  • Fog City / "City of Fog" – in reference to San Francisco's famous fog[1]
  • Frisco – also the nickname of the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway,[1] it is a nickname disparaged by Herb Caen and some locals, but the word is still used today particularly by San Francisco's Black community.[6][7]
  • Gay Mecca[8][9][10][11]
  • Golden Gate City – in reference to the Golden Gate strait which is spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge[12]
  • San Fran – Used by non-native residents and those outside of the Bay Area. Curtis Sparrer from Bospar gives the reasons why it is not acceptable to say 'San Fran'.[13][14]
  • SF
  • SFC (San Francisco City)
  • Sunset City
  • The city – used by native San Franciscans and people in the Bay Area[1]
  • The city by the Bay – refers to San Francisco Bay[15]
  • The City of Love – as seen in Cool, Gray City of Love by Gary Kamiya[16] and in the lyrics of "San Francisco" by German eurodance group Cascada[17]
  • The City of Neighborhoods[18][19][20]
  • The City that Knows How[21]
  • The Golden City – in reference to the California Gold Rush and golden brown grass on hillsides in the dry season[1]
  • The Paris of the Pacific - affluent Gold Rush pioneers from France brought their food, fashion, and architecture to the city and became its largest minority[22][23][24]
  • The Paris of the West – popular in the early 1900s, but no longer in common use[1]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Garling, Caleb (June 30, 2013). "Don't Call It Frisco: The History of San Francisco's Nicknames". The Bold Italic. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  2. ↑ Mike Moffitt (April 4, 2014). "The odd nicknames of California cities". SFChronicle.com. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  3. ↑ "SAN FRANCISCO : The AI Capital of the World". Intelligence Amplifier. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  4. ↑ "San Francisco's Leadership as AI Capital of the World on Display at APEC". sf.gov. November 16, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  5. ↑ "San Francisco, AI capital of the world, is an economic laggard". economist.com. The Economist. April 26, 2026. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  6. ↑ James Sullivan (October 14, 2003). "Frisco, that once-verboten term for the city by the bay, is making a comeback among the young and hip. Herb Caen is spinning at warp speed". SFChrnoicle.com. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  7. ↑ Eskenazi, Joe. "Don't Call It "Frisco" -- If You're Old and White". SF Weekly. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  8. ↑ "History Shows SF Has Long Been Gay Mecca". www.outwordmagazine.com.
  9. ↑ "Study: Gay Mecca San Francisco Has Highest Rent on Earth". www.advocate.com. July 11, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Iconic San Francisco gay bar to shutter in pandemic fallout". AP NEWS. May 21, 2020.
  11. ↑ "S.F.'s LGBT press evolves as the city changes | Northern California Media Museum".
  12. ↑ Woods, Amanda (October 18, 2018). "San Francisco is too expensive even for rich people". New York Post. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  13. ↑ Bradley, Diana (January 31, 2019). "Bospar to Neil Patrick Harris: Stop calling our city 'San Fran'". www.prweek.com. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  14. ↑ "What's in a name? Survey reveals what locals, non-locals call San Francisco". ABC7 San Francisco. January 23, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  15. ↑ "San Francisco, Frisco or San Fran—What's Correct?". Bospar. January 26, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  16. ↑ Jeffery, Clara (September 13, 2013). "'Cool Gray City of Love,' by Gary Kamiya". The New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Cascada – San Francisco Lyrics". Genius. Retrieved January 5, 2022. Baby, take me back to the city of love
  18. ↑ {{cite web |url=https://sfplanning.org/resource/san-francisco-neighborhoods-socio-economic-profiles-2011-2015|date=December 2017|title=San Francisco Neighborhoods Socio-Economic Profiles 2011-2015 |publisher=SF Planning|access-date=August 13, 2026|
  19. ↑ "Mayor Lurie Unveils "Heart of the City" Executive Directive to Accelerate San Francisco's Economic Comeback". sf.gov. September 9, 2025. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  20. ↑ Mitchell, Lincoln (October 20, 2021). "San Francisco's many "15-minute" neighborhoods". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  21. ↑ "PPIE: The City That Knows How". SFPL. Archived from the original on April 14, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  22. ↑ French Morning Staff (December 18, 2017). "Why is San Francisco called "the Paris of the Pacific"?". Frenchly. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  23. ↑ Sessums, Martha (August 28, 2015). "Paris of the Pacific: Celebrating San Francisco's Founding French Community". France Today. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  24. ↑ Swartz, Jacqueline (June 3, 2025). "San Francisco's French Roots Run Deep". East-West News Service. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
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