Sobriquets have been around as long as fame itself. As a form of personal branding, a sobriquet is used to describe a person's character, skill, strength, personality, achievement, or reputation. Sobriquets are bestowed by historians, journalists, press agents, critics, or the public, and can be honorific or derisive.
Sobriquets should not be confused with nicknames, which are used in lieu of a given name and usually bestowed by parents and friends, or even by oneself. There are also nicknames which are abbreviations or derivations of the actual surname. Sobriquets are also not stage names, aliases, or pseudonyms, which are used ostensibly to disguise or replace one's real name.
The following list contains more than 350 well-known sobriquets compiled from the world of politics, sports, entertainment, and crime:
Politics
| Mother Courage |
Bella S. Abzug |
| His Rotundity |
John Adams |
| The Great Stone Face |
Sherman Adams |
| Elegant Arthur |
Chester Alan Arthur |
| Old Bullion |
Thomas Hart Benton |
| Hip Pocket Harry |
Harry A. Blackmun |
| Governor Moonbeam |
Edmund G. Brown, Jr. |
| The Silver-Tongued Orator |
William J. Bryan |
| The Peerless Leader |
William J. Bryan |
| Bachelor President |
James Buchanan |
| Shrub |
George W. Bush |
| Pushcart Tony |
Anton J. Cermak |
| The Great Compromiser |
Henry Clay |
| Buffalo Hangman |
Stephen Grover Cleveland |
| Slick Willie |
William J. Clinton |
| The Comeback Kid |
William J. Clinton |
| Father of the Erie Canal |
De Witt Clinton |
| Mr. Blow-Dry |
Gary Condit |
| Silent Cal |
Calvin Coolidge |
| The Whisperer |
Charles Curtis |
| The Boss |
Richard J. Daly |
| Senator Pothole |
Alfonse M. D’Amato |
| The Hammer |
Tom DeLay |
| The Truck |
John D. Dingell, Jr. |
| The Wizard of Ooze |
Everett M. Dirksen |
| The Pink Lady |
Helen Gahagan Douglas |
| The Little Giant |
Stephen A. Douglas |
| Deep Throat |
Mark Felt |
| Honey Fitz |
John Francis Fitzgerald |
| The Pathfinder |
John C. Fremont |
| Boatman Jim |
James Garfield |
| Cactus Jack |
John Nance Garner |
| Unconditional Surrender Grant |
Ulysses S. Grant |
| Lion of Vicksburg |
Ulysses S. Grant |
| Tippecanoe |
William Henry Harrison |
| Lemonade Lucy |
Lucy Webb Hayes |
| His Fraudulency |
Rutherford B. Hayes |
| Old Eight to Seven |
Rutherford B. Hayes |
| The Great Dissenter |
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. |
| Great Engineer |
Herbert Hoover |
| Old Hickory |
Andrew Jackson |
| Thunder |
Jesse Jackson |
| Sage of Monticello |
Thomas Jefferson |
| Man of the People |
Thomas Jefferson |
| Tennessee Tailor |
Andrew Johnson |
| Landslide Lyndon |
Lyndon B. Johnson |
| The Little Flower |
Fiorello H. LaGuardia |
| Honest Abe |
Abraham Lincoln |
| The Great Emancipator |
Abraham Lincoln |
| The Rail-Splitter |
Abraham Lincoln |
| The Kingfish |
Huey P. Long |
| Princess Alice |
Alice Roosevelt Longworth |
| Mr. Clean |
Edmund S. Muskie |
| Tricky Dick |
Richard Nixon |
| Tail Gunner Joe |
Joseph R. McCarthy |
| Zig Zag Zell |
Zell Miller |
| Father of the Constitution |
James Madison |
| Handsome Frank |
Franklin Pierce |
| The Great Communicator |
Ronald Reagan |
| The Gipper |
Ronald Reagan |
| Mount Rendell |
Edward G. Rendell |
| Sunny Jim |
James Rolph, Jr. |
| Squire of Hyde Park |
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| The New Dealer |
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| The Bull Moose |
Theodore Roosevelt |
| The Hero of San Juan Hill |
Theodore Roosevelt |
| Bush’s Brain |
Karl Rove |
| The Governator |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| The Happy Warrior |
Alfred E. Smith |
| The Happy Warrior |
Hubert Humphrey |
| Mr. Republican |
Robert A. Taft |
| Old Rough and Ready |
Zachary Taylor |
| Give ‘Em Hell Harry |
Harry Truman |
| Man of Independence |
Harry Truman |
| Boss Tweed |
William M. Tweed |
| His Accidency |
John Tyler |
| Big Daddy |
Jesse Unruh |
| Old Kinderhook |
Martin Van Buren |
| The Little Magician |
Martin Van Buren |
| The Night Mayor |
Jimmy Walker |
| The Father of His Country |
George Washington |
| Defender of the Constitution |
Daniel Webster |
| Schoolmaster in Politics |
Woodrow Wilson |
| Traveling Sam |
Samuel W. Yorty |
Entertainment
| King of Country Music |
Roy Acuff |
| Cannonball |
Julian E. Adderly |
| Satchmo or Satchel Mouth |
Louis Armstrong |
| The Singing Cowboy |
Gene Autry |
| The Great Profile |
John Barrymore |
| Mr. Television |
Milton Berle |
| The “It” Girl |
Clara Bow |
| Gatemouth |
Clarence Brown |
| The Godfather of Soul |
James Brown |
| The Hardest Working Man in Show Business |
James Brown |
| The Jewish Cowboy |
James Caan |
| The Best Second Banana in the Business |
Art Carney |
| King of Late-Night TV |
Johnny Carson |
| The Man of a Thousand Faces |
Lon Chaney |
| The Little Tramp |
Charlie Chaplin |
| Slow Hand |
Eric Clapton |
| America’s Oldest Living Teenager |
Dick Clark |
| The Valentino of Song |
Russ Columbo |
| The Scream Queen |
Jamie Lee Curtis |
| Uncle Walt |
Walt Disney |
| Queen of the West |
Dale Evans |
| First Lady of Song |
Ella Fitzgerald |
| Queen of Soul |
Aretha Franklin |
| The King |
Clark Gable |
| The Great One |
Jackie Gleason |
| King of Swing |
Benny Goodman |
| The Pin-Up Girl |
Betty Grable |
| The Blond Bombshell |
Jean Harlow |
| Sexy Rexy |
Rex Harrison |
| First Lady of the American Stage |
Helen Hayes |
| The Master of Suspense |
Alfred Hitchcock |
| Lady Day |
Billie Holiday |
| The Sigh Guy |
Tab Hunter |
| The King of Pop |
Michael Jackson |
| Jacko |
Michael Jackson |
| The World’s Greatest Entertainer |
Al Jolson |
| The Peek-A-Boo Girl |
Veronica Lake |
| Killer |
Jerry Lee Lewis |
| Mr. Showmanship |
Liberace |
| The Human Laughtrack |
Ed McMahon |
| The Little Sparrow |
Edith Piaf |
| America’s Sweetheart |
Mary Pickford |
| The King of Rock ‘n Roll |
Elvis Presley |
| Bojangles |
Bill Robinson |
| King of the Cowboys |
Roy Rogers |
| Mister Five-by-Five |
Jimmy Rushing |
| Poet Laureate of Television |
Nipsey Russell |
| Grandmaster Flash |
Joseph Saddler |
| The Oomph Girl |
Ann Sheridan |
| Old Blue Eyes |
Frank Sinatra |
| The Chairman of the Board |
Frank Sinatra |
| The Voice |
Frank Sinatra |
| LL Cool J |
James Todd Smith |
| The Boss |
Bruce Springsteen |
| Big Gate |
Jack Teagarden |
| The Velvet Fog |
Mel Torme |
| The Latin Lover |
Rudolph Valentino |
| Muscles from Brussels |
Jean Claude Van Damme |
| The Duke |
John Wayne |
| Sweet Pea |
Pernell Whitaker |
| The Godfather of Grunge |
Neil Young |
Sports
| Hammerin’ Hank or The Hammer |
Henry Aaron |
| The Greatest |
Muhammad Ali |
| Bambi |
Lance Allworth |
| Ol’ Aches and Pains |
Luke Appling |
| Home Run |
John Franklin Baker |
| Mr. Cub |
Ernie Banks |
| Slingin’ Sammy |
Sammy Baugh |
| Concrete Charlie |
Chuck Bednarik |
| Cool Papa |
James Thomas Bell |
| The Bus |
Jerome Bettis |
| Mr. Inside |
Felix “Doc” Blanchard |
| The Sugar Bear |
Larvell Blanks |
| The Duke of Tralee |
Roger Bresnahan |
| Oil Can |
Dennis Ray Boyd |
| Three Finger |
Mordecai Brown |
| The Candy Man |
John Candelaria |
| The Baby Bull |
Orlando Cepeda |
| Wilt the Stilt |
Wilt Chamberlain |
| The Peerless Leader |
Frank Leroy Chance |
| The Thrill |
Will Clark |
| The Rocket |
Roger Clemens |
| The Georgia Peach |
Ty Cobb |
| The Kentucky Colonel |
Earl Combs |
| Mr. Outside |
Glenn Davis |
| The Golden Boy |
Oscar de la Hoya |
| The Lip |
Leo Durocher |
| The Yankee Clipper |
Joe DiMaggio |
| Joltin’ Joe |
Joe DiMaggio |
| No Mas |
Roberto Duran |
| The Rifle |
Sam Etcheverry |
| Smokin’ |
Joe Frazier |
| The Fordham Flash |
Frankie Frisch |
| The King |
Richard Petty |
| The Iron Horse |
Lou Gehrig |
| The Mechanical Man |
Charles Gehringer |
| The Galloping Ghost |
Red Grange |
| Mean |
Joe Greene |
| The Great One |
Wayne Gtretsky |
| Ole Stubblebeard |
Burleigh Grimes |
| Lou the Toe |
Lou Groza |
| Captain Video |
Tony Gwynn |
| Marvelous |
Marvin Hagler |
| Papa Bear |
George Halas |
| The Human Rain Delay |
Mike Hargrove |
| Bullet |
Bob Hayes |
| Lester the Molester |
Lester Hayes |
| The Hitman |
Tommy Hearns |
| Hollywood |
Thomas Henderson |
| The Mad Stork |
Ted Hendricks |
| El Duque |
Orlando Hernandez |
| Ironhead |
Craig Heyward |
| Crazylegs |
Elroy Hirsch |
| Rajah |
Rogers Hornsby |
| The Meal Ticket |
Carl Hubbell |
| The Mighty Mite |
Miller Huggins |
| Shoeless Joe |
Joseph Jefferson Jackson |
| Mr. October |
Reggie Jackson |
| Tombstone |
Rich Jackson |
| White Shoes |
Billy Johnson |
| The Big Unit |
Randy Johnson |
| The Big Train |
Walter Johnson |
| Kitty Kaat |
Jim Kaat |
| Hit ‘Em Where They Ain’t |
Willie Keeler |
| Highpockets |
George Kelly |
| Killer |
Harmon Killebrew |
| The Hoosier Hammer |
Charles Klein |
| The Sparrow from Minsk |
Olga Korbut |
| Push ‘Em Up Tony |
Tony Lazzeri |
| Spaceman |
Bill Lee |
| The Tall Tactician |
Cornelius Mack |
| Boom Boom |
Ray Mancini |
| The Commerce Comet |
Mickey Mantle |
| The Dominican Dandy |
Juan Marichal |
| Raging Bull |
Jake LaMotta |
| Night Train |
Dick Lane |
| The Brown Bomber |
Joe Louis |
| Big Six |
Christy Mathewson |
| The Say Hey Kid |
Willie Mays |
| Iron Man |
Joe McGinnity |
| Little Napoleon |
John J. McGraw |
| Big Mac |
Mark McGwire |
| Bonehead |
Fred Merkle |
| The Big Cat |
Johnny Mize |
| Joe Cool |
Joe Montana |
| Mercury |
Eugene Morris |
| Steady Eddie |
Eddie Murray |
| Stan the Man |
Stan Musial |
| Broadway Joe |
Joe Namath |
| Puff the Magic Dragon |
Graig Nettles |
| Prince Hal |
Harold Newhouser |
| Blue Moon |
John Odom |
| The Nigerian Nightmare |
Christian Okoye |
| Sweetness |
Walter Payton |
| The Refrigerator |
William Perry |
| Jake the Snake |
Jerome Plummer |
| The Rocket |
Maurice Richard |
| Bad Moon |
Andre Rison |
| The Scooter |
Phil Rizzuto |
| The Human Vacuum Cleaner or Hoover |
Brooks Robinson |
| Charlie Hustle |
Pete Rose |
| The Hoosier Thunderbolt |
Amos Rusie |
| The Sultan of Swat |
Babe Ruth |
| The Bambino |
Babe Ruth |
| The Babe |
Babe Ruth |
| The Ryan Express |
Nolan Ryan |
| Neon Deion |
Deion Sanders |
| Prime Time |
Deion Sanders |
| Tom Terrific |
Tom Seaver |
| The Juice |
O.J. Simpson |
| He Hate Me |
Rod Smart |
| Bonecrusher |
James Smith |
| The Wizard of Oz |
Ozzie Smith |
| The Silver Fox |
Edwin “Duke” Snider |
| The Grey Eagle |
Tris Speaker |
| The Snake |
Kenny Stabler |
| The Ole “Perfessor” |
Charles “Casey” Stengel |
| The Assassin |
Jack Tatum |
| Iron Mike |
Mike Tyson |
| The Body |
Jesse Ventura |
| The Flying Dutchman |
Honus Wagner |
| Little Poison |
Lloyd Waner |
| Big Poison |
Paul Waner |
| Mad Dog |
Dwight White |
| The Manster |
Randy White |
| The Minister of Defense |
Reggie White |
| The Splendid Splinter |
Ted Williams |
| The Cyclone |
Denton “Cy” Young |
| The Kid |
Robin Yount |
Crime
Joe Batters |
Anthony Accardo |
Joey Bananas |
Joseph Bonanno |
Diamond Jim |
James Brady |
Jimmy the Gent |
James Burke |
Frankie Breeze |
Frank Calabrese |
Scarface |
Al Capone |
Tony Ducks |
Anthony Corallo |
The Boston Strangler |
Albert De Salvo |
The Clay Pigeon of the Underworld |
Jack “Legs” Diamond |
Charley Wagons |
Carmine Fatico |
The Hollywood Madam |
Heidi Fleiss |
Pretty Boy |
Charles Floyd |
Chin |
Vincent Gigante |
The Teflon Don |
John Gotti |
The Unibomber |
Theodore Kaczynski |
The Scourge |
Antonio Lombardo |
Joey the Clown |
Joseph Lombardo |
Lucky Luciano |
Salvatore Lucania |
Baby Face Nelson |
Lester M. Gillis |
The Enforcer |
Frank Nitti |
The Snake |
Carmine Persico |
BTK |
Dennis Rader |
The Night Stalker |
Richard Ramirez |
The Canary That Couldn’t Fly |
Abraham “Kid Twist” Reles |
The Ant |
Tony Spilatro |
The Birdman of Alcatraz |
Robert Stroud |
Jack the Ripper |
Unknown |
Aviation
Wrong Way |
Douglas Corrigan |
The Boy General |
George A. Custer |
Long Hair |
George A. Custer |
Light Horse Harry |
Henry Lee |
Lucky Lindy |
Charles Lindberg |
Black Jack |
John J. Pershing |
Old Fuss and Feathers |
Winfield Scott |
Mad Anthony |
Anthony Wayne |
Other
Prince of Humbugs |
Phineas T. Barnum |
The Victorious One |
Buddha |
Mr. San Francisco |
Herb Caen |
Johnny Appleseed |
John Chapman |
Buffalo Bill |
William F. Cody |
King of the Wild Frontier |
Davy Crockett |
The Wizard of Menlo Park |
Thomas Edison |
The Duchess of Pork |
Sarah Ferguson |
The Almighty |
G_d |
The Picasso of American Indian Artists |
R.C. Gorman |
Old White Hat |
Horace Greeley |
The Chief |
William Randolph Hearst |
The Queen of Mean |
Leona Helmsley |
Wild Bill |
William J. Hickock |
The Prince of Peace |
Jesus Christ |
Doctor Death |
Jack Kevorkian |
The Sun King |
King Louis XIV |
Typhoid Mary |
Mary Mallon |
Saint of the Gutters |
Mother Teresa |
Little Miss Sure Shot |
Annie Oakley |
Father of the Atomic Bomb |
J. Robert Oppenheimer |
The Hanging Judge |
Isaac Charles Parker |
Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement |
Rosa Parks |
The Lady of Hope |
Evita Peron |
Randy Andy |
Prince Andrew (Windsor) |
The Virgin Queen |
Queen Elizabeth I |
Robin Hood |
Robin of Locksley |
The Prince of Darkness |
Satan |
The Domestic Diva |
Martha Stewart |
Father of the Hydrogen Bomb |
Edward Teller |
The Iron Lady |
Margaret Thatcher |
The Donald |
Donald Trump |
Poor Little Rich Girl |
Gloria Vanderbilt |
The Red Baron |
Manfred von Richthofen |
The Good Gray Poet |
Walt Whitman |
Conscience of the Holocaust |
Simon Wiesenthal |
The Runaway Bride |
Jennifer Wilbanks |
Group Sobriquets
Politics
| Camelot |
JFK Administration |
Entertainment
| The Fab Four |
The Beatles |
| The Nine Old Men |
Disney Animators |
| The Greatest Rock ‘n Roll Band in the World |
The Rolling Stones |
| The Rat Pack |
Sinatra and gang |
| The Brat Pack |
Breakfast Club gang |
Sports
| The Bums |
Brooklyn Dodgers |
| Big Red Machine |
Cincinnati Reds |
| Big Blue Wrecking Crew |
Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Harvey’s Wallbangers |
Milwaukee Brewers |
| The Purple People Eaters |
Minnesota Vikings |
| Bronx Bombers |
New York Yankees |
| Mustache Gang |
Oakland A’s |
| Whiz Kids |
Philadelphia Phillies |
| The Steel Curtain |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
| The Gashouse Gang |
St. Louis Cardinals |
Other
| Big Blue |
IBM |
| The Untouchables |
Eliot Ness et al |
| Band of Merry Men |
Robin Hood et al |
Nicknames
Politics
| Spunky |
Abraham D. Beame |
| Poppy |
George H. W. Bush |
| Dubya |
George W. Bush |
| Bubba |
William J. Clinton |
| Ike |
Dwight David Eisenhower |
| Scooter |
I. Lewis Libby |
| Rocky |
Nelson Rockefeller |
| Whizzer |
Byron White |
Entertainment
| Bix |
Leon Beiderbecke |
| Bogie |
Humphrey Bogart |
| Trane |
John Coltrane |
| Fats |
Antoine Domino |
| J-Lo |
Jennifer Lopez |
| Bird |
Charlie Parker |
| Bubbles |
Beverly Sills |
| Cuddles |
S. Z. Sakall |
| Fats |
Thomas Waller |
Sports
| Sparky |
George Anderson |
| Yogi |
Lawrence Berra |
| Bear |
Paul Bryant |
| Happy |
Albert Chandler |
| Jocko |
John Conlan |
| Dizzy |
Jay Hanna Dean |
| Daffy |
Paul Dee Dean |
| Buck |
William Ewing |
| Pudge |
Carlton Fisk |
| Pud |
James Galvin |
| Lefty |
Vernon Gomez |
| Goose |
Richard Michael Gossage |
| Moonlight |
Archibald Graham |
| Mudcat |
Jim Grant |
| Kitten |
Harvey Haddix |
| Slug |
Harry Heilmann |
| Catfish |
Jim Hunter |
| Moose |
Daryl Johnston |
| Napoleon |
Larry Lajoie |
| Sugar Ray |
Ray Charles Leonard |
| Stretch |
Willie McCovey |
| Ducky |
Joe Medwick |
| Knucksie |
Phil Niekro |
| Satchel |
Leroy Robert Paige |
| Pee Wee |
Harold Reese |
| Schoolboy |
Lynwood Rowe |
| Moose |
Bill Skowron |
| ”Sugar Ray” Robinson |
Walker Smith, Jr. |
| Pops |
Willie Stargell |
| Pie |
Harold Traynor |
| Dazzy |
Clarence Vance |
| Icky |
Elbert Woods |
| Tiger |
Eldrick Woods |
| Yaz |
Carl Yastrzemski |
Other
| Che |
Ernesto Guevara |
| Bat |
William Barclay Masterson |
©2005 The Byline Group. All rights reserved. No portion of this list may be reorganized, reproduced, sold, licensed, or bundled by any means, for commercial or other purposes, without the prior written consent of the site owner.
>Read the Article
Sobriquet Quiz
Try to match the following sobriquets to well-known famous people of the past and celebrities of the present.
Sobriquet |
Field |
|
1. Tippecanoe |
Politics |
|
2. The Georgia Peach |
Sports |
|
3. Old Kinderhook |
Politics |
|
4. The Godfather of Grunge |
Entertainment |
|
5. The Flying Dutchman |
Sports |
|
6. The Singing Cowboy |
Entertainment |
|
7. Saint of the Gutters |
Religion |
|
8. The Godfather of Soul |
Entertainment |
|
9. No Mas |
Sports |
|
10. The Man of a Thousand Faces |
Entertainment |
|
11. The Birdman of Alcatraz |
Crime |
|
12. Old Rough and Ready |
Politics |
|
13. The Boy General |
Military |
|
14. King of Swing |
Entertainment |
|
15. The Rocket |
Sports |
|
16. The Hanging Judge |
Law |
|
17. The Cyclone |
Sports |
|
18. Scarface |
Crime |
|
19. The Hitman |
Sports |
|
20. Poor Little Rich Girl |
Society |
|
Scroll down for answers…
Answers: 1-William Henry Harrison; 2-Ty Cobb; 3-Martin Van Buren; 4-Neil Young; 5-Honus Wagner; 6-Gene Autry; 7-Mother Teresa; 8-James Brown; 9-Roberto Duran; 10-Lon Chaney; 11-Robert Stroud; 12-Zachary Taylor; 13-George Armstrong Custer; 14-Benny Goodman; 15-Roger Clemens or Maurice Richard; 16-Isaac Charles Parker; 17-Denton “Cy” Young; 18-Al Capone; 19-Tommy Hearns; 20-Gloria Vanderbilt
If you correctly answered:
| <5 |
You live under a stone and have scant knowledge of American history and culture. |
5-8 |
You possess a glimmer of intelligence and made a couple of lucky guesses. |
9-11 |
On the whole, you’re average, which is considered commendable in this day and age. |
12-15 |
Impressive! Obviously, you’ve attempted to memorize your bedside almanac. |
>15 |
You’re a living legend who deserves to be called “The Squire of Sobriquets.” |
|
