The Addicks
The story goes that local fishmonger Arthur "Ikey" Bryan rewarded the team with haddock and chips. Haddocks first appeared in 1908 and became Addicks by 1910, and fans...
Read the story ›Gunners, Villans, Hammers, Baggies: nearly every club has a name its supporters use instead of the official one, and each has a story behind it. Here is where the nicknames of clubs in the top four tiers of women's football come from. Only clubs with a nickname are listed, and only entries we have checked and confirmed are published, so the guide grows as we verify more.
Showing 29 of 29 nicknames
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The Baggies
The Baggies has no agreed origin. One theory is staff carrying gate money in large leather bags. Another says Aston Villa fans mocked Albion supporters in baggy work t...
Read the story ›The Bantams
The name took hold in the First World War, when Valley Parade was used as a recruiting centre for the West Yorkshire Regiment. Some of the Pals battalions raised there...
Read the story ›The Bees
Adopted in 2014 when the club rebranded as London Bees on joining WSL 2, replacing Barnet FC Ladies. The club's roots go back to 1975 as District Line Ladies; it becam...
Read the story ›The Black Cats
The name was made official by a fan vote in 2000, but the cat has older roots. Photos from the early 1900s show a black cat looked after at Roker Park, a fan carried o...
Read the story ›C
The Canaries
Dutch and Flemish religious refugees brought canary breeding to Norwich in the 1500s, and by the early 1900s the city had around 3,000 breeders. The first recorded ref...
Read the story ›The Chairgirls
High Wycombe was a furniture-making town, and the club was started in 1887 by young furniture trade workers meeting at the Steam Engine pub. The Chairboys name is wide...
Read the story ›The Cherries
The club formed in autumn 1899 as Boscombe FC, from the remains of an older Boscombe St John's Institute side, and picked up the nickname around the time it got its ow...
Read the story ›The Clarets
Burnley formed in May 1882 when members of a rugby side, Burnley Rovers, switched to association football. The club moved to claret and blue in 1910 and the Clarets ni...
Read the story ›The Cobblers
A nod to Northampton's long history as a shoe-making town. The club was formed in March 1897 by local schoolteachers and a solicitor at the Princess Royal Inn on Welli...
Read the story ›D
The Dons
Dons comes from the Wimbledon name. AFC Wimbledon were founded by supporters on 30 May 2002, led by Kris Stewart, and held open trials on Wimbledon Common.
Read the story ›E
The Eagles
Palace were originally the Glaziers, a nod to the Crystal Palace glass building. In 1973 manager Malcolm Allison swapped the nickname for the Eagles, taking the idea f...
Read the story ›G
The Grecians
The earliest printed use found is a December 1901 newspaper match preview. The leading theory links it to the St Sidwell's area of Exeter, outside the old city walls...
Read the story ›The Gulls
Torquay were founded in 1899 and originally wore black and white stripes, so they were known as the Magpies. In 1954 they switched to yellow and blue to reflect the to...
Read the story ›The Gunners
In 1886 a group of workers at the Royal Arsenal armaments factory in Woolwich, south-east London, started a football team and called it Dial Square. The club soon beca...
Read the story ›H
The Hamlet
The Hamlet is simply a short form of the club's name. Dulwich Hamlet were founded in 1893.
Read the story ›The Hammers
West Ham grew out of Thames Ironworks, a team formed by workers at the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company in east London. Both of the club's nicknames, the Hamm...
Read the story ›The Hatters
Two hat-making towns, one nickname.
Read the story ›L
The Lionesses
The name began with Millwall Lionesses, who linked up with Millwall, known as the Lions, and became the first women's team to affiliate with a professional men's club...
Read the story ›M
The Moneys
The club formed in 1987 as Portsmouth Civil Service and became Moneyfields in 1994, after the Moneyfield Avenue ground in Baffins, Portsmouth, a former Portsmouth FC t...
Read the story ›P
The Pirates
Bristol Rovers' official nickname reflects the city's maritime heritage. Their other nickname, the Gas, began as a jibe from Bristol City fans about the gasworks next...
Read the story ›R
The Rams
Derby began in 1884 as a winter offshoot of Derbyshire County Cricket Club. The Rams nickname honours the town's link to the First Regiment of Derby Militia, and the r...
Read the story ›The Reds
Liverpool were already called the Reds before Bill Shankly introduced the all-red kit in the 1960s. The club was formed in 1892 by John Houlding to fill Anfield after...
Read the story ›S
The Saints
Southampton started in November 1885 as St Mary's Church of England Young Men's Association, a church team, which gave the Saints nickname. It became St Mary's FC in 1...
Read the story ›Spurs
The club started as Hotspur Cricket Club in 1880 and added football in 1882. Hotspur is commonly linked to Sir Henry Percy, the medieval knight nicknamed for charging...
Read the story ›T
The Tractor Girls
Tractor Boys is recent and began as a jibe. In September 2000, while Ipswich were winning 2-1 at Leeds, the home fans chanted that they were being beaten by a bunch of...
Read the story ›The Tricky Trees
Forest began in 1865 when shinty players at the Clinton Arms pub, led by J. S. Scrimshaw, decided to play football instead. They bought twelve tasselled caps in Gariba...
Read the story ›V
The Villans
Aston Villa began in 1874 when members of a cricket side attached to the Villa Cross Wesleyan chapel in Birmingham wanted something to play over winter. The club took...
Read the story ›W
Wolves
Wolves is a short form of Wolverhampton Wanderers. The club started in 1877 as St Luke's FC, formed by two pupils from St Luke's Church School in Blakenhall, and merge...
Read the story ›No nicknames match your search.