Ranking the best and worst nicknames for North Carolina
The definitive nickname power rankings, from the clunkers to the keepers
In my column this week on North Carolina’s growing love affair with toll roads, I mentioned one of our old nicknames: The Good Roads State.
That little aside got me thinking about all the other nicknames our state has picked up over the years — some poetic, some quirky, and some we’d probably rather forget.
Before the countdown, go do two things:
1️⃣ Read my column on why toll roads aren’t the North Carolina way.
2️⃣ See my quick video on Instagram about why North Carolina is obsessed with toll roads right now — and hit follow while you’re there.
10 N.C. nicknames, ranked
10. The Turpentine State
In the 1800s, we were the world’s leading producer of tar, pitch, and turpentine — vital for shipbuilding. It’s a big part of our history, but as a nickname, it’s… sticky in the wrong way. Nobody’s putting this on a T-shirt.
9. Land of the Sky
This one comes from an 1876 novel and has been used mostly for Asheville and the mountains. Pretty words, but too vague to mean much. “Big Sky Country” works o…