Presidents of the United States The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. The officeholder leads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

have often acquired nicknames, both flattering and unflattering. This list is intended to note those nicknames that were in common use at the time they were in office or shortly thereafter.

George Washington

* The American

Cincinnatus Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus ( – ) was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a legendary figure of Roman virtue—particularly civic virtue—by the time of the late Republic. Cincinnatus ...

: Like the famous Roman, he won a war, then became a private citizen instead of seeking power or riches as a reward. He became the first president general of the Society of the Cincinnati, formed by Revolutionary War officers who also "declined offers of power and position to return to his home and plough". * The American

Fabius In Roman mythology, Fabius was the son of Hercules and an unnamed mother. In "The Life of Fabius Maximus" from the '' Parallel Lives'' by Plutarch, Fabius, the first of his name, was the son of Hercules by a nymph or a woman native to the coun ...

for his Fabian military strategy during the Revolutionary War * The Father of His Country

John Adams

* The Colossus of Independence for his leadership in Congress in 1776 * Old Sink or Swim, for the speech in which he vowed "sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I am with my country from this day on." * His Rotundity for his girthy bodily figure

Thomas Jefferson

* The Apostle of Democracy * The Man of the People * The Sage of

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

James Madison

* Little Jemmy or His Little Majesty: at only , the shortest U.S. president * Father of the Constitution

James Monroe

* The Era of Good Feelings President for "The

Era of Good Feelings The Era of Good Feelings marked a period in the political history of the United States that reflected a sense of national purpose and a desire for unity among Americans in the aftermath of the War of 1812. The era saw the collapse of the Fed ...

", the period following the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, during which America became less divided politically, to the extent that the only opponents of the ruling Democratic Republicans, the Federalist Party, went out of existence. It was not until resistance to Andrew Jackson's policies produced the Whig Party that oppositional politics resumed in the United States. * The Last Cocked Hat because he was the last U.S. president to wear a

tricorne hat The tricorne or tricorn is a style of hat that was popular during the 18th century, falling out of style by 1800, though actually not called a "tricorne" until the mid-19th century. During the 18th century, hats of this general style were referr ...

according to the old-fashioned style of the 18th century.

John Quincy Adams

* Old Man Eloquent or The Abolitionist: famed for routinely bringing up the slavery issue against Congressional rules, and for his role later on in the ''Amistad'' case. He is the only American president to be elected to the House of Representatives after his presidency. The nickname gained currency as a result of his campaign against slavery waged as a congressman, and as the attorney in the Amistad case.

Andrew Jackson

* The Hero of New Orleans for his military victory in the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

* Old Hickory, allegedly given to him by his soldiers for being as "tough as old hickory" * King Mob * King Andrew for his supposedly excessive use of the veto power * Jackass: Andrew Jackson's critics disparaged him as a "Jackass"; however, Jackson embraced the animal, making it the unofficial symbol of the Democratic Party.

Martin Van Buren

* The American Talleyrand * The Careful Dutchman: Van Buren's first language was Dutch. * The Enchanter * The Great Manager * The Master Spirit * Martin Van Ruin * Matty Van from "Tippecanoe Songs of 1840" * The Mistletoe Politician, so called by Joseph Peyton of Tennessee, a Whig opponent, who charged that "Martin Van Buren was a mere political parasite, a branch of mistletoe, that owed its elevation, its growth--nay, its very existence, to the tall trunk of an aged hickory" (i.e. Andrew Jackson). * Old Kinderhook (OK), a reference to his home town * Red Fox of Kinderhook, a reference to his red hair and home town * The Little Magician: given to him during his time in the state of New York, because of his smooth politics and short stature

William Henry Harrison

* General Mum, as in the expression, "keep it mum," because of his avoidance of speaking out on controversial issues during his election campaign * Tippecanoe or also Old Tippecanoe, a reference to Harrison's victory at the 1811

Battle of Tippecanoe The Battle of Tippecanoe ( ) was fought on November 7, 1811, in Battle Ground, Indiana, between American forces led by then Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and Native American forces associated with Shawnee leader Tecum ...

; used in the campaign song Tippecanoe and Tyler Too during the 1840 presidential election * Washington of the West, a reference to Harrison's victories at the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe and 1813

Battle of the Thames The Battle of the Thames , also known as the Battle of Moraviantown, was an American victory in the War of 1812 against Tecumseh's Confederacy and their British allies. It took place on October 5, 1813, in Upper Canada, near Chatham. The Britis ...

John Tyler

* His Accidency, a nickname given by his opponents; the first president to be elevated to the presidency by the death of his predecessor, William Henry Harrison

James K. Polk

* Napoleon of the Stump for his short stature and potent oratory skills * Young Hickory because he was a particular protégé of "Old Hickory", Andrew Jackson

Zachary Taylor

* Old Rough and Ready

Millard Fillmore

* The American

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

Franklin Pierce

* Young Hickory of the Granite Hills: "Young Hickory" compared his military deeds (in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

) with those of Andrew Jackson. "The Granite Hills" were his home state of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

* Handsome Frank

James Buchanan

* Old Public Functionary, used by Buchanan in his December 1859 State of the Union address and adopted by newspapers * Old Buck, from a shortening of his last name, used later in life * Bachelor President, per his unmarried status * Ten-Cent Jimmy: derogatory, as a reaction to Buchanan's campaign statement that ten cents a day was decent pay for a worker

Abraham Lincoln

* The Ancient One, Association of Lincoln Presenters, Lincoln Quotes, "LINCOLN had many nicknames such as Honest Abe, the Railsplitter, the Liberator, the Emancipator, the Ancient One, the Martyr". a nickname favored by White House insiders because of his "ancient wisdom" * The Great Emancipator and The Liberator for the emancipation of the slaves * Honest Abe * The Rail-Splitter * The Tycoon, for the energetic and ambitious conduct of his Civil War administration * Uncle Abe for his avuncularity in his later years

Andrew Johnson

* The Tennessee Tailor for his career as a tailor before going into politics

Ulysses S. Grant

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

Grant, a name given to him by his classmates at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

* Unconditional Surrender Grant, a

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

for his uncompromising demand for

unconditional surrender An unconditional surrender is a surrender in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. It is often demanded with the threat of complete destruction, extermination or annihilation. In modern times, unconditional surrenders most ofte ...

during the

Battle of Fort Donelson The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11–16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The Union capture of the Confederate fort near the Tennessee–Kentucky border opened the Cumberland River, an important ave ...

in 1862, which made him a hero

Rutherford B. Hayes

* Rutherfraud or His Fraudulency, because after the disputed results of the 1876 Election, many Democrats did not consider him legitimately to be president

James Garfield

* Boatman Jim, referencing his work on the Ohio canals in his youth * Preacher President

Chester A. Arthur

* Chet, shortened version of his name used by publications of that era * Gentleman Boss, as the dapper leader of New York State's Republican party * Prince Arthur and The Dude President for his fancy attire and indulgence in extravagant luxury

Grover Cleveland

* His Obstinacy; he vetoed more bills than the first 21 presidents combined * Uncle Jumbo * Grover the Good for his honesty and public integrity

Benjamin Harrison

* The Front Porch Campaigner; during the 1888 election, he gave nearly ninety speeches from his front porch to crowds gathered in the yard of his Indianapolis home; this nickname has been widely but erroneously attributed to William McKinley * The Human Iceberg, although he could warmly engage a crowd with his speeches, he was cold and detached when speaking with people on an individual basis * Little Ben, given to him by Democrats of his era because of his stature; this could also be a reference to his being the grandson of former president William Henry Harrison, who had served fifty years before

William McKinley

* The Napoleon of Protection, referring to high tariffs such as the one he wrote in 1890 * Big Bill

Theodore Roosevelt

* The Hero of

San Juan Hill San Juan Hill is a series of hills to the east of Santiago, Cuba, running north to south. The area is known as the San Juan Heights or in Spanish ''Alturas de San Juan'' before Spanish–American War of 1898, and are now part of Lomas de San Ju ...

for leading his

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and di ...

up San Juan Hill during the

Battle of Santiago de Cuba The Battle of Santiago de Cuba was a decisive naval engagement that occurred on July 3, 1898 between an American fleet, led by William T. Sampson and Winfield Scott Schley, against a Spanish fleet led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, which occurre ...

in 1898 * The Lion * Teddy: Used in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' at least as early as 1900, even though he hated the nickname * TR for signing communications this way; perhaps the first president to be known by his initials * The Trust Buster, so called as a pioneer of

busting ''Busting'' is a 1974 American crime film directed by Peter Hyams in his theatrical directorial debut, starring Elliott Gould and Robert Blake as Los Angeles police detectives. It was the main inspiration for the cop series ''Starsky & Hutch'', ...

business trusts * The Colonel, for his

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * ...

in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

William Howard Taft

* Big Chief * Big Lub, boyhood nickname

Woodrow Wilson

* The Phrasemaker: as an acclaimed historian, Wilson had no need of speech-writers to supply his oratorical eloquence * The Schoolmaster: a bespectacled academic who lectured his visitors

Warren G. Harding

* Wobbly Warren

Calvin Coolidge

* Cautious Cal * Cool Cal: His reelection campaign used the slogan, "Keep It Cool With Coolidge" * Silent Cal

Herbert Hoover

* The Great Engineer and The Great Humanitarian: He was a civil engineer of some distinction and when the Mississippi burst its banks in 1927, engulfing thousands of acres of agricultural land, he volunteered his services and did extensive flood control work. The latter nickname would later be used facetiously in reference to his perceived indifference to the hardships faced by his constituents during the Great Depression. However, the nickname dates back to 1921, when the ARA under Hoover saved millions of Russians suffering from famine. "It was such considerations that

Walter Lippmann Walter Lippmann (September 23, 1889 – December 14, 1974) was an American writer, reporter and political commentator. With a career spanning 60 years, he is famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War, coining the te ...

took into account when he wrote of Hoover's Russian undertaking in the New York World in May 1922: 'probably no other living man could have done nearly so much.'" * The Chief, a nickname picked up at 23 as a geologist surveying in the

Australian Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

, that stuck for the rest of his life

Franklin D. Roosevelt

* FDR * That Man in the White House *Sphinx

Harry S. Truman

* Give 'Em Hell Harry (also a campaign slogan)

Dwight D. Eisenhower

* Ike, known for being in his campaign slogan " I like Ike"

John F. Kennedy

* Jack, Kennedy was usually referred to as either "John F. Kennedy" or "Jack Kennedy" * JFK, most prominent nickname and abbreviation of his full name

Lyndon B. Johnson

* Bullshit Johnson (Bull Johnson in public) for his reputation for

boasting Boasting or bragging is speaking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities. Boasting occurs when someone feels a sense of satisfaction or when someone feels that whatever occurred proves thei ...

at Southwest Texas State Teachers College * Landslide Lyndon, ironic reference to the

Box 13 scandal The Box 13 scandal was a political scandal that occurred in Jim Wells County, Texas during the Senate election of 1948, regarding disputed votes in a Democratic primary involving Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908 ...

, a hotly disputed 87-vote win that put him into the Senate in 1948, which became more appropriate in his supporters' eyes following his victory in the 1964 presidential election * Light-Bulb Lyndon, because he hated wasting electricity, and would often storm around the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

shutting off unnecessary lights * LBJ; he liked to be known by this abbreviation, which was used in the campaign slogan, "All the way with LBJ"; later it would be used in the Anti-

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

political slogan The following is a list of notable political slogans. Political slogan (listed alphabetically) A * Abki baar Modi Sarkar – Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign slogan for 2014 Indian Parliamentary Elections * ACT UP, Fight Back, Fight AIDS – ...

"Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?"

Richard Nixon

* Tricky Dick, from a Democratic Party ad leading up to the 1950 U.S. Senate election in California saying "Look at 'Tricky Dick' Nixon's Republican Record"

Gerald Ford

* Jerry * Mr. Nice Guy for his clean-cut and non-partisan image

Jimmy Carter

* Jimmy, the first president to use his nickname in an official capacity, rather than his first name James. * The Peanut Farmer, he owned a peanut farm and fostered this image in his early campaigns, as a contrast to elite Washington insiders

Ronald Reagan

* Dutch: shortly after his birth, his father said he looked like a "fat little Dutchman"; reinforced when he wore a Dutch boy haircut (see

pageboy The pageboy or page boy is a past hairstyle named after what was believed to be the haircut of a late medieval page boy. It has straight hair hanging to below the ear, where it usually turns under. There is often a fringe (bangs) in the front. T ...

) as a youngster * The Great Communicator for his ability to communicate * The Gipper, after his role as George "The Gipper" Gipp in the film ''

Knute Rockne, All American ''Knute Rockne, All American'' is a 1940 American biographical film that tells the story of Knute Rockne, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame's legendary football coach. It stars Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien as Rockne and Ronald Reagan as pl ...

''. Gipp exhorted his teammates to "Win one for the Gipper". * The Teflon President, coined by Rep.

Patricia Schroeder Patricia Nell Scott Schroeder (born July 30, 1940) is an American politician who represented Colorado in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Schroeder was the first female U.S. Repres ...

because nothing negative "stuck to" him (like a

Teflon Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemo ...

skillet); he remained blame-free in the eyes of the American people

George H. W. Bush

* 41, Papa Bush, Bush 41, Bush Senior, Senior, and similar names that were used after his son

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

became the 43rd president, to differentiate between the two * Poppy, a nickname used from childhood on

Bill Clinton

* Bubba, common nickname for males in the Southern U.S. * Slick Willie, a term originally coined when he was Governor of Arkansas and popularized by newspaper ''Pine Bluff Commercial'', whose staff disagreed with his political views. * The Comeback Kid, coined by press after strong second place showing in 1992 New Hampshire primary, following polling slump * The First Black President, used by

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' So ...

in reference to the

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

tropes surrounding Clinton's candidacy * The Big Dog, used by several media outlets in regard to his post-presidential popularity

George W. Bush

* 43, Bush Jr., Junior, Bush 43, and similar names, used to differentiate him from his father * Dubya, or Dumb Dubyah, based on a Texas pronunciation of " W"

Barack Obama

* No Drama Obama, for his cautious and meticulous presidential campaign in 2007–08 and for his patient, relaxed demeanor * Deporter in Chief, for deporting more than 3 million undocumented immigrants during his administration, more than any of his predecessors

Donald Trump

* The Donald since his first wife

Ivana Trump Ivana Marie Trump (, ; February 20, 1949 – July 14, 2022) was a Czech-American businesswoman, media personality, socialite, fashion designer, author, and model. Ivana lived in Canada in the 1970s before relocating to the United States and m ...

referred to him as such in a 1989 '' Spy'' magazine cover story * 45, the 45, and similar names, referencing his being the 45th president, and his penchant for wearing monogrammed "45" apparel * Conspiracy Theorist-in-Chief, for his penchant for promoting

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

* President Snowflake and Snowflake-in-Chief using the term "

Snowflake A snowflake is a single ice crystal that has achieved a sufficient size, and may have amalgamated with others, which falls through the Earth's atmosphere as snow.Knight, C.; Knight, N. (1973). Snow crystals. Scientific American, vol. 228, no. ...

", for his poor reactions to criticism, particularly on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and regarding the Mueller probe and related investigations * Donald Drumpf, popularized by British-American comedian

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...

in a segment of his show * The Great

MAGA Maga or MAGA may refer to: MAGA * Make America Great Again, a political slogan famously used by Donald Trump * Museo MAGA, a modern-art museum in Gallarate, Italy * ''maga'', the logo of the Cornish Language Partnership, an organisation promot ...

King, used by Joe Biden in 2022 during a fundraiser.

Joe Biden

* Amtrak Joe, from his association with

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

trains, which he would use to commute to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

* Brandon, Dark Brandon or Joe Brandon, based on the anti-Biden

Let's Go Brandon "Let's Go Brandon" is a political slogan and Internet meme used as a substitute for the phrase "Fuck Joe Biden" in reference to Joe Biden, the 46th and current president of the United States. Chants of "Fuck Joe Biden" began during sporting ...

". * Diamond Joe, became common usage from portrayals of Joe Biden in the satirical magazine ''

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satire, satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on ...

'' * Middle Class Joe, from his being the poorest

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

* Sleepy Joe, and Sloppy Joe, pejorative

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

used by opponent

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

and his supporters, most prominently in the 2020 United States presidential election, to attack Biden as 'mentally slow' * Uncle Joe and Uncle-in-Chief, also derived from portrayals in ''The Onion''

Notes

:1. He has gained fame around the world as a quintessential example of a benevolent national founder. Gordon Wood concludes that the greatest act in his life was his resignation as commander of the armies—an act that stunned aristocratic Europe. The earliest known image in which Washington is identified as such is on the cover of the circa 1778 Pennsylvania German almanac (Lancaster: Gedruckt bey Francis Bailey). :2. Compare to

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

(and former President of the European Commission)

Romano Prodi Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Pr ...

's nickname Il Professore (the professor/schoolteacher).

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:United States Presidents, Nicknames Of, List Of

Nicknames A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

Lists of nicknames Nicknames of politicians