How Did New York Get the Name “The Big Apple?”

New York is the nation's top apple growing state, just behind Washington state. So that's how New York got the name of "The Big Apple," right? Case closed? Article over? That's it? Not quite! Turns out, one of New York's most popular nicknames has nothing to do with it's apple production.

Before "The Big Apple," New York Was "The Big Orange"

Before New York got the monicker of an apple, it was known as a different fruit: the orange. Again; however, the name was not derived from any kind of orange farming. Long before New York City was nicknamed the Big Apple, it was known briefly as New Orange. In 1673, the Dutch captured New York from the English and dubbed it New Orange in honor of William III of Orange. However, the following year, the city reverted to English control and its former name.

The Wayfarer in New York Coined The Phrase "The Big Apple?"

The Oxford English Dictionary reports its first known inference of New York in this context in 1909. Used only to imply a big and important place, “the big apple city” in context just happens to be New York. From Edward Martin’s introduction in the Wayfarer in New York:  “It [sc. the Mid-West] inclines to think that the big apple [sc. New York] gets a disproportionate share of the national sap.” The editors of the OED actually address the early usage, “which, though referring to New York, is part of an extended metaphor and appears to be an isolated use.”

How New York Got The Name "The Big Apple"

New York City's nickname, "The Big Apple," is also said to be originated in the 1920s in reference to the prizes, or "big apples", awarded at racetracks in and around the city. The term may have been popularized by John J. Fitz Gerald, a reporter for the New York Morning Telegraph who wrote a racing column called "Around the Big Apple". Fitz Gerald may have heard the term from African-American stable hands in New Orleans who referred to New York City's racetracks as "the Big Apple". The term also had a popular meaning in betting, referring to a sure thing.

We Have Jazz to Thank For "The Big Apple"

The nickname became more widespread in the 1930s when jazz musicians began using it in their songs to refer to New York City as the premier place for jazz music. The phrase "There are many apples on the tree, but only one Big Apple" was also an old saying in show business.

When "The Big Apple" Name Stuck

The nickname wasn't officially adopted until the 1970s as part of a tourism campaign to attract visitors. Ad executive Bill Phillips created ads that featured the NYC skyline on an apple and the idea that "you have to be a little crazy to live in New York". The ads were printed in newspapers, on buses, and on subways.