"Gotham" didn't start with Batman — its origins can be traced back to medieval England and the name of a real village in Nottinghamshire. In the 19th century, writer Washington Irving used "Gotham" to refer to New York City in his satirical journal "Salmagundi." While Irving likely used the term to poke fun at the city, New Yorkers embraced the epithet.

The village of Put-in-Bay, Ohio, sits on South Bass Island in Lake Erie — a 20-minute ferry ride from the mainland. The popular summer destination gets its nickname from its Caribbean feel and laid-back vibe. While only 300 residents live there full-time, the population swells during peak tourist season, when more than 750,000 visitors arrive on its shores.

Douglas, Wyoming, considers itself the birthplace of the mythical jackalope — so much so that the town has become the self-proclaimed "Jackalope Capital of the World." Douglas is home to several gigantic jackalope statues, one of which stands eight feet tall in Jackalope Square.

Historians trace Boston's "Hub of the Universe" nickname to "The Autocrat at the Breakfast Table," an 1858 series of essays by Oliver Wendell Holmes. Holmes wrote that the "Boston State-House is the hub of the solar system," which evolved to "hub of the universe." He likely meant it as satire, but the nickname (often shortened to “the Hub”) gained popularity anyway.

Wisconsin may not seem like a great place to catch a wave, but locals have been hanging ten in Sheboygan for more than 50 years. The city juts out five miles into Lake Michigan, which — combined with winds from the northeast or southwest — creates big swells in multiple directions. You'll want to grab a wetsuit for peak season, which runs from late August to early April.

After losing out on the 1972 Republican National Convention to Miami, mayor Pete Wilson attempted to make San Diegans feel better by declaring an "America's Finest City Week" celebration. The nickname had previously been used in "Look" magazine to describe the city, and despite its self-indulgent wording, the phrase remains in continuous use today.

One of the reasons Kansas City earned its Parisian nickname was its seedy nightlife. In the 1930s, an "Omaha World Herald" reporter claimed, "If you want to see some sin, forget about Paris and go to Kansas City." The city's combination of jazz music, gambling, tree-lined boulevards, and over 200 water fountains drew continued comparisons to Paris, and the nickname eventually stuck.

President John Quincy Adams visited Baltimore in 1827 and dubbed it "the Monumental City" for the many monuments located through the Maryland metropolis. Baltimore was later redubbed "Charm City" as part of a 1970s advertising campaign that encouraged potential tourists to come and explore its hidden charms.

Known as "America’s Little Switzerland," New Glarus doesn't have mountains, but it does have chalet-style architecture, a Swiss Village Historical Museum, restaurants serving Swiss cuisine, and a calendar full of Swiss-themed festivals and events. The town was founded in 1845 by a group of Swiss settlers from the Glarus canton of Switzerland, and it still attracts visitors from the European country today.

Like Hawaii, Las Vegas relies heavily on tourism and the hospitality industry to support its economy — but it tends to be more affordable and offers a higher standard of living for less. As a result, there's a large community of Hawaiians in and around the city, which has earned it the “Ninth Island” nickname.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was built on the spot where the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River come together to form the Ohio River, so it should come as no surprise that the city is chock-full of bridges. (At last count, there were 446 — more than in Venice, Italy!)

No, it doesn’t have anything to do with Gotham. Instead, the nickname “Bat City” is a reference to Austin’s Congress Avenue Bridge, which is home to roughly 1.5 million bats — the largest urban bat colony in the world. The Bat City nickname also fits well with Austin’s most well-known slogan: “Keep it weird.”

Located in southeastern Pennsylvania, Hershey was the brainchild of candy magnate Milton S. Hershey, who built his manufacturing plant in Derry Church (now known as Hershey) in 1903. The region is home to the Hersheypark amusement park, which features 70 rides — including a new roller coaster called Candymonium.

There are a few theories on the origins of Miami’s “Magic City” nickname. Some say the moniker originated in the 1920s, as the city had “grown like magic.” But it may have been a marketing gimmick to sell real estate. The Florida East Coast Railway was built in 1896, and the nickname started to catch on when it was published in a magazine in an effort to attract out-of-state residents.

NYC's most famous moniker first gained popularity in the 1920s, after sports writer John FItz Gerald used it in his column about horse racing. He reportedly picked it up from a couple of Black stable hands in New Orleans, who referred to New York's racetrack circuit as "the big apple." Jazz musicians adopted it soon after, and in the 1970s, a tourism campaign cemented it as New York's official nickname.

Unlike the fictional Oz, Seattle earned its "Emerald City" nickname due to its surrounding evergreen trees that remain green year-round. The nickname is similar to Washington state's nickname, "the Evergreen State." Seattle was first dubbed "Emerald City" in 1982 as part of a contest held by the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Portland's "Stumptown" nickname dates to the mid-19th century, when Oregon's population was booming. At the time, the land was heavily forested, and workers clearing brush for new settlers often chose to chop down trees and leave the stumps rather than pull them up by their roots — hence, "Stumptown." Other places in Indiana, Virginia, and West Virginia have also been nicknamed "Stumptown."

Once known as the "Bayou City," Houston earned its more popular nickname after being selected as the location for NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center, which opened in 1961. Houston leaned into this new galactic moniker, even changing its MLB team's name from the Colt .45s to the Astros. Each Apollo mission was run out of Houston, and the city continues to help operate the International Space Station.

Named by its founder William Penn, who established the city as a land of religious tolerance free of any persecution, Philadelphia combines two Greek words: "phileo," meaning "love," and "adelphos," meaning "brother." It's this literal translation that inspired Philadelphia's popular nickname, "the City of Brotherly Love."

Reno’s reputation as the "Biggest Little City" dates back to the early 20th century, when a heavyweight championship bout attracted thousands of spectators to the town, which surprised visitors with its many cosmopolitan amenities. In 1929, the city held a contest to adopt an official slogan, and "Biggest Little CIty in the World" won handily.

Nashville's most famous nickname is a reference to the city's centuries-long history as a music hub. Legend has it that when Queen Victoria saw a performance by the Fisk Jubilee Singers from Fisk University in the 1800s, she remarked that they must have come from "Music City." The nickname stuck — as have others such as "Athens of the South" and "Nash Vegas."

The origins of New Orleans’ “Big Easy” moniker are debated, but one theory traces it to an early 20th-century dance hall called the Big Easy. Other accounts attribute it to James Conway's 1970 crime novel of the same name, or to newspaper columnist Betty Guillaud, who is said to have popularized it in the 1960s.

Denver is nicknamed the "Mile High City" for one simple reason — it sits 5,280 feet (one mile) above sea level. Several landmarks commemorate its height, including the 15th step at the Colorado State Capitol and the 20th row of the upper deck at Coors Field (which is colored a unique purple to signify being located exactly one mile high).

First coined in the 1840s, the “Twin Cities” nickname refers to Minnesota’s two largest cities, which straddle the Mississippi River. Minneapolis is the state’s most populous city, while St. Paul is the state capital. The two cities share many of the same political, educational, and cultural institutions — hence their shared nickname.

One obvious reason for Chicago’s nickname, “the Windy City,” may be the frequent breezes that blow across the city from Lake Michigan. But according to a popular theory, Chicago may have earned the nickname due to its long-winded politicians in the late 1800s, who were deemed to be “full of hot air.”

Detroit, Michigan, earned its nickname “Motown” thanks to the auto industry that flourished there in the 20th century. “Motown” is a portmanteau of “motor” and “town,” which is why Detroit is also known as the Motor City. Auto tycoons Henry Ford and Ransom Olds originally chose Detroit because it was abundant in resources necessary for manufacturing. By 1924, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler were all based in Detroit.