Last Updated: 20 September 2026
Football Nickname Origins: The Truth and the Myths Behind Four Famous Names
Football nickname origins are rarely the tidy stories supporters assume. West Ham are the Hammers because of the shipyard that built the club, not because of the borough. Arsenal are the Gunners because they started among munitions workers in Woolwich, south-east London. Everton are the Toffees after the sweet shops of one Liverpool district. Manchester United borrowed the Red Devils from a Salford rugby club. Each name grew from a real trade or place, as our On This Day football history series keeps showing.
These four clubs were born into working England: two heavy-industry works teams, one neighbourhood trade, one name carried across a city from another sport. None came from a marketing department.
Watch the Full Football Nicknames Documentary
Four famous nicknames, four true origins, told in full on the channel.
Key Facts
Quick context before you watch:
- West Ham: Founded 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC; the Hammers and the Irons both predate the West Ham United name adopted in 1900.
- Arsenal: Founded 1886 in Woolwich as Dial Square; a south London club until the move to Highbury in 1913.
- Everton: Formed 1878, at Goodison Park from 1892; the Toffees name comes from local sweet shops.
- Manchester United: Newton Heath from 1878, Manchester United from 1902; Red Devils only from around 1960.
- Molly Bushell: The Everton toffee maker died in 1818, sixty years before the football club existed.
- Salford link: United’s devil came from Salford rugby league, dubbed Les Diables Rouges on a 1934 tour of France.
- The pattern: Every one of these football nickname origins grew from a real trade or place, never a slogan.
Watch the Full Football Nicknames Documentary
Where four famous names really came from.
West Ham and the shipyard: where the Hammers really came from
Where the Hammers really began: the ironworks
West Ham started in 1895 as a works side of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company in Canning Town, under the yard’s owner Arnold Hills, one of football’s early mavericks. According to ClubFans, the Irons springs straight from the word Ironworks in that first title. Fabrik Brands traces the Hammers to the same root, the original ironworks team. That is why the crest later settled on two crossed hammers, not a borough emblem.
The same yard launched HMS Warrior on Bow Creek on 29 December 1860, recorded by Royal Museums Greenwich as the first iron-hulled, armour-plated warship of its kind.
Why it is not West-HAM-mers
The popular story reads the Hammers as a pun on West Ham. West Ham Zone refuses it: the nicknames run back to Thames Ironworks in 1895, five years before that identity, not to the borough. The club did not become West Ham United until 1900, when the original works team disbanded and relaunched under the borough name. A nickname five years older than the name cannot have been coined from it; the sound is a coincidence that stuck. The crossed-hammers crest came later still: Fabrik Brands’ badge timeline shows crossed hammers by 1923. The very first Thames Ironworks kit carried a Union Flag and the club’s initials, no hammers at all.
Watch the Full Football Nicknames Documentary
The shipyard, the sweet shops and the rugby club, all in one film.
Arsenal and Woolwich: the Gunners were born south of the river
Born in the Royal Arsenal munitions works
Royal Arsenal History records that a group of Royal Arsenal munitions workers in Woolwich founded a club called Dial Square in 1886, named after a workshop with a sundial above one of the factory gates. The same source dates the first match to 11 December 1886 on the Isle of Dogs, after which the side was renamed Royal Arsenal on Christmas Day. According to Arsenal.com, the Gunners tag honours the arms factory those founders worked in, which is why cannons run through successive versions of the badge.
Two dates are often blurred together and should stay apart. The club turned professional in 1891, and only two years later, on joining the Football League, took the name Woolwich Arsenal in 1893. The Woolwich Arsenal historians add a correction: after the 2 May 1891 vote to turn professional, 250 to 10, the club resigned from the London FA and Kent FA, whose cups were amateur-only. The familiar story that Arsenal were expelled or thrown out is wrong.
The south-east London years everyone forgets
Most fans picture Arsenal as a north London institution and Tottenham’s oldest enemy. Yet Goal.com notes the club spent its first twenty-seven years in Woolwich, south-east London, and did not cross to Highbury until 1913, long before there was a north London derby to argue over. Even the famous cannon misleads. Arsenal’s crest history shows the single gun pointed west in 1921/22, swung east for 1922/23, then turned west again from 1925/26, where it stayed until Goal.com dates the 2002 redesign that finally set it facing east. Any confident claim about which way the cannon points is only true for one era.
Watch the Full Football Nicknames Documentary
See how a Woolwich arms factory named a north London giant.
Everton and the toffee shops of a Liverpool district
A neighbourhood known for its sweets
Everton grew out of a church side, St Domingo’s, in 1878, took the district’s name soon after, and settled at Goodison Park in 1892. The Everton area had been known for its toffee shops since the 1700s, so according to NBC Sports the Toffees name fitted the club as soon as it arrived at Goodison. Two shops feed the tale: Mother Noblett’s, which sold the striped Everton Mint, and Ye Anciente Everton Toffee House run by Ma Bushell. Which one truly gave the nickname is unresolved, since both were pressing sweets on the same crowds.
Molly Bushell was long dead
The romantic version has the toffee maker Molly Bushell handing sweets to Everton supporters. According to England In Particular, she created the Everton Toffee but died in 1818, a full sixty years before the club came together, so she never met a single fan. Her recipe outlived her, passing to the Nobletts firm in 1894. There is a second twist: the Toffee Lady mostly throws Everton Mints before kick-off, not toffees; the practical reason usually given is that a wrapped hard mint travels better than sticky toffee. ToffeeWeb reports the tradition was revived for the 2025/26 season at their new stadium after the club left Goodison.
Manchester United and a borrowed devil from Salford
From the Heathens to the Red Devils
United began as Newton Heath in 1878, a team of Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway workers whom manunited.uk records as the Heathens after the district. The same account notes the club was rebuilt after a winding-up order and renamed Manchester United on 24 April 1902, and once the shirts turned red it became simply the Reds. The best-known name came much later, in this sequence:
- The Heathens, from the Newton Heath years.
- The Reds, once the club wore red.
- The Busby Babes, Matt Busby’s young side of the 1950s.
- The Red Devils, adopted from around 1960.
According to NBC Sports, Busby sought a more intimidating identity after the Munich air disaster of 1958 made the Busby Babes name too painful to keep. He found it in Salford rugby league, based about four miles from Old Trafford and playing in red. Total Rugby League records that French journalists christened Salford Les Diables Rouges, the Red Devils, on their 1934 tour of France, and GiveMeSport notes Busby had the devil put on United’s programmes and scarves.
A devil borrowed, not invented
Two ideas need correcting. The first is that Red Devils was always United’s name; in truth it is the fourth nickname in the line, replacing the Munich-scarred Busby Babes. The second is that a slick agency cooked up the devil; it was a straight borrowing from a neighbouring rugby club, named by the French press decades earlier. As for the crest, NBC Sports and GiveMeSport commonly date the devil’s arrival to 1973, though it was on programmes and scarves from the 1960s, so the exact year is best treated with care.
READ MORE: More football history, one date at a time, in our On This Day series →
Watch the Full Football Nicknames Documentary
How a Salford rugby side handed United its most famous name.
Why these football nickname origins still matter
The pattern across four football nickname origins
Side by side, the four names tell one story: identity from work, from place, and once from another sport. The table below sets the fan version against the record.
| Club | The popular story | What the records show |
|---|---|---|
| West Ham | Hammers is short for West Ham | Hammers and Irons date to Thames Ironworks in 1895, before the 1900 name change |
| Arsenal | Always a north London club | Founded in Woolwich in 1886; moved to Highbury only in 1913 |
| Everton | Molly Bushell threw toffees to fans | She died in 1818; the Toffee Lady actually throws Everton Mints |
| Manchester United | Red Devils was always the name | Fourth nickname, borrowed from Salford rugby league around 1960 |
Why the wrong story sticks
The neat explanation wins because it is easy to repeat: a pun on the borough, a north London badge, a kindly sweet-seller. The real answers are messier and better, rooted in shipyards, arms factories, corner shops and a rugby tour. Knowing where a name came from is knowing where the club came from.
Watch the Full Football Nicknames Documentary
Four clubs, four true origins, one short film on the channel.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Football Nickname Origins
Where do West Ham’s nicknames the Hammers and the Irons come from?
Both come from Thames Ironworks, the shipbuilding firm whose works team was founded in 1895. The Irons is a direct nod to the Ironworks in that first name. The Hammers, according to Fabrik Brands, points to the original ironworks team, whose crossed hammers came to sit on the badge.
Is the West Ham nickname the Hammers really short for West Ham?
No, and the dates prove it. The Hammers belongs to the Thames Ironworks club from 1895, five years before the side became West Ham United in 1900. A nickname that old cannot have been shortened from a name the club had not yet taken, so the West-HAM echo is coincidence.
Were crossed hammers on the West Ham badge from the start in 1895?
No, the earliest Thames Ironworks kit carried a Union Flag and the club’s initials, not hammers. Fabrik Brands’ badge timeline shows crossed hammers by 1923. The hammers as a symbol are older than the crest that fixed them.
What was West Ham United’s original name?
West Ham United began as Thames Ironworks FC, founded in 1895 by the shipyard owner Arnold Hills as a works team of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company in Canning Town. The club took the name West Ham United in 1900, when the original works side disbanded and relaunched under the borough name. Both the Hammers and the Irons are older than that 1900 change.
Are West Ham nicknamed the Hammers or the Irons?
Both, and both come from the same root. The Irons is the older, more literal nod to the Thames Ironworks, and it survives in the supporters’ chant Come On You Irons, shortened to COYI. The Hammers points to the same original ironworks team, as Fabrik Brands notes, and is the nickname more often heard today; it gave the club its crossed-hammers crest. Neither is short for West Ham.
Why are Arsenal called the Gunners?
Arsenal are the Gunners because the club was founded by Royal Arsenal munitions workers in Woolwich in 1886. According to Arsenal.com, the name honours that arms factory, which is why cannons run through the club’s badges. The club began as Dial Square before becoming Royal Arsenal the same year.
Were Arsenal always a north London club?
No, Arsenal spent their first decades in Woolwich, south-east London, south of the Thames. Goal.com notes the club moved to Highbury in north London only in 1913. Their north London identity, and the Tottenham rivalry, came after that move.
When did Arsenal turn professional and become Woolwich Arsenal?
These are two separate steps that often get merged. Arsenal turned professional in 1891, a decision that split the club from the amateur ranks. Two years later, on entering the Football League in 1893, they took the name Woolwich Arsenal.
Which way does the cannon on the Arsenal crest point?
It depends on the era. Arsenal’s crest history shows the single cannon facing west in 1921/22, east in 1922/23, then west again from 1925/26. Goal.com dates the 2002 redesign that turned it east, where it points today.
What was Arsenal’s original name?
Arsenal were founded in 1886 as Dial Square, named after a workshop with a sundial at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. Royal Arsenal History records the side was renamed Royal Arsenal within weeks, then became Woolwich Arsenal on joining the Football League in 1893. The Woolwich was dropped in 1914, the year after the club moved north to Highbury, when it became The Arsenal, according to Arsenal.com.
Why are Arsenal fans called Gooners?
Gooner is supporters’ slang built straight from the Gunners, the club’s nickname since its Royal Arsenal munitions-works origins. It is an affectionate name fans use for themselves rather than an official club title, but it shares the same arms-factory root: without the cannons there are no Gunners, and no Gooners.
Why are Everton called the Toffees?
Everton are the Toffees because the district was known for its toffee shops long before the club reached Goodison Park in 1892. According to NBC Sports, that local trade made the nickname a natural fit. Two shops, Mother Noblett’s and Ye Anciente Everton Toffee House, are both linked to it.
Did Molly Bushell hand toffees to Everton supporters?
No, she could not have, and this is the sharpest myth to bust. According to England In Particular, Molly Bushell created the Everton Toffee but died in 1818, sixty years before the football club formed in 1878. Her recipe passed to the Nobletts firm in 1894, long after her death.
Why does the Everton Toffee Lady throw mints rather than toffees?
The Toffee Lady throws Everton Mints because a wrapped hard mint is easier and safer to throw than a sticky toffee. England In Particular notes the striped mint also carries Everton’s black and white, taken from an early team strip. The mint, not the toffee, is the item of choice.
When was the Everton Toffee Lady tradition revived?
ToffeeWeb reports the club reinstated the Toffee Lady for the 2025/26 season at its new stadium. The revival followed Everton’s move away from Goodison Park. It ties a ritual with 19th-century roots to the new home.
What was Everton’s original name?
Before it was Everton, the club was St Domingo’s FC, formed in 1878 so that members of the St Domingo Methodist New Connexion Chapel could play sport year round. Everton’s official history dates the renaming, at a meeting in the Queen’s Head Hotel, to November 1879, once players from beyond the congregation wanted to join. The Toffees nickname came later still, from the district’s sweet shops.
Why are Everton also called the Blues, the Toffeemen and the People’s Club?
The Blues comes from Everton’s royal blue home shirts, the colour the club has worn since 1901 and celebrates in its own Story of the Blues history. Toffeemen is simply a variant of the Toffees, the sweet-shop nickname. The People’s Club is more recent: David Moyes called Everton the People’s Club at his unveiling as manager in March 2002, and supporters took it up. The Toffees remains the club’s oldest and best-known name.
What is the difference between an Everton toffee and an Everton mint?
They are two different sweets, from two different shops, both tied to the club. Everton toffee is the softer sweet linked to Molly Bushell and Ye Anciente Everton Toffee House. The Everton Mint is the black-and-white striped hard mint made by Mother Noblett’s, and it is the mint, not the toffee, that the Toffee Lady throws to the crowd before kick-off.
Why is Manchester United nicknamed the Red Devils?
United are the Red Devils because Matt Busby borrowed the name from Salford rugby league after Munich. According to NBC Sports, he wanted something more intimidating than the Busby Babes. Salford played in red and had been dubbed Les Diables Rouges by the French press.
Was Red Devils always Manchester United’s nickname?
No, it is the fourth name in the line. The club were the Heathens as Newton Heath, the Reds after becoming Manchester United in 1902, then the Busby Babes in the 1950s. Red Devils came only from around 1960, replacing a name made painful by Munich.
What is the link between Manchester United and Salford rugby league?
Salford rugby league, based about four miles from Old Trafford, were the original Red Devils. Total Rugby League records that French journalists named them Les Diables Rouges on a 1934 tour of France. Busby lifted the name for United; Salford made it official only decades later.
When did the devil appear on the Manchester United crest?
NBC Sports and GiveMeSport commonly date the crest devil to 1973, though it was on programmes and scarves from the 1960s, so the exact year is best treated as approximate. The devil reached the badge well after it reached the club. That gap between the symbol and the crest is why the accounts vary.
What was Manchester United’s original name?
The club that became Manchester United started life in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR FC, a side of Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway workers based at the company’s Newton Heath depot, which is why their first nickname was the Heathens. It was renamed Manchester United on 24 April 1902 after being rebuilt from a winding-up order. The Red Devils name arrived only around 1960.
Why were Manchester United called the Heathens?
The Heathens comes straight from Newton Heath, the east Manchester district where the railway workers’ club was based and played. It was United’s first nickname, long before the shirts turned red or the devil arrived. When the club became Manchester United in 1902 and later wore red, the Heathens gave way to the Reds.
Did Matt Busby invent the Red Devils nickname?
No, he borrowed it. According to NBC Sports, Matt Busby took an existing rugby-league nickname, Salford’s Red Devils, for his United side around 1960, once the Munich air disaster had made the Busby Babes name too painful to keep. He moved the name across sports rather than inventing it.
What are the nicknames of West Ham, Arsenal, Everton and Manchester United?
West Ham are the Hammers and the Irons, both from their Thames Ironworks origins. Arsenal are the Gunners, after the Royal Arsenal munitions works in Woolwich. Everton are the Toffees, from the sweet shops of their Liverpool district. Manchester United are the Red Devils, borrowed from Salford rugby league. Each name grew from a real trade or place, never a marketing slogan.