Animals, Legends, Weather Events, but no Fighting Giraffes
U.S. High Schools’ Top 50 Most Interesting Nicknames Announced
Lake Jackson, Texas — August 11, 2026 — “They call themselves what now?”
A new national ranking of the Top 50 Most Interesting U.S. High School Nicknames has been announced, spotlighting the colorful, odd, and in some cases deeply bizarre sobriquets that help make high schools such a distinctive part of American culture.
High school nickname expert David Winder, author of Where Are the Fighting Giraffes: A Guide to the Ordinary, Odd and Outrageous Nicknames of U.S. High Schools, has ranked the interesting nicknames out of the more than 24,000 eligible high schools.
“These nicknames are not the most popular or the most intimidating,” said Winder. “I created the Top 50 list to celebrate the stories behind the names — the local traditions, odd twists of history, community pride and school spirit that make high school nicknames so memorable. Some are funny, some are fierce, and some could only come from a particular town, but each one reminds us that a nickname is a badge of honor for generations of students even if the reason doesn’t always make sense.”
Most Interesting Nicknames 50 – 26
50. Poets (Dunbar HS – Baltimore, MD)
49. Burrs (West Catholic Preparatory HS – Philadelphia, PA)
48. Flying Flucos (Fluvanna County HS – Palmyra, VA)
47. Shiretowners (Houlton HS – Houlton, ME)
46. Amaguqs (Nunamiut School – Anaktuvuk Pass, AK)
45. Syrupmakers (Cairo HS – Cairo, GA)
44. Achaeans (Herron HS – Indianapolis, IN)
43. Vulcans (Vassar HS – Vassar, MI)
42. Spongers (Tarpon Springs HS – Tarpon Springs, FL)
41. Fourteeners (Lake City Community School – Lake City, CO)
40. Lava Bears (Bend HS – Bend, OR)
39. Ceramics (Crooksville HS – Crooksville, OH)
38. Mean Moose (Alamosa HS – Alamosa, CO)
37. Blizzards (Winters HS – Winters, TX)
36. Dots (Poca HS – Poca, WV)
35. Earwigs (Dunn School – Los Olivos, CA)
34. Goblins (Harrison HS – Harrison, AR)
33. Cutthroats (Community HS – Sun Valley, ID)
32. Hoboes (Laurel Hill School – Laurel Hill, FL)
31. Cornjerkers (Hoopeston HS – Hoopeston, IL)
30. Lab Rats (Roanoke Valley Governor’s School – Roanoke, VA)
29. Conchs (Key West HS – Key West, FL)
28. Pugs (Paoli HS – Paoli, OK)
27. Vineyarders (Martha’s Vineyard Regional HS – Oak Bluffs, MA)
26. Awesome Blossoms (Blooming Prairie HS – Blooming Prairie, MN)
Nicknames 25 – 21: Pointy, Tall, and Soapy
25. Alices
Lincoln HS – Vincennes, IN
A popular theory for how the Lincoln Alices got their name is that it comes from the novel Alice of Old Vincennes, which features an orphan in the French outpost of Vincennes, Indiana (yes, the same town) during the Revolutionary War. Fun Fact: Alice of Old Vincennes was a bestseller in 1900 and 1901.
24. Sir Bills
Johnstown HS – Johnstown, NY
They are named after the city’s founder, Sir William Johnson.
23. Barbs
DeKalb HS – DeKalb, IL
Illinois farmer Joseph Glidden received a patent in 1874 for creating the first commercially successful barbed wire, which the local high school eventually adopted.
22. Amazons
Madeira HS – Cincinnati, OH
The Madeira Amazons materialized after a group of boys started calling the girls’ basketball team derogatory names and trashed their locker room. A coach liked what one of the words represented (powerful women warriors in Greek mythology) and had the sobriquet of the girls’ teams changed from the Mustangs.
21. Battling Bathers
Mount Clemens HS – Mount Clemens, MI
The Battling Bathers were named after the nearby mineral baths.
Top Nicknames 20 – 16: Boundaries, Curious, and Odd Animals
20. Borderites
Blaine HS – Blaine, WA
The Borderites are located next to the Canadian border at the most westernmost point of the contiguous U.S.
19. Zizzers
West Plains HS – West Plains, MO
The West Plains Zizzers got their name in 1908 when a faculty member was so impressed with a class booklet that they exclaimed, “Oh, what a Zizzer!”
18. Winged Beavers
Avon Old Farms School – Avon, CT
The founder of Avon Old Farms adored beavers. But she wanted the school’s nickname to pop and something like Silver Beavers or Fighting Beavers apparently wasn’t good enough. In the end she gave her favorite rodents some feathers.
17. Spoofhounds
Maryville HS – Maryville, MO
The Maryville Spoofhounds are the result of a motivational insult. The Maryville coach chose “spoofhounds” after the ugly, plaster of Paris dog from a recent carnival. The players took a liking to the name, and the rest is history.
16. Ugly Eagles
Clayton Valley Charter – Concord, CA
A football coach grew tired of his players’ long hair and unkempt look and gave the team a new nickname.
Nicknames 15 – 11: Dolls, Limps, and Locations
15. Kewpies
Hickman HS – Columbia, MO
The Hickman Kewpies are named after a naked, smiling baby who was a favorite in a comic strip and later dolls and figurines. The name caught on in 1969 when an announcer said that even though the Hickman football team was losing, they were “smiling like a bunch of Kewpies.”
14. Noises
Hale-Ray HS – Moodus, CT
The Hale-Ray Noises get their name from the nearby area, which the Algonquians called Machimoodus, meaning “the place of bad noises.” Geologists have determined the sounds are from shifting tectonic plates, creating underground rumblings that are amplified by the topography.
13. Obezags
Key School – Annapolis, MD
Key School students in the late 1960s looked around their campus, saw three gazebos, and thought the reverse – Obezags – was a perfect nickname.
12. Peglegs
Stuyvesant HS – New York, NY
The Peglegs are named after Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch Director-General of New Netherland before the English seized the colony and renamed it New York in 1664. Stuyvesant was known as “Peg Leg Pete,” after losing his leg below the knee during a battle on St. Martin in 1644.
11. Dateliners
Diomede School – Diomede, AK
The Dateliners are located about a mile from the International Date Line in the middle of the Bering Strait.
Nicknames 10 – 6: Colors, Skipping, and Monsters
10. Bubblers
Boiling Springs HS – Boiling Springs, PA
Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, sits on a network of springs that due to a hydrogeological phenomenon, causes water to bubble to the surface, making it look like it is boiling. The Bubblers are named after The Bubble, the largest spring.
9. Buff ‘n Blue
Punahou School – Honolulu, HI
The colors of Waikiki Beach.
8. Cutters
Fair Lawn HS – Fair Lawn, NJ
The Cutters are a result of a few star football players cutting class to see a double feature in 1943. The players were caught, resulting in the coach benching them for an upcoming game. But at halftime the opposition held a 12-0 lead, so the coach changed his mind. With the movie aficionados apparently learning their lesson after two quarters, Fair Lawn rallied for a 13-12 win – one of the cutters scored two touchdowns and the extra point. Afterward, students demanded the school adopt the Cutters nickname because those players had won the game. The administration agreed.
7. Hodags
Rhinelander HS – Rhinelander, WI
In 1896, a local lumberjack near a small town in northeastern Wisconsin told of a bizarre green monster roaming the nearby woods. It was called a hodag, and he even had a picture of it. He would later admit it was all a hoax, but not before the area became Hodag Country.
6. Hippos
Hutto HS – Hutto, TX
Local legends abound about how the Hippos got their name. The most popular involves a hippo escaping from a traveling circus and finding its way to a nearby creek. The hippo liked it there, so it took a while to extract the animal from the muddy waters to the delight of the locals.
Nicknames 5 – 1: Frogs, Bad Guys, and Possible Death
5. Jug Rox
Shoals HS – Shoals, IN
The Jug Rox are named after Jug Rock, a 60-foot-high, free-standing rock formation that resembles a jug. Jug Rock is the largest free-standing table rock east of the Mississippi River.
4. Feet
The Webb School – Bell Buckle, TN
The Feet became the official nickname in 1974. There is no consensus as to why it was chosen.
3. Caxys
Lake Forest Academy – Lake Forest, IL
Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes’ comedy The Frogs inspired the Caxys nickname. The political satire was a big hit at the school, which led students to use the call of the Frog chorus, “Caxys, co-ax, co-ax, co-ax,” to cheer on their classmates. The school says that caxys is ancient Greek for ribbit, or the sound a frog makes.
2. Criminals
Yuma HS – Yuma, AZ
A fire forced Yuma High School to hold classes in an abandoned prison (1910-1912). This led to rival Phoenix Union players calling them criminals and making accusations of cheating during a 1913 football game. Eventually, Yuma students leaned into the Criminals moniker, and it became the school’s official nickname in 1917.
1. Biohazards
Life Academy of Health and Biosciences – Oakland, CA
The Biohazards are named after biological substances that threaten to human health – the only nickname that includes medical waste, viruses, and microorganisms.
What’s That Name
“Many U.S. high school nicknames are shorthand for community identities,” said Winder. “The best ones make people ask a question, tell a story, or immediately picture the place they represent. I’m hopeful that one day a school will add Fighting Giraffes to the list. Somebody must allow the long necks into the nickname club.”
Where Are the Fighting Giraffes? A Guide to the Ordinary, Odd and Outrageous Nicknames of U.S. High Schools and Where Are the Fighting Giraffes? College Edition are currently available at Amazon in both print and eBook formats – all books published by Feigenwinter Publishing.
About David Winder
David Winder is a former sportswriter who believes the world needs more fun nicknames for schools, teams, and individuals. His high school is the Wildcats.