Alternative Names for the American South

The region commonly called "The South" has several names, each with historical, cultural, or political connotations:

• Dixie / Dixieland – From the Mason-Dixon line or $10 "dix" notes; nostalgic, cultural, sometimes romanticized.
• The American South – Formal, neutral descriptor.
• The Deep South – Core states: SC, GA, AL, MS, LA (sometimes FL panhandle, E TX). Most "Southern" culturally.
• The Old South – Pre-Civil War, plantation-era South.
• The New South – Post-Reconstruction, industrializing, urbanizing South (Henry Grady's term).
• The Sun Belt – Economic/geographic (South + Southwest); growth, climate, migration.
• The Bible Belt – Cultural/religious (high evangelical Protestant adherence); overlaps South.
• The Black Belt – Historically: fertile soil; demographically: majority-Black rural counties (AL, MS, GA, LA, AR, TN).
• SEC Country / ACC Country – College football tribalism.

State Composition (Common Definitions)

Census Bureau "South": DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, NC, SC, GA, FL, KY, TN, AL, MS, AR, LA, OK, TX (17).

Cultural "Deep South": SC, GA, AL, MS, LA (5 core).

Confederate States (11): SC, MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, TX, VA, AR, TN, NC.

No single definition fits all contexts. "Dixie" evokes culture; "Sun Belt" evokes economics; "Black Belt" evokes demography/history.