Why San Francisco Is Called the "City of the Golden Gate"—And Its Other Nickname

Primary nickname: "City of the Golden Gate" — from the Golden Gate Strait (not the bridge). The strait, named by John C. Frémont (1846), is the entrance to San Francisco Bay from the Pacific. Chrysopylae = "Golden Gate" in Greek.

The Golden Gate Bridge (1937) borrowed the name—then *became* the icon. So the city is named for the strait, famous for the bridge.

The Other Nickname: "Baghdad by the Bay"

• Coined by columnist Herb Caen (1940s)
• References: 43 hills (like Baghdad's), exotic cosmopolitan vibe, fog = "veils"
• Playful, slightly Orientalist — Caen loved the city; it stuck

Other Monikers

• Fog City — Karl the Fog (named fog bank)
• The Paris of the West — 19th-c. boosterism
• San Fran / Frisco — locals hate these

Call it San Francisco. Or The City (if you're from the Bay). The Golden Gate is the strait; the bridge is the postcard; Baghdad by the Bay is the poet's wink.