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Home Grammar Girl Are Region Names Capitalized?

Are Region Names Capitalized?

March 7, 2010
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by Mignon Fogarty

Popular names of regions are capitalized:

Badger State
Bay Area
Silicon Valley

Most popular names--such as the Sun Belt or the Fertile Crescent--cover large or ill-defined areas and could be considered singular, but occasionally a popular name will be plural. For example, the name Twin Cities refers to two specific cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota) and therefore is plural.

Silicon Valley is in California.
The Twin Cities are having great weather this week.

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Jessica
12/12/2012 3:41:00 PM

Thank you so much for your help!

Heidi
9/23/2012 6:09:46 PM

Grover -- I hear "NorCal" quite a bit! I spent 3 years going to school in Humboldt county (very northern California), and most students I met, local and otherwise, called it "NorCal." Growing up in the Southern California area, I also frequently saw out-of-town cars with bumper stickers and window decals that read "Nor*Cal", in the same style as common "So*Cal" car decorations.

(P.S. I've never heard anyone who wasn't wearing a Hawaiian print shirt speak the forbidden name for San Francisco.)

Shawn
11/3/2011 9:36:34 AM

Question for everyone. Is it Central Texas and West Texas or central Texas and west Texas? I was told by two different English teachers two different ways.

Christine Lucas
3/22/2011 10:04:40 AM

I appreciate your advice and use it often. Do you capitalize Southern in southern gentleman?

Jennifer
3/8/2010 11:48:48 PM

@ Grover Williams. People in northern California who are NOT in San Francisco actually say NorCal, but San Franciscans don't, interesting, isn't it. And we in NorCal who KNOW about the Fri--co word know not to say it, we just say The City. Everyone knows what we mean when we say we're taking a day tip to The City. We do NOT mean L.A.!

Kate
3/8/2010 6:51:23 PM

He retired and lives in the Southwest now.

Grover Williams
3/8/2010 3:46:04 PM

Oddly, the "northern" in northern California is rarely capitalized, but "Southern California" is standard usage. Southern California has its own nickname, "SoCal," and Los Angeles proudly calls itself "L.A.," but Northern California is never "NorCal" or "NoCal." Among San Franciscans, there's only one "F" word that's never spoken in polite company, and it ends in "co." San Franciscans have a reputation for tolerance, but any tourist who utters "F___co" out loud will be set straight in a hurry. My father, a San Francisco native, heard me say that particular "F" word once when I was a kid, and believe me, that was the last time I dared even think it. The abbreviation "S.F." is tolerated, but natives don't use it - or like it.

heather
3/8/2010 3:04:13 PM

when abbreviated, directionals are ALWAYS capitalized, so I always cap them...

JimG
3/8/2010 11:58:49 AM

Yes, and directions - is it "Go West young man," or "Go west"?

adam807
3/8/2010 11:39:04 AM

What about something more broad like the northeast, or northeastern United States? (Or is that Northeast...)

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