List of nicknames of presidents of the United States

George Washington

• The American Cincinnatus, like the famous Roman Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, he won a war, then became a private citizen instead of seeking power or riches as a reward. He became the first president general of the Society of the Cincinnati, formed by Revolutionary War officers who also "declined offers of power and position to return to his home and plough".
• The American Fabius Maximus Verrucosus|Fabius], for his Fabian military strategy during the Revolutionary WarConotocaurius, or Town Destroyer, given by the Seneca chief Tanacharison.
• The Father of His CountryHis Excellency
• '''Sage of Mount Vernon'''

John Adams

• The Colossus of Independence, for his leadership in Congress in 1776
• The Duke of Braintree, due to residing in Braintree, Massachusetts and his strong opinions on the use of honorifics for important officers of the governmentFather of American IndependenceHis Rotundity, for his girthy bodily figureOld OakOld Sink or Swim, for the speech in which he vowed "sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I am with my country from this day on"

Thomas Jefferson

• The Apostle of DemocracyFather of the Declaration of IndependenceLong Tom
• The Man of the People
• The Moonshine Philosopher of Monticello, as Jefferson was known for his interest for alcoholRed Fox
• The '''Sage of Monticello'''

James Madison

• The Sage of Montpelier
• '''Withered Little Apple'''

James Monroe

• The Era of Good Feelings President, for "The Era of Good Feelings", the period following the victorious end of War of 1812. The term was first coined by the Boston Federalist newspaper Columbian Centinel on July 12, 1817, following President James Monroe’s visit to Boston.
• The Last Cocked Hat, because he was the last U.S. president to wear a tricorne hat according to the style of the 18th century

John Quincy Adams

• The Abolitionist or Old Man Eloquent, famed for routinely bringing up the slavery issue against Congressional rules, and for his role later on in the Amistad case. He is the only American president to be elected to the House of Representatives after his presidency. The nickname gained currency as a result of his campaign against slavery waged as a congressman, and as the attorney in the Amistad case.
• '''Mad Old Man From Massachusetts'''

Andrew Jackson

• The Hero of New Orleans, for his military victory in the Battle of New OrleansJackass, Jackson's critics disparaged him as a "jackass" ; however, Jackson embraced the animal, making it the unofficial symbol of the Democratic Party.King Andrew, for his supposedly excessive use of the veto powerKing MobMad Dog Jackson, for his aggressive military tacticsMischievous Andy
• The Old Hero was derivative of the Hero of New Orleans sobriquet, but it had a more disparaging, slightly disdainful connotation.Old Hickory, allegedly given to him by his soldiers for being as "tough as old hickory," although the Oxford English Dictionary suggests an association with the euphemism hickory oil, a reference to punishment by whipping
• The Old RomanPeople's PresidentSharp Knife, for his fighting tactics

Martin Van Buren

• The American TalleyrandBlue Whiskey Van, a reference to his excessive drinking of whiskey
• The Careful Dutchman_, Van Buren's first language was DutchDandy President, critics called him for his fancy expensive outfits
• The Enchanter
• The Great Manager
• The Little Magician, given to him during his time in the state of New York, because of his smooth politics and short statureMachiavellian Bellshazzar, given to him by detractorsMartin Van Ruin
• The Master SpiritMatty Van from "Tippecanoe Songs of 1840"
• The Mistletoe Politician, so called by Joseph Peyton of Tennessee, a Whig opponent, who charged that "Martin Van Buren was a mere political parasite, a branch of mistletoe, that owed its elevation, its growth--nay, its very existence, to the tall trunk of an aged hickory" Old Kinderhook , a reference to his home townRed Fox of Kinderhook, a reference to his red hair and home town
• The Sage of Lindenwald
• The '''Sly Fox'''

William Henry Harrison

• The Cincinnatus of the West, Harrison's military victories in the War of 1812 made him a folk-like hero, similar to George Washington and CincinnatusGeneral Mum, as in the expression, "keep it mum," because of his avoidance of speaking out on controversial issues during his election campaignOld Granny, his opponents called him for he was the oldest person at the time to be president; his age was 68.Tippecanoe or also Old Tippecanoe, a reference to Harrison's victory at the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe; used in the campaign song Tippecanoe and Tyler Too during the 1840 presidential electionWashington of the West, a reference to Harrison's victories at the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe and 1813 Battle of the Thames

John Tyler

• The '''President without a Party'''

James K. Polk

Zachary Taylor

• '''Old Zack'''

Millard Fillmore

• The American Louis PhilippeLast of the Whigs, he was the last member of the Whig Party to become presidentWool Carder President, when he was 15, he was sent to be an apprentice to a wool carder

Franklin Pierce

James Buchanan

Abraham Lincoln

• * Honest Abe
• * Uncle Abe, for his avuncularity in his later years.
• The Ancient One, a nickname favored by White House insiders because of his "ancient wisdom".Grand Wrestler, Lincoln was great at wrestling and only had one recorded loss
• The Great Emancipator and the Liberator, for the emancipation of the slaves.
• The Rail-SplitterSpotty Lincoln
• The Tycoon, for the energetic and ambitious conduct of his administration
• The '''Uncommon Friend of the Common Man'''

Andrew Johnson

• The Tennessee Tailor, for his career as a tailor before going into politics

Ulysses S. Grant

• The American Caesar
• The Butcher, Grant's unmatched persistence led him to win several key victories for the Union forces earning him this nickname
• The Galena Tanner
• The Great Hammerer
• The Hero of AppomattoxLittle Beauty, a nickname mocking his good looksUlyss, childhood nicknameUseless GrantU.S. Grant
• * Uncle Sam Grant, a name given to him by his classmates at West Point
• * Unconditional Surrender Grant, a backronym for his uncompromising demand for unconditional surrender during the Battle of Fort Donelson in 1862, which made him a hero
• * United States Grant, his classmates soon began to call after he got his new initials USG

Rutherford B. Hayes

• The Great Unknown, for his obscurity as a candidatePresident De FactoRud, childhood nickname

James Garfield

• The Plow Boy of Ohio, sung in a campaign song.
• '''Preacher President'''

Chester A. Arthur

Grover Cleveland

• The Stuffed Prophet
• '''Uncle Jumbo'''

Benjamin Harrison

• The Centennial President
• The Front Porch Campaigner; during the 1888 election, he gave nearly ninety speeches from his front porch to crowds gathered in the yard of his Indianapolis home; this nickname has been widely but erroneously attributed to William McKinley.Grandfather's Hat, for his grandfather William Henry Harrison was the 9th president of the United States
• The Human Iceberg, although he could warmly engage a crowd with his speeches, he was cold and detached when speaking with people on an individual basisKid Gloves HarrisonLittle Ben, given to him by Democrats of his era because of his stature; this could also be a reference to his being the grandson of former president William Henry Harrison, who had served fifty years before.Pious Moonlight Dude, because of his romance

William McKinley

• The Major
• The Napoleon of Protection, referring to high tariffs such as the one he wrote in 1890Wobbly Willie, due to flip-flopping on issues such as expansionism

Theodore Roosevelt

• The Colonel, for his rank in the Spanish–American War
• The Cyclone Assemblyman
• The Hero of San Juan Hill, for leading his Rough Riders up San Juan Hill during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba in 1898
• The LionTeddy, used in The New York Times at least as early as 1900, even though he hated the nicknameTelescope Teddy, because he had all his rifles fitted with a small telescopeTeedie, childhood nicknameTR, for signing communications this way; perhaps the first president to be known by his initials
• The Trust Buster, so called as a pioneer of busting business trusts

William Howard Taft

Woodrow Wilson

• The Phrasemaker, as an acclaimed historian, Wilson had no need of speech-writers to supply his oratorical eloquenceProfessor, for his job was a college professor
• The Schoolmaster, a bespectacled academic who lectured his visitors

Warren G. Harding

Calvin Coolidge

• The Sphinx or Sphinx of the Potomac, because he was non talkative and a man of few words

Herbert Hoover

• The Chief, a nickname picked up at the age of 23 as a geologist surveying in the Australian Outback, that stuck for the rest of his life
• The Grand Old Man, for the Grand Old Party
• The Hermit Author of Palo Alto
• The Great Engineer and the Great Humanitarian, he was a civil engineer of some distinction and when the Mississippi burst its banks in 1927, engulfing thousands of acres of agricultural land, he volunteered his services and did extensive flood control work. The latter nickname would later be used facetiously in reference to his perceived indifference to the hardships faced by his constituents during the Great Depression. However, the nickname dates back to 1921, when the ARA under Hoover saved millions of Russians suffering from famine. "It was such considerations that Walter Lippmann took into account when he wrote of Hoover's Russian undertaking in the New York World in May 1922: 'probably no other living man could have done nearly so much'".

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Harry S. Truman

• The Second Missouri Compromise
• The Senator From Pendergast, for his connection with political boss Tom Pendergast

Dwight D. Eisenhower

• The '''Kansas Cyclone'''

John F. Kennedy

• The American Erlander, as he was known in Sweden, due to his friendship with Prime Minister Tage Erlander and their shared interest in social welfareJack, Kennedy was usually referred to as either "John F. Kennedy" or "Jack Kennedy". See also Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.JFK, most prominent nickname and abbreviation of his full name
• The King of CamelotLittle Boy Blue, he was called by his predecessor Dwight D. EisenhowerRat Face, kids at his school called him for his skinny appearance

Lyndon B. Johnson

Richard Nixon

Gerald Ford

• * Jerry the Jerk, after nominating moderate Nelson Rockefeller as vice president. Junie, childhood nicknameKlutz or Klutz-in-ChiefMr. Nice Guy, for his clean-cut and non-partisan image

Jimmy Carter

• The Peanut Farmer, he owned a peanut farm and fostered this image in his early campaigns, as a contrast to elite Washington insiders

Ronald Reagan

• The Gipper, after his role as George "The Gipper" Gipp in the film Knute Rockne, All American. Gipp exhorted his teammates to "Win one for the Gipper".
• The Great Communicator, for his ability to communicate
• The Teflon President, coined by Representative Pat Schroeder because nothing negative "stuck to" him ; he remained blame-free in the eyes of the American people.

George H. W. Bush

Bill Clinton

• The Comeback Kid, coined by press after strong second place showing in the 1992 New Hampshire primary, following polling slumpExplainer-in-Chief, for his directness when speaking about political concerns.Slick Willie, a term originally coined when he was Governor of Arkansas and popularized by newspaper Pine Bluff Commercial, whose staff disagreed with his political views

George W. Bush

Barack Obama

Donald Trump

• The Great White Hope, for his apparent sympathies towards white supremacy and popularity among white supremacists.King Donald, due to Trump's purported fascist tendencies and associated democratic backsliding in the United States. Usage was furthered by the No Kings protests and the second Trump administration's issue of statements regarding Trump as "king".Orange Man, in reference to his prominent orange makeup. Especially used in the phrase "Orange man bad," a phrase meant to suggest that Trump's opponents have "Trump derangement syndrome".President Snowflake and Snowflake-in-Chief, using the term "Snowflake", for his poor reactions to criticism, particularly on Twitter and regarding the Mueller probe and related investigations.Sleepy Don and Sleepy Donald, in appropriation of Trump's usage of "Sleepy Joe", seen as hypocritical given reports of Trump falling asleep at public events, and concerns about his own age and health.TACO Trump, an initialism of "Trump Always Chickens Out", for repeated recanting on previous statements and policy positions. Coined in 2025 by Robert Armstrong of Financial Times due to tariffs in the second Trump administration being walked back in the resulting trade wars despite Trump's initial denials for negotiations around them.Teflon Don, referencing the original Teflon Don for the many legal issues surrounding Donald Trump.

Joe Biden