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who was the first person to use the name old glory

The name “Old Glory” for the U.S. flag is generally credited to Captain William Driver, a 19th‑century American sea captain from Salem, Massachusetts.

Who First Said “Old Glory”?

Most historical accounts agree that:

  • Captain William Driver was the first person known to use the name “Old Glory” for the American flag.
  • The nickname dates to the 1820s, when Driver was a young ship captain.

How The Name Came About

  • For his 21st birthday in 1824, Driver’s mother and a group of local women sewed him a large U.S. flag as a gift to fly from his ship, the Charles Doggett.
  • As the new flag unfurled in the sea breeze on one of his voyages, he is said to have exclaimed something like “Old Glory!”, and the name stuck to that flag and later to the U.S. flag in general.

Later Popular Use

  • Driver continued to refer to that same flag as Old Glory throughout his life, including after he settled in Nashville, Tennessee, which helped spread the nickname.
  • Over time, the term “Old Glory” came to be used more broadly as a patriotic nickname for the flag of the United States, not just Driver’s original banner.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.