why are they called ole miss

They’re called “Ole Miss” because that phrase was chosen as the title of the University of Mississippi’s first student yearbook in the 1890s, and it quickly became the school’s popular nickname.

What “Ole Miss” Originally Meant

• The term “Ole Miss” was a phrase used in the American South for the mistress of a plantation, often coming from the speech of enslaved people on those plantations.

• A student named Elma Meek suggested “Ole Miss” as the name for the new yearbook in 1896–1897, reportedly because she had heard Black laborers use it for the lady of the “big house.”

How It Became the School’s Name

• “Ole Miss” first appeared only as the yearbook title, but within a few years students and alumni began using it to refer to the entire University of Mississippi.

• By the early 1900s, the nickname had spread to athletics, songs, and cheers, and “Ole Miss” became synonymous with the university’s identity.

Why It’s Controversial Today

• Because the phrase has roots in plantation culture and the language of enslaved people, many see “Ole Miss” as tied to the racist history of the Old South.

• This has fueled ongoing debates on campus and in the wider public about whether the university should continue using the nickname or move away from it, alongside other changes like removing Confederate symbols.

Other Theories You Might Hear

• Some local stories claim “Ole Miss” might have been inspired by the name of a train that ran between Memphis and New Orleans, possibly stopping in Oxford, Mississippi.

• Historians and the university’s own accounts, however, largely point back to Elma Meek’s yearbook suggestion and the plantation-era meaning as the main origin.

Quick Recap

• Why are they called Ole Miss?
  • It started as the winning name for the University of Mississippi’s yearbook in the 1890s.

* The phrase came from a term used for the plantation mistress, often by enslaved people.

* The name spread from the yearbook to the whole university and has stuck ever since, now wrapped up in both school pride and controversy over its origins.

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