New York City is called “The Big Apple” because of a 1920s slang term from horse racing that later spread through jazz culture and was cemented by a 1970s tourism campaign that turned it into the city’s signature nickname.

Quick Scoop

Early origins: horse racing slang

  • In the 1920s, New York’s horse-racing circuit was seen as the top place to compete, the biggest and most prestigious “prize” in the country.
  • A sportswriter named John J. Fitz Gerald, writing for the New York Morning Telegraph, used “the Big Apple” to describe New York’s racetracks, treating them as the ultimate reward riders aimed for.
  • In racing slang, an “apple” could mean a desirable prize or payoff, so New York became the “Big Apple” – the biggest prize of all.

Jazz era and cultural spread

  • By the 1930s, jazz musicians picked up the phrase, using “The Big Apple” to describe New York as the place you went if you’d “made it” in show business.
  • Harlem clubs embraced the name; there was even a nightclub called “Big Apple” and a popular “Big Apple” dance craze that spread across the U.S., helping the nickname catch on.
  • Performers liked the idea that there were many “apples” (cities), but only one “Big Apple” – New York, the top stage.

Why an apple at all?

  • In American culture, apples have often symbolized abundance, prosperity, and opportunity, so the image fit New York’s reputation as a place to chase big dreams.
  • The phrase “Big Apple” is vivid and easy to picture, which made it a strong, memorable symbol for a city known for its bold personality and over-the-top energy.
  • Some explanations also tie it back to New York State’s prominence in apple growing, but the city’s nickname itself is rooted in metaphor and slang, not farming.

1970s revival and branding

  • By the mid‑20th century, “The Big Apple” had faded from everyday conversation, even though it still appeared in bits of music and culture.
  • In the 1970s, New York’s image was struggling—crime, fiscal crisis, and negative headlines pushed tourists away—so the city’s tourism bureau revived “The Big Apple” as a bright, upbeat brand.
  • Ad campaigns plastered apples and skyline imagery on buses, subways, and print ads, successfully re‑associating New York with glamour, excitement, and possibility.

What “The Big Apple” means today

  • Now “The Big Apple” is an identity tag: it conveys ambition, resilience, and the idea that New York is where people go to test themselves and reach the top.
  • The nickname also echoes the city’s diversity—like an apple with many seeds, NYC holds countless cultures, neighborhoods, and communities inside one place.
  • From Times Square lights to Harlem’s music legacy, the phrase has become shorthand for New York’s mix of art, finance, fashion, and nonstop hustle.

TL;DR: People call NYC “The Big Apple” because 1920s horse-racing slang treated the city as the biggest “prize,” jazz musicians made the term cool, and a 1970s tourism campaign locked it in as the city’s iconic nickname.

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