What is a "Nagoyakko"? The name "Nagoya" and old "Nagono"
Nagoya's older form was written 那古野. Behind the nickname lies a place name reaching back to the Heian era.
"Nagoyakko" is a word for someone born and raised in Nagoya.
The key is how the name "Nagoya" came to be — from the old 那古野 to the accounts of its origin.
What "Nagoyakko" means
Nagoyakkonagoyakko
It means someone born and raised in Nagoya, often tied to the city's castle-town history and its distinctive food and speech.
The old name 那古野
Nagoya (那古野)
Nagoya's older form, 那古野, appears in records as a late-Heian estate name. Around the time Tokugawa Ieyasu built the castle town, the spelling 名古屋 settled, becoming the city's name in 1889. A place still read "Nagono" survives in the city. At Nagoya Castle, a stone marker still reads "Nagono Castle ruins."
Accounts of the origin
Several theories
Explanations include a "gentle" (nagoyaka) land, a collapsed-terrain "nago" plus wetland "ya," a "wave-crossing" reading, and "nagoya" as estate laborers' houses. None is settled.
Source:語源由来辞典「名古屋市」
Spelling variants (名古屋 / 那古野 / 名護屋)
名古屋 / 那古野 / 名護屋
Over history the forms 名古屋, 那古野 and 名護屋 were used, before 名古屋 became fixed.
FAQ
Do people use "Nagoyakko" about themselves?
Yes. With pride in the city's manufacturing and distinctive food culture, people raised in Nagoya use it of themselves.
Is the origin of "Nagoya" settled?
No — several accounts exist, from a "gentle land" to terrain-based readings, with none confirmed.