Why Portsmouth are called Pompey – Explained
Portsmouth fans proudly call their team Pompey, and the nickname has been coined by fans across the country.
The song “Play up Pompey” is one of the most common chants at Fratton Park, with another classic being Pompey Chimes.
Portsmouth fans wear the name Pompey as a badge of honour, as a way of signifying that this is their club and their club only.
Portsmouth’s rise from the brink continues with the return of the South Coast Derby against Southampton, with Pompey being stuck in League Two as recently as 2017.
But where did the nickname “Pompey” come from? Today, Pompey News explores the history of Portsmouth’s alternative title.
Pompey originates from old sailor slang
Most teams’ nicknames originate from something to do with the area they are based in, such as Fulham’s cottage or Arsenal’s ammunition factory.
Many theories exist for the origin of the nickname Pompey, but the most common explanation for Portsmouth’s nickname has a much more complex background.
The origin is said to be that the word Pompey is a shortened, slurred version of Portsmouth Point, a location based in Old Portsmouth.
A reason why many sailors called Portsmouth Point this name is simple. They were drunk.
- The name “Pompey” originates from a sailor background
- It was used as drunken slang for Portsmouth Point
- The name quickly gained traction, and the Evening news used it to describe the football team
Portsmouth Point was full of taverns that were popular with sailors at the time, and many were far too intoxicated to say the full name, so simply shortened it to Pompey.
The name quickly grew traction and began being used for the football team when it appeared in the local newspaper just after its inception in 1898.
The paper read: “Wilkie amid tremendous cheering from the Pompey lads, won the toss, and played with the wind in their favour.”
Portsmouth is now widely known as Pompey
The shortened name continued to spread outside Portsmouth, and soon enough the entire country knew what the term Pompey meant.
For the ease of speaking, almost anyone you speak to will refer to Portsmouth as Pompey, and many songs sung at Fratton Park are based on or include the simple name.
There are haters of the team most call Pompey, especially Portsmouth’s biggest rivals Southampton, and fans of the Fratton Park outfit will always make sure they are heard against the old enemy.
Pompey have been in stuck in dark times for the best part of a decade, but they are now back on the rise and coming back into the eye of the public, whether under the name Portsmouth or Pompey.
Sunday’s South Coast Derby with Southampton will truly bring Portsmouth back from the brink.
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