English Football Club Name Suffixes

A look at all of the football club suffixes (endings) in the English leagues...

• Albion - Brighton and Hove Albion, Burton Albion, West Bromwich Albion. It's apparently taken from an ancient word for Britain.

• Alexandra - Crewe Alexandra. Named after the wife of King Edward VII, Princess Alexandra.

• Argyle - Plymouth. Rumour has it that they were named after a pub in the city, the Argyle Tavern.

• Athletic - Charlton, Oldham, Wigan Athletic The clubs originally started as athletic clubs, as well as football.

• City - Bristol City, Manchester City, Stoke City, Swansea City, York City. This is a reference to the area that the club represents.

• County - Derby County, Notts County, Stockport County. This is a reference to the large area that the club represents.

• Dons - Milton Keynes. A reference to the nickname of the club they took over, Wimbledon, before controversially relocating to Milton Keynes.

• Forest - Nottingham Forest. A reference to one of the symbols of the city.

• Hotspur - Tottenham Hotspur. Apparently named after a character from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Harry Hotspur.

• Orient - Leyton Orient. It's thought to come from players who also worked for the Orient Shipping Company.

• North End - Preston North End. A reference to the area of the town where they originally played.

• Rangers - QPR. Another name that is believed to come from the fact that the club originally had no regular home pitch to play on, so had to travel around to play.

• Rovers - Blackburn Rovers, Bristol Rovers, Tranmere Rovers. Similar to Wanderers, it's thought to refer to the fact that the club were roving around playing matches, as they had no regular home pitch.

• Stanley - Accrington Stanley. Named after another club in the Accrington area, Stanley Villa.

• Town - Huddersfield, Swindon Town. This is a reference to the area that the club represents.

• United - Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Southend United, Torquay United, West Ham United. Manchester United may be the most famous but it was actually Sheffield United who first adopted the name, a sign of unity in a town or city.

• Villa - Aston Villa. It's thought to come from the name of a cricket team in the area at the time of the club's formation.

• Wanderers - Bolton Wanderers, Wolves, Wycombe Wanderers. It apparently refers to the fact that some clubs originally didn't have a fixed home ground, so would travel to different places to play.

• Wednesday - Sheffield Wednesday. One of the most unusual club names in football, it dates back to their origins as a cricket club and the day of the week that the players would meet up to play.

And don't forget those poor football clubs with no suffix...

Arsenal Barnet Barnsley Blackpool Bournemouth Brentford Burnley Bury Chelsea Chesterfield Darlington Everton Fulham Gillingham Liverpool Middlesbrough Millwall Morecambe Portsmouth Reading Rochdale Southampton Stevenage Borough Sunderland Walsall Watford Wimbledon Wrexham