You’ve seen it on the t-shirts in Times Square. You’ve heard it in every cheesy tourism ad since the 1970s. But honestly, if you ask ten different New Yorkers why is New York City called Big Apple, you’re gonna get ten different answers. Most of them will be wrong. People love to guess. They’ll tell you it’s about the "Eve" of cities, or some weird reference to the apple trees that used to line Manhattan before the skyscrapers moved in.
It's actually much cooler—and way more gritty—than a fruit tree.
The real story involves gambling, jazz musicians, and a massive marketing campaign that saved the city from a PR nightmare. It wasn't some high-brow literary metaphor. It was slang. Pure, unadulterated street talk that eventually got polished up for the tourists.
The Man Who Put the Big Apple on the Map
Forget what you heard about the 1800s. We have to look at the 1920s. Specifically, we have to look at a guy named John J. Fitz Gerald.
Fitz Gerald was a horse racing writer for the New York Morning Telegraph. Back then, the track was king. If you were a jockey or a trainer, the New York racing circuit was the ultimate goal. It was where the money was. It was where the prestige lived.
Around 1920, Fitz Gerald was down in New Orleans. He was hanging around the stables, eavesdropping on the conversations of African American stable hands. These guys were talking about the New York tracks with a kind of reverence. They called New York "the Big Apple."
Why? Because in the world of racing, an "apple" was the prize.
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If you’re racing in a small town, you’re playing for peanuts. But if you make it to NYC? You’re going for the Big Apple. Fitz Gerald loved the phrase. He started using it in his column, "Around the Big Apple," beginning in 1921. He even wrote about how "The Big Apple" was the dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred.
It was a niche term. For a long time, only the people who spent their afternoons betting on ponies knew what it meant. It was inside baseball—or inside horse racing, I guess.
When the Jazz Scene Stole the Slang
New York has a way of taking something cool and making it hers. By the 1930s and 40s, the phrase drifted from the dirt of the racetrack to the smoky clubs of Harlem.
Jazz musicians are basically the reason the name survived.
They had a saying: "There are many apples on the tree, but when you pick New York City, you pick the Big Apple." Basically, if you were playing a gig in any other city, you were just playing a gig. But if you were playing Manhattan? You’d arrived. You were at the center of the universe.
There was actually a song and a dance called "The Big Apple" that became a craze in 1937. It started in a club in Columbia, South Carolina (weirdly enough), but it blew up once it hit New York. It solidified the idea that the city wasn't just a place; it was the destination.
But then, the name almost died.
During the 50s and 60s, nobody was calling NYC the Big Apple. It felt dated. Old-fashioned. The city was changing, and not necessarily for the better. By the time the 1970s rolled around, New York was in deep trouble.
The 1970s: How a PR Campaign Saved the Name
If you think NYC is rough now, you should’ve seen it in 1971. The city was broke. Crime was skyrocketing. The vibe was... grim. Tourists were staying away in droves because they were terrified of getting mugged or worse.
Enter Charles Gillett.
Gillett was the president of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau. He needed a miracle. He needed a way to rebrand a city that felt like it was falling apart. He went digging into the city's history and found Fitz Gerald’s old horse racing term.
He thought it sounded wholesome. It sounded bright. It sounded like something you’d want to take a bite out of, rather than something you'd want to run away from.
Gillett started a massive campaign. He put the "Big Apple" on stickers, pins, and posters. He got celebrities to endorse it. He convinced the big shots to lean into the name. It worked. It worked so well that we’re still talking about it fifty years later.
In 1997, Mayor Rudy Giuliani even signed legislation to name the corner of West 54th Street and Broadway "Big Apple Corner" in honor of John J. Fitz Gerald. It’s right there. You can go see it.
Debunking the Weird Myths
Because the internet loves a good conspiracy or a fake "dark" history, there are some pretty wild theories about why is New York City called Big Apple that just aren't true.
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- The Brothel Myth: There’s a popular story that a 19th-century madam named Eve ran a famous brothel and her girls were called "apples." It’s a fun story. It sounds very "Old New York." But there is zero historical evidence for it. None.
- The Great Depression Myth: Some people think it refers to unemployed bankers selling apples on the street. While people did sell apples during the Depression, the term was already in print a decade earlier.
- The Tree Myth: No, there wasn't one giant, legendary apple tree on Manhattan island that gave the city its name.
It’s actually simpler and more human than all that. It was just a way for people on the bottom—the stable hands and the struggling musicians—to describe the big, shiny goal they were all chasing.
Understanding the Vibe
You have to realize that New York thrives on its own ego. The name stuck because it fits the city’s personality. It’s a bit boastful. It’s loud. It claims to be the best.
When you hear someone ask why is New York City called Big Apple, tell them it’s about the stakes. It’s about the fact that if you can make it there, you’re eating the biggest fruit on the tree. Everything else is just a snack.
How to Experience the "Real" Big Apple Today
If you’re visiting and want to connect with this history, skip the M&M store. Go to the places that actually built the myth.
- Visit Big Apple Corner: It’s at 54th and Broadway. It’s just a street sign, but it’s the literal spot where the man who coined the phrase lived.
- Hit a Jazz Club in Harlem: Go to Bill's Place or Minton's Playhouse. This is where the 1930s musicians kept the "Big Apple" slang alive when the rest of the world had forgotten it.
- Check out Belmont Park: Since the name started at the racetrack, head out to the Belmont Stakes. You’ll get a feel for the high-stakes energy that inspired those stable hands in the first place.
- The Museum of the City of New York: They have incredible archives on the 1970s rebranding campaign. You can see the original "Big Apple" pins that Gillett used to save the city’s reputation.
The name isn't just a brand. It’s a reminder that New York has always been a place where people go to chase something bigger than what they had back home. Whether it’s a winning horse, a hit record, or just a better life, the "apple" is the reward.
Next time you see that logo, don't think of a fruit. Think of a 1920s writer listening to guys in a stable talk about their dreams. That’s the real New York.
To truly understand the city's identity, you should look into the history of the "I Love NY" logo, which was created during that same 1970s era of desperation. You can also research the life of John J. Fitz Gerald to see how sports journalism used to shape the very language we speak today. Or, simply take a walk through Central Park and imagine the city as it was when the horse was still the primary mode of transport and "the big apple" was just a whisper in the stables.