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According to this Fritinancy entry, the demonym for Norfolk, England is "North Anglian," rather than "Norfolker" or "Norfolkite," for historical reasons.

What about Norfolk, Virginia, in the United States? I suppose you could argue for the same historical reasons, since it was named after Norfolk in England, but that just feels wrong to me.

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Can I suggest Nor-folk, as in "He's one of the Nor-folk"? :) – Robusto Jan 27 '11 at 21:42
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That's where 'Norfolk' comes from as it happens, so that would make it come pleasingly full-circle. – user3444 Jan 27 '11 at 21:55
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Demonyms are usually coined by consensus and popular usage. If the townspeople of Norfolk, VA, do not as yet have a demonym for their hometown, then I'm afraid there isn't one :) – Jimi Oke Jan 27 '11 at 22:27
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Isn't there a movie called "Meet the Norfolkers"? :) – Kosmonaut Jan 27 '11 at 22:45

2 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

'North Anglian' is inappropriate, because while Norfolk, England is in the North East Anglia region, this is not true of Norfolk, VA.

As 'Norfolkers' could be construed as insulting given the sound of the last couple of syllables, I'd say Norfolkites is appropriate: a search online throws up no results to suggest otherwise.

Are there many demonyms for relatively minor US towns? Obviously major cities like New York, Chicago, L.A. and San Francisco have them, but surely that isn't the case for every town, because there are just so many. Would people from Norfolk not just refer to themselves as Virginians?

(They might even smile when they say it: 10 kudos points for anyone who explains that reference without resorting to Google! :) )

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There's some innuendo between Norfolk and Virginian going on there. After all a Virgin Norfolk you. I'll think about it and come up with something actually funny. – Mike Brown Jan 27 '11 at 23:03
How about Norfolks? (ducks) – Chris B. Behrens Jan 27 '11 at 23:08
@Mike Brown: you're barking up the wrong tree there I'm afraid. – user3444 Jan 28 '11 at 11:37
up vote 2 down vote

Being from the Norfolk, Virginia area, we don't have demonyms because we don't use them. It's a matter of culture - we are 7 cities all in one area, no counties. I think people have more so of an identity with the area vs. each city (as far as saying where they are from to outsiders). Many people identify with '757' (area code), Tidewater, or Hampton Roads as our area's name. With so many other identifiers, I don't think we've really thought enough about demonyms (purely out of the lack of need). Our area is full of people who don't have roots in the area - I think this adds to the lack of need.

The only time I ever heard anything remotely close to one for Norfolk it was "Norfolkan". Keep in mind that Norfolk is not pronounced "NOR-FOLK" but "NOR-FICK". So, "Norfolker" would be a very hard sell :O) [NOR-FICK-ER]

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Which Norfolk area? I would always presume to mean the original Norfolk in England, so please qualify. – Noldorin Oct 7 '11 at 23:53
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@Noldorin, this answer relates to Norfolk, Virginia. (It's fairly apparent, since the question asks about Norfolk, Va. Also, Hampton Roads and Tidewater are both in the Norfolk, Va. area.) – Caleb Oct 8 '11 at 0:50
@Caleb: The question mentions both. ;-) Also, I happen to know that Hampton Roads/Tidewater don't exist in Nortfolk, England, but some may not. I know I'm being picky here; just like to see "child" cities qualified as such! :-) – Noldorin Oct 8 '11 at 1:46

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