What’s in a nickname?
It could be a little of any and everything. When it comes to Wilmington, that also applies.
Here are the more common nicknames for Wilmington, and a few not as common.
Port City
The most common name is the Port City based on Wilmington’s proximity and accessibility to the Cape Fear River and the Port of Wilmington.
ILM
Others refer to Wilmington as “ILM” because of the letters used to designate Wilmington International Airport. In the 1950s, the airport was known as the New Hanover County Airport and in 1988 added “international” to become known as the New Hanover County International Airport.
On Dec. 17, 1997, the New Hanover County Airport Authority changed the named to the Wilmington International Airport, but it abbreviated as ILM.
An ode to film: Hollywood East, Filmington, Wilmywood
Thanks to the success of the city’s film industry, Wilmington has added a few monikers in the last 30-40 years.
A few of them are Hollywood East, Filmington and Wilmywood.
Martha De Laurentiis, who with her husband, Dino, spurred on the local industry when they opened the Dino De Laurentiis Company studio in the 1980s, noted one of the nicknames during an interview for the Cape Fear Unearthed podcast.