How Wilmington got its 'Dub': Here are some nicknames used to describe the city

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 .

"That's where traveling to North Carolina, the Hollywood East, we made so many films and television series because people could come and not have to bring so many crew members in and could find them locally there," Martha said on the podcast.

FILMington, NC started rolling as far back as 1983, when Frank Capra Jr. and Martha and Dino were producing a film adaptation of the Steven King novel “Firestarter” and needed a grand antebellum mansion.

Wilmywood, of course, is a play on words combining Wilmington and Hollywood.

The Dub

"The Dub" is a reference to the University of North Carolina Wilmington, a slight retooling on the "W" pronunciation in UNCW.

Tom Riordan, acting director of athletics communications at UNCW, said it came about more than 15 years ago.

“The Dub came about in the mid-2000s," Riordan said. "I believe it was something the students started using when referring to the school as a whole. I would think that social media character limits may have played into the shortening.”

'Unofficial' names

Two other unofficial nicknames that Wilmington have been referred to according to Wikipedia is Wilmy and Wilmo.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: How Wilmington got its 'Dub': Here are some nicknames used to describe the city