There is no actual record of this name but it is thought  to have evolved from the extraordinary intelligence that the Hampshire folk firmly believed in, that was that  their pigs were possessed of Music, Art & Literature.

It seems that when military bands from Portsmouth passed by there was a lot of commotion and excitement among the country folk, that even the pigs were driven to a good vantage point to see the passing bands.

The "Hampshire Hog" statue outside the Hampshire County Council
Offices in Winchester
(Photo contributed by Ed and Helen Ginn)

The local dialect and sayings of the county are varied and there are few linguistic changes beyond a county border. Acccents though are entirely different, the residents of Test Valley are nearer to Wiltshire than those of the Meon Valley and this can be heard in the vocal tones. But there is hardly any difference between the people of Southampton and those living  in the New Forest. But 'Townies' have never spoken like true country people though with the expansion of the towns nowadays this could change.

For example in Southampton the word "town" would sound like "tane" though in the rural areas the "ow" is more pronounced. The word Sotonian, which the people of Southampton are called was made up by a local newspaper to make it easier than putting "Southamptonians" in a headline, and they have their own distinctive greetings, such " Wassa matta Moosh" which when translated means "Whats the matter". Moosh usualy spelt Mush is Romany for "man" and this is often replaced by "nipper" or "nip" though this is usually for young boys.

There are many Gypsy words found in Hampshire, and a policeman is a "gawermush". Jobs can be described as "cushy" from "kushti" meaning good and a pound in currency is called a "bar".

Dialects differ to as for example "where is it?" will often come out as "where's it to?" and "some time" and "any time" can be "some when" and "any when". There are also the "folk" words such as "gallibagger" (scarecrow), "cackleberries" (eggs), "yaffle" (green woodpecker).

Also a lot of ancient words seem to have vanished from every day use in other places can often be heard here in Hampshire. A good example is that delectable word "shrammed" which comes from the Old English "scrimman" to shrivel and is used quite often for cold and shivery. In the New Forest the expression "Look see" is popular which seems to emphasize the meaning twice!! There is  "cruncheon" meaning an informal evening meal, which is one of those words that seemed to have vanished completely from the Hampshire Vocabulary.

The most popular topic of conversation in the British Isles must be the weather and so there must be a lot of folk lore ways to interpret it. One Hampshire way of saying a storm is approaching is "It looks dark over Will's mother's."  But nobody knows who Will was!!

"White rain" is often used to describe rain that falls like a sheet of water, and "Woodfidley Rain" to people in Burley means it is coming from the south west which is where Woodfidley lies.

There are many reproofs in the county and  in Winchester it is 'not done' to say "she" as this is said to receive the reply "Who's she? The cats Aunt!"

Botley has a variation of "you cannot take it with you when you die"  which is "There are no pockets in a shroud".

Odiham "Its a lazy wind it goes through instead of round you"

Kings Somborne "Like putting a pig o the wall to see the band go past"

And a rather insulting phrase is used to describe a lusty male in Southampton  "he is like a Totton dog!" Totton being a town on the outskirts of the city.

There are also some rather strange prefixes to some of the places in the county such as Wicket Wickham, Worse Waltham, Shocking Shedfield and "Turktown" meaning Gosport which is said to have come from the Turkish graves that are in the town,

Tadley is another with "Tadley God 'Elp Us" but nobody seems to know for sure where Portsmouth got its nickname of Pompey. Though  one theory is that Dame Agnes Weston who was the benefactress to the men of the Navy who while given a lecture she referred to the life of Pompey the Great, and someone shouted out "Poor old Pompey" and the name stuck. Another theory is that it refers to the ancient town of Pompeii in Italy which was covered with ash when Mt Vesuvius erupted and it was thought that this was because the town was reputed to be wicked and people said that Portsmouth was similarly wicked! There was also a granite column in Alexandria which was called Pompey's Pillar and the sailors from Portsmouth who climbed it were called Pompey Boys.

Perhaps we will never know the true origins but the name has stuck and the townspeople take great pride in it.

POSTSCRIPT: I received an email about the Hampshire Hog and its origins and the other argument is that it derived from Hogget-yearling which was a sheep. So if anybody does have the true account of where our county nickname came from I would be glad to hear it!!