This question has hounded me since I've moved here. Every town or city I've lived in, it's been relatively easy to identify ourselves - Wichitan, Oklahoman (or Okie), Duncanite, Ardmoron, etc.

But Kalamazoo is a different animal, and a mouthful at times. So, what do people who live here actually call themselves?

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The idea of naming a group of people from one place, I believe, helps us create a sense of unity in our community. Indigenous people were named for their region, and tribes they were associated with. Today, we do the same thing with residents of cities, states, and countries.

But some places are little more difficult to name than others. In this case... Kalamazoo. Aside from the fact that people don't fully believe the town exists, it's a long city name that's difficult to abbreviate in conversation. So how can we create a memorable name for our residents?

We posed the question on our facebook recently...

... and got a TON of replies - Most of which were completely different.

One person on Reddit put it as scientifically as possible.

As for other suggestions on social media, aside from the inevitable trolls, a few people really put some effort into naming Kalamazoo residents.

Some had nothing to do with the name of the city:

  • Patti from Battle Creek called us "Neighbors"
  • Kevin put it pretty plainly... "You're Michiganders. That is all. LOL"
  • Heidi said "Drop-off" between Detroit and Chicago
  • One redditor, Pokemaster131 hit it on the nail for ALL Michiganders with "AtLeastWe'reNotOhioans"
  • And Janet said we're "mostly a**h***s," but clarified she was only kidding, and knows a lot of cool people in the city.

There were some creative interpretations using just the "Zoo" part of Kalamazoo:

  • Zoo Crew
  • Zoo Animals
  • Zookeepers
  • Zooians
  • Zoobies
  • Zoolanders
  • Zoologists
  • Zootopians

But a good portion of people attempted to use as much of the whole name "Kalamazoo" as possible:

  • Kalaminians
  • Kalamaniacs
  • KaZoos
  • Kalamazoolanders
  • Kalamazoopys
  • Kalamanimals
  • Kazooies
  • Kazooper
  • Kazooers (K'Zooers)
  • Kalamazoomers
  • Kalamazoros
  • Kalamazooogists
  • Kalamazookeepers

By Far, though, the most popular answer to call People of Kalamazoo, was "Kalamazooligans," or "Zooligans" for short.

What do you think? Will you introduce yourself, and others as Kalamzooligans to new people? Did we leave off what YOU call people from Kalamzoo?

Stunning 1939 Kalamazoo Gibson Guitar

She's well-worn, but they really don't make 'em like this anymore. Maximillian Terranova still plays his grandfather's 1939 Kalamazoo guitar made at the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

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