When did people start calling Philadelphia Philly?

Anecdotally, anyone who's spent some time with Philadelphia manuscript collections will tell you that the city was abbreviated Philad'a well into the nineteenth century. read more

Of course "Philly's" brave laddies won but that was quite incidental to the spirit of good fellowship indulged in by all. Typographical Journal It's likely that the Philadelphia Phillies, who finally made up their minds and stopped calling themselves the Quakers in 1890, softened the ground for Philly-ing. read more

That moniker comes from Philadelphia being founded by William Penn, a member of the Society of Friends or Quakers as they are popularly known. He named the city Philadelphia which in Greek means brotherly love. read more

The population of Philadelphia has grown modestly for nine consecutive years and counting, led by a relatively steady birth rate and an influx of immigrants. Census data released earlier this year revealed that the Philadelphia metro area, including Wilmington and Camden, welcomed in 105,000 new residents between 2010 and 2015, among whom 50,000 were immigrants. read more