From the very earliest days the Celtic support have loved to give nicknames to their idols. Here are a selection of just some of the titles bestowed upon Parkhead favourites through the ages:-


The Mighty Atom – Nickname given to Patsy Gallacher due to his diminutive size and explosive talent

The Wee Barra – A reference to the physique of Bobby Collins

Cesar (Caesar) – The well documented confusions surrounding this nickname for Billy McNeill stems from the assumption that it was born from Billy’s imperious leadership qualities. In fact McNeill earned the label Cesar - not Caesar! – well before he was the established figurehead of Stein’s Bhoys. The name comes from the 1960s Hollywood ‘rat-pack’ thriller Ocean’s Eleven. The young Celtic stars of the era liked to model themselves on the cool stars of the film and, in a reference to Cesar Romero’s role in Ocean’s Eleven, Billy was nicknamed ‘Cesar’ as he was the only one in the Parkhead group to own a car.

Champagne Charlie – A title bestowed by some – the press mainly – on Charlie Nicholas due to the striker’s fondness of the party lifestyle

The Duke – Sandy McMahon was said to bear a striking resemblance to the Duke of Wellington!

Happy Feet – Charlie Napier’s fine dribbling skills earned him this tag.

Chocky - A sweet sounding nickname for Brian McClair due to the fact his name rhymes with Chocolate Eclair!

Hooky - John McPhail's penchant for the hook shot saw him given this title.

Wee Jinky - The well known and affectionate nickname for the legendary Jimmy Johnstone. Known more often simply as Jinky, the wee genius acquired the tag due to his amazing dribbling ability.

Shep - A name given to Danny McGrain during his latter years at Celtic as he was seen as a shepherd type figure who kept an eye on the young flock of new players.

Jean - John McFarlane's nickname stemmed from a popular character in a 1920s comic strip.

Buzz Bomb - The blistering and devasting pace of the diminutive Bobby Lennox saw him earn this title.

The Iron Man - A name given to both the great Jimmy Quinn and latterly Sean Fallon. Both players had a seemingly super humn ability to shrug off knocks and injuries.

Sunny Jim - Jim Young was named this after a character from a brekfast cereal popular in the early 1900s.

The Icicle - The cool and assured Alec McNair was christend this name.

Ghod/The King of Kings - Henrik Larsson's immense ability and contrbution to the Celtic cause saw the goal-scoring idol given these well deserved - if slightly balsphemous! - nicknames.

The Mermaid/The Human Torpedo/The Golden Crust - Jimmy McGrory, a player so good he was given three nicknames! These names were given to Celtic's record scorer due to his lethal and athletic heading ability.

Napoleon - Jimmy McMenemy

Smiler - Neil Mochan's dour appearance saw him sarcastically christened this title.

The Holy Goalie - Polish keeper Artur Boruc's apparent devotion to his Catholic faith not only wound up the bigots in the Scottish media and the Rangers support it always say him earn this nickname from the Celtic support.

The Ould Gineral - A tag bestowed on Jimmy McLaren, a veteran player from the 1890s.

Rhino - Midfielder Murdo MacLeod was given this name due to his strong running displays in the 1980s.

The Bear - The popular nickname for all-time great Roy Aitken - a big and powerful midfielder/defender.

Yogi - John Hughes, the popular winger of the 1960s, was famously given this nickname due to his resemblence of the picnic stealing cartoon bear! The 1990s defender John Hughes was also named Yogi.

Skippy - A popular, if not particuarly original, nickname for Australian international striker Scott McDonald. The name of course refers to the famous Kids TV show 'Skippy - The Bush Kangaroo'.

Tiger - Keeper John Bonnar was christened this due to a perceived similarity in looks to the great Moscow Dynamo keeper 'Tiger' Khomich.

Whispy - Lisbon Lion Willie Wallace was given this moniker due to his quietly spoken nature.

The Tank - Willie McStay (the 1920s version) was so called due to his immensly sturdy defensive displays.

The Maestro - Midfield playmaker Paul McStay was known as this graceful and skillful perofrmances.

The Prez/President - 1960s Celt Jim Kennedy was called this due to (almost) sharing a name with the doomed US President.

Faither - Veteran keeper and Lisbon Lion Ronnie Simpson was the the eldest of Jock Stein's all conquering Bhoys.

Teazy Weazy - Billy McPhail was named this due to his resemblence to a famous television hair-stylist and the fact he was also a skilled barber himself.