Why are people from England called Poms?

Question

Australians are called "Aussies" because of the name Australia; New Zealanders are called "Kiwis" because their national bird is the kiwi; French people are called "Frogs" because of their famous dish of frogs legs and Americans are called "Yanks" because during the American Civil War one of the armies were called the Yankees.

So why are English people called "Poms?"

Does anyone know the historical reason?

Best answer will be awarded to people with more detailed answers, and not to those who answer with one sentence.

Answer 1

Claim: "Pommy" (or "pom"), a slang term for a British person, comes from the acronym POHM, which was used to designate a "Prisoner of His Majesty."
Status: False.

Origins: "Pommy" (or "pom" or "pommie") is a primarily Australian (and largely derisive) slang term used to indicate a recent immigrant from Great Britain, or a Brit in general. The origins of "pommy" having been lost in the mists of time, someone needed to cook up an etymology for it, preferably one equal to the pejorative sense of the word. Accordingly, we now have the story that criminals transported to Australia were designated "Prisoners of His Majesty" or "Prisoners of Mother England" (some versions claim the convicts bore one of these legends printed on the backs of their shirts), and thus the acronym "POHM" or "POME" eventually evolved into the slang term "pom" or "pommy."

This amusing anecdote is doubtful as anything more than a fanciful invention, as acronymic origins antedating the mid-twentieth century are automatically suspect, and the use of "pommy" has been recorded at least as far back as 1915. Moreover, nobody has yet turned up corroborating evidence that "Prisoner of His Majesty" or "Prisoners of Mother England" were actually common designations for criminals transported to Australia. The best guess at this time is that "pommy" was based on the word "pomegranate" -- either because the redness of the fruit supposedly matched the typically florid British complexion, or because (like "Johnny Grant") it was used as rhyming slang for "immigrant."

Pommy
The term Pommy for a British person is commonly used in Australian English, New Zealand English and South African English and Afrikaans Speakers, and is often shortened to Pom. The origin of this term is not confirmed and there are several persistent false etymologies.

One theory is that, as the majority of early immigrants to Australia were British, it is rhyming slang for "immigrant" from a contraction of the word "pomegranate", or possibly more directly related to the appearance of the fruit, as it bears a more than passing resemblance to the typical pale complexioned Briton's skin after his or her first few days living under the hot Australian sun.

Another theory is that POM is a shortened acronym of Prisoner of His/Her Majesty (POHM). As many of Australia's first settlers were convicts, sentenced to transportation, this theory holds that upon arrival in the country they would be given a uniform with POHM emblazoned on the back, and that convicts with an extended stay on Australian soil would no longer have to wear the shirt and would often refer to newer entrants into the country as "Pohmmys". Other suggestions hold that POM is a different acronym, such as "Prisoner of Mother England" or "Port of Melbourne". These etymologies are believed to be false, as the term "pommy" was coined long before acronyms were used in common parlance. Moreover, there is no record of prisoners in Australia ever wearing such uniforms.

The use of the word 'Pom' is contentious. Some British people living in Australasia find the term offensive and demeaning, others find it harmless and amusing. Attitudes to the use of the word have varied over the years, from the 1960s when slogans such as 'bash a pom a day' were heard on New Zealand radio, to today, when the word has become so entrenched that few Australians and New Zealanders see any reason to avoid using the word, some even justifying the use of the word as being 'endearing'. On September 27, 2006, the Australian cricketing authority Cricket Australia ruled that it was OK for cricket fans to refer to the English as 'Poms' after a wide-ranging review on potentially racist terms.

Answer 2

Poms Meaning

Answer 3

The term Pommy for a British person is commonly used in Australian English, New Zealand English and South African English and Afrikaans Speakers, and is often shortened to Pom. The origin of this term is not confirmed and there are several persistent false etymologies.

One theory is that, as the majority of early immigrants to Australia were British, it is rhyming slang for "immigrant" from a contraction of the word "pomegranate", or possibly more directly related to the appearance of the fruit, as it bears a more than passing resemblance to the typical pale complexioned Briton's skin after his or her first few days living under the hot Australian sun.

Another theory is that POM is a shortened acronym of Prisoner of His/Her Majesty (POHM). As many of Australia's first settlers were convicts, sentenced to transportation, this theory holds that upon arrival in the country they would be given a uniform with POHM emblazoned on the back, and that convicts with an extended stay on Australian soil would no longer have to wear the shirt and would often refer to newer entrants into the country as "Pohmmys". Other suggestions hold that POM is a different acronym, such as "Prisoner of Mother England" or "Port of Melbourne". These etymologies are believed to be false, as the term "pommy" was coined long before acronyms were used in common parlance. Moreover, there is no record of prisoners in Australia ever wearing such uniforms.

The use of the word 'Pom' is contentious. Some British people living in Australasia find the term offensive and demeaning, others find it harmless and amusing. Attitudes to the use of the word have varied over the years, from the 1960s when slogans such as 'bash a pom a day' were heard on New Zealand radio, to today, when the word has become so entrenched that few Australians and New Zealanders see any reason to avoid using the word, some even justifying the use of the word as being 'endearing'. On September 27, 2006, the Australian cricketing authority Cricket Australia ruled that it was OK for cricket fans to refer to the English as 'Poms' after a wide-ranging review on potentially racist terms. [1]

Answer 4

At the time of independence the nearest british city to Australia was Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea only a short distance from Queenslabd and that is where many better off Brits went. They were called 'POMS' - it stuck.....

Answer 5

Before transportation to Australia convicts were kept in Millbank London and Pom referred to Prisoner of Millbank.

Answer 6

this is what i read..
According to the Australian National Museum the word only came into use in 1912 – long after the era of convict deportations.

Pom and Pommy came about because the hot Australian sun turned most of the people arriving from the UK as red as the inside of pomegranates. So instead of calling UK migrants ‘immigrants’, they were jokingly called ‘pomigrants’.

Pomigrant was then shortened to Pom or Pommy and the nickname stuck.

Answer 7

It is an acronym from the days when Australia was a penal colony for England. POME is Prisoner of Mother England

Answer 8

Its short for Prisoners of Mother England

Answer 9

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Why are people from England called Poms?
Australians are called "Aussies" because of the name Australia; New Zealanders are called "Kiwis" because their national bird is the kiwi; French people are called "Frogs" because of their famous dish of frogs legs and Americans are called "Yanks" because...

Answer 10

From the 2nd world war its short for Prisoners of Mother England