A mnemonic (nee-MON-ic) is a simple trick to assist in remembering something not directly related. For instance, HOMES for the names of the Great Lakes. Telephone mnemonics often use the letters on the telephone dial to spell words. Many of the mnemonics below were intentional, but a few were undoubtedly accidents.
Code | Mnem. | Area | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
223 | ACE | PA: Harrisburg | State gov’t is ACE? (also ABE, BAD, CAD) |
224 | BAH | IL: north sub’s of Chicago | BAH humbug if you’re not a VIP |
229 | ABY | GA: southwestern | AlBanY; also BAY |
234 | BEG | OH: Akron, Canton, Youngstown | Please can we have a new code? |
242 | BHA | Bahamas | BaHAmas, or bAHAmas |
246 | BIM | Barbados | local nickname for Barbados |
253 | ALE | WA: Tacoma | Lots of brew pubs? |
264 | ANG | Anguilla (Caribbean) | |
268 | ANT | Antigua (Caribbean) | |
269 | ANY | MI: Kalamazoo | Give us ANY old number! (also AMY, BOW, BOX, BOY, COW, COX, COY) |
276 | ARM | VA: southwestern | Keep us at ARM’s length from D.C., BRO! |
279 | CRY | CA: Sacramento | Boo hoo, I didn’t get a 916 number |
(283) | ATE | OH: Cincinnati | Cincy ATE up all the 513 numbers |
284 | BVI | British Virgin Islands | |
289 | AUX | ON: Toronto suburbs | secondary code (also BUY) |
321 | — | FL: Space Coast, Cape Canaveral | 3-2-1-blastoff! |
323 | FAD | CA: downtown Los Angeles | The epicenter of DAD trendiness |
332 | DEB | NY: Manhattan | DEBut of a new area code |
343 | DIE | ON: Ottawa | I’d DIE for a 613 number |
346 | DIM | TX: Houston | We take a DIM view of new numbers? |
347 | DIP | NY: NYC except Manhattan | Take a DIP in the East River! |
352 | FLA | FL: Gainesville, Ocala | |
364 | DOG | KY: Paducah | This DOG’ll hunt? |
367 | D’OR | QC: Québec | Québec, c’est la ville D’OR (FOR ms-DOS) |
386 | FUN | FL: Daytona Beach | Spring Break! |
423 | ICE | TN: Chattanooga | The South is twICE as nICE |
438 | GET | QC: Montréal | Did you GET my number? À quelle HEUre? |
424 | GAG | CA: coastal L.A. County | icky overlay cancelled (but reinstated!) |
425 | HAL | WA: Redmond | all-powerful computer run amok |
(428) | HAT | NB: whole province, circa 2023 | You can hang up your HAT in New Brunswick! |
435 | HEL | UT: rural areas | incl. HELper, Utah |
437 | HER | ON: Toronto | The Queen’s City, never know when HER majesty might visit |
443 | HID | MD: Baltimore | You should’ve HID that GIF! |
445 | HIL | PA: Philadelphia | Welcome to pHILadelphia! |
447 | HIS | IL: Champaign, Springfield | What’s HIS phone number? |
I-56 | Int’l inbound 56K | discontinued in 2017 | |
463 | IND | IN: Indianapolis | |
469 | HOW | TX: Dallas | HOW many area codes? |
473 | GRE | Grenada (Caribbean) | |
475 | IRK | CT: southwestern | New code will annoy some |
484 | HUG | PA: Phila. suburbs | You’ve got a friend in PA! |
534 | LEG | WI: Eau Claire | Show some LEG in Wisconsin winter! |
539 | KEY | OK: Tulsa | Tulsa has the KEY to your heart |
548 | KIT | ON: London, Windsor, Kitchener | KITchener is all LIT up |
562 | JOB | CA: Long Beach | Get a JOB, you beach bums! |
563 | JOE | IA: Quad Cities | We’re average JOEs |
564 | LOG | WA: western, outside Seattle metro | JOG to the timber industry |
573 | LSD | MO: Columbia, Jefferson City | incl. state capital |
575 | KQJ | NM: Las Cruces, Taos, 👽Roswell🚀 | Little green men can’t spell! |
585 | JUL | NY: Rochester | when the snow melts |
623 | MAD | AZ: west Phoenix area | angry about the 3-way split? |
626 | MAN | CA: Pasadena | Man, oh, man! Do you play the OBOe? |
636 | MEN | MO: St. Charles, suburbs of St. Louis | Real men don’t use 314? |
639 | NEW | SK: whole province | Saskatchewan has a NEW area code! |
646 | MHN | NY: Manhattan NYC | ManHattaN; Not In My 212 |
647 | MIS | ON: Toronto | should’ve given this one to MISsisauga |
649 | MIX | Turks & Caicos (Caribbean) | most numbers are 649-946-xxxx |
662 | MOB | MS: northern | the MOB demanded a new number |
664 | Mo I | Montserrat Island (Caribbean) | |
667 | MOR | MD: Baltimore, north/east | baltiMORe has more MOPs |
678 | Mr T | GA: Atlanta | The A-Team lives in Atlanta? |
684 | MUG | American Samoa | souvenir for your coffee? |
726 | SAN | San Antonio | SAN antonio |
732 | SEA | NJ: Jersey Shore | |
743 | SHE | NC: Greensboro, Winston-Salem | SHE gets RID of what she wants! |
747 | SIR | CA: San Fernando Valley (NW Los Angeles) | Yes, SIR! |
754 | SKI | FL: Fort Lauderdale | overlay of 954 & 754 |
758 | S Lu | St. Lucia (Caribbean) | |
763 | SOD | MN: suburbs north of Minneapolis | Get this sod off my lawn! |
767 | ROS | Dominica (Caribbean) | capital is ROSeau |
769 | SOY | MS: Jacksonville | a POX on ROY and his SOY SOX |
772 | SPA | FL: Vero Beach | coastal resorts |
779 | SPY | IL: Rockford, Joliet | Sooper-seekrit overlay? |
782 | SUB | Nova Scotia & P.E.I. | SUBstitute for a PUB or a RUB |
784 | SVG | St. Vincent & the Grenadines | (Caribbean) |
786 | SUN | FL: Miami/Dade | |
787 | Pt R | Puerto Rico | |
832 | TEC | TX: Houston | Houston has high-TECh TEA? |
838 | VET | NY: Albany | We honor VETeran(arian)s! |
839 | TEX | SC: Columbia | Oy VEY, South Carolina annexed by TEXas |
843 | TID | SC: Charleston, coastal | THE Tidewater? |
847 | VIP | IL: north suburbs of Chicago | |
858 | ULT | CA: San Diego | It’s the ULTimate! |
859 | UKY | KY: Lexington, Covington | Univ. of Kentucky |
863 | TOE | FL: Lakeland | dip a TOE in Lake Okeechobee |
865 | VOL | TN: Knoxville | U. Tenn. VOLs (Volunteers) |
867 | TOP | Yukon, NWT, Nunavut (northern Canada) | TOP of the world |
868 | TnT | Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean) | |
869 | TOY | St. Kitts & Nevis (Caribbean) | an area code is not a TOY |
872 | USA | IL: Chicago (312 & 773) | |
(879) | TRY | Newfoundland & Labrador (postponed) | TRY to wait for the overlay |
925 | WAL | CA: Walnut Creek, Livermore | also 925=Y2K |
929 | WAY | NY: NYC except Manhattan | 🎼 Do you know the WAY to Staten Island? |
936 | ZEN | TX: Huntsville | I’ve a YEN for the ZEN |
937 | YES | OH: Dayton | Say YES to 937! |
938 | YET | AL: Huntsville | There aren’t YET any WET YETis in Alabama |
947 | ZIP | MI: Pontiac, Troy | No, these are area codes! |
949 | WHY | CA: south Orange County | WHY split 714?? |
979 | WRY | TX: College Station | Aggies have a WRY sense of humor? |
986 | YUM | Idaho | Tasty Idaho potatoes 🥔 |
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