<P> The team 's new ballpark , Hilltop Park ( formally known as `` American League Park '' ) , was constructed in one of Upper Manhattan 's highest points -- between 165th and 168th Streets -- just a few blocks away from the much larger Polo Grounds . The team came to be known as the New York Highlanders . The name was inspired by a combination of the team 's elevated location in Upper Manhattan , and to the noted Scottish military unit The Gordon Highlanders , which coincided with the team 's president Joseph Gordon whose family was of Scots Irish heritage . Newspapers initially called the team `` Gordon 's Highlanders '' ( e.g. New York World , April 15 , 1903 ) , which soon became just `` Highlanders '' . As was common with all members of the American League , the team was often called the New York Americans . They were also dubbed the `` Invaders '' for a short time in 1903 . New York Press Sports Editor Jim Price coined the unofficial nickname Yankees ( or `` Yanks '' ) for the club as early as 1904 , because it was easier to fit in headlines and because `` Yankee '' was and is a commonly - used synonym for `` American '' . A prophetic letter to the editor of the New York Sun , May 7 , 1903 , p. 8 , had raised this question : `` Name for the American New Yorks . If the new baseball team is to have a name that is in keeping with the ' Giants , ' does it not seem reasonable that if they are the ' New York Americans ' they might be called the ' Yankees ' or ' Yanks ' ? '' </P>
<P> The team 's new ballpark , Hilltop Park ( formally known as `` American League Park '' ) , was constructed in one of Upper Manhattan 's highest points -- between 165th and 168th Streets -- just a few blocks away from the much larger Polo Grounds . The team came to be known as the New York Highlanders . The name was inspired by a combination of the team 's elevated location in Upper Manhattan , and to the noted Scottish military unit The Gordon Highlanders , which coincided with the team 's president Joseph Gordon whose family was of Scots Irish heritage . Newspapers initially called the team `` Gordon 's Highlanders '' ( e.g. New York World , April 15 , 1903 ) , which soon became just `` Highlanders '' . As was common with all members of the American League , the team was often called the New York Americans . They were also dubbed the `` Invaders '' for a short time in 1903 . New York Press Sports Editor Jim Price coined the unofficial nickname Yankees ( or `` Yanks '' ) for the club as early as 1904 , because it was easier to fit in headlines and because `` Yankee '' was and is a commonly - used synonym for `` American '' . A prophetic letter to the editor of the New York Sun , May 7 , 1903 , p. 8 , had raised this question : `` Name for the American New Yorks . If the new baseball team is to have a name that is in keeping with the ' Giants , ' does it not seem reasonable that if they are the ' New York Americans ' they might be called the ' Yankees ' or ' Yanks ' ? '' </P>
where did new york yankees get their name
where did new york yankees get their name
New York Press Sports Editor Jim Price coined the unofficial nickname Yankees ( or `` Yanks '' ) for the club as early as 1904 , because it was easier to fit in headlines and because `` Yankee '' was and is a commonly - used synonym for `` American ''
New York Press Sports Editor Jim Price coined the unofficial nickname Yankees ( or `` Yanks '' ) for the club as early as 1904 , because it was easier to fit in headlines and because `` Yankee '' was and is a commonly - used synonym for `` American ''