<p>The University of California, Berkeley is the legal name.</p>
<p>Locals call it Cal and others around the state and country mostly say Berkeley. The NCAA, Pac-10 and tv sports programs use the name "California" when referring to Cal athletic teams.</p>
<p>Berzerkley and the People's Republic of Berkeley refer more to the eclectic, zany, craziness that is the city of Berkeley.</p>
<p>Nobody calls it UCB, Cal-Berkeley (either Cal or Berkeley, but not both. Thats redundant), or UCal. Pretty much everyone here either calls it Cal or simply The University. Brevity comes into play when someone says, "where do you go to school?" Its too hard to say, " I go to the University of California at Berkeley!" I just say, "Cal, Beeatch!"</p>
<p>I read a funny article in the Daily Cal the other day. I guess some hack out of Pennsylvania was selling online degrees (Ph.Ds and Masters, mostly) from the "University of Berkley" (without the second "e" in Berkeley). Employers would assume this was the real "University of California - Berkeley" and people would get hired with fake degrees.</p>
<p>Typically, for time's sake, people stick to either "Berkeley" or "Cal". In sports (a la football or basketball) it's "California".</p>
<p>most ppl say "Berk-klee". The one I hate is "Cal". Even on school t-shirts and caps. The abbreviation sounds cheap. It only has meaning if you are in the school circuit and live near the Bay Area. Talk to someone in chico, "Cal" could mean Cal State Chico. I think University of Californian at Berkeley is making a huge mistake of cheapening its name.</p>
<p>The most egregious example still belongs to UPenn. Forever tied to Penn State, that other prestigious school in Pennsylvania, arguably better known for its basketball program.</p>
<p>Yourworld, I'm pretty sure that nobody in Chico thinks that Cal is anything other than UC Berkeley. I've noticed that in other parts of the country and the world that people don't generally know that the real name is UC Berkeley. They just think its Berkeley University or something like that. Its only when you're here that just saying Berkeley doesn't work. Say you want to meet a friend from the city on campus and when they ask where you want to meet you say, "Berkeley." Thats one of the reasons that people say Cal, just to avoid confusion. BTW, Penn State is known for football.</p>
<p>Personally, I hear "Berkeley" alone more often than "UC Berkeley." I agree with yourworld in that Cal is the worst of the nicknames, but Swarthmore is that other presitigious school in Pennsylvania- it's just that most people haven't heard of it.</p>
<p>I've taken a penchant for saying "UC Berkeley". Sure, it takes longer to say (five syllables is a bit lengthy), but what's wrong with savoring the feeling of telling someone you go to one of the finest schools the nation can offer?</p>
<p>I say "Cal-Berkeley," but usually there's a slight hesitation to make it sound like "Cal- i (roll the 'I')- Berkeley." I do it because I'm a dork and I'm stupid. Thanks.</p>
<p>Official Name: University of California, Berkeley
Athletic Team Name: "California" often abbreviated to "Cal"
Common Nicknames: UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, University of California, UCB</p>
<p>The nickname "University of California" is a result of the fact that Berkeley was orginally the only state university in California and hence the only "University of California." However, the subsequent opening of 9 other UC's resulted in the addition of the city name after "UC" (with the notable exception of UCSD. Technically, it would be UC La Jolla but the university's name was changed because, frankly, nobody knew where La Jolla was). Thus, the using of the "University of California" as a nickname is a reminder that Berkeley was the first UC.</p>
<p>Some may continue to use the "University of California at Berkeley" but the preposition was dropped in the 1960s. The removal of "at" was a system-wide decision (meaning that all UC's dropped the "at").</p>
<p>Either one of those let people know what school I attend without further questions. Maybe "UC Berkeley" for people that aren't from the area and "Cal" would be used with the locals. "Berkeley" seems to be the easiest to say and lets people know exactly where you go to school. That's just me though.</p>