Why is New York City called “the Big Apple”?

Over the years, we’ve gotten many questions regarding the nickname of Big Apple for New York City. Our research has found that there is no single answer to why/how NYC got this nickname, but that there are many theories. Here are some sites where you can read the various theories:

• Why is New York City called “the Big Apple”? — from The Word Detective’s archive of old columns
• The Big Apple — from The Big Apple website, devoted to the citations, quotations, and evidence concerning the origin of the term
• Why is New York City nicknamed the “Big Apple”? — from History.com