Many Army divisions have over the years earned nicknames. Sometimes, the nicknames themselves have overshadowed the actual name of the division, such as the "Screaming Eagles" for the 101st Airborne Division.

Special designation An official special designation is a "nickname granted to a military organization" which has been authorized by the Center of Military History and recognized through a certificate signed by the Secretary of the Army.

A division's nickname may derive from numerous sources:

it may be inspired by the division's badge or insignia, such as the 1st Infantry Division's "Big Red One". On the other hand, some division's badges are actually suggested by the nickname, such as the "CY" patch of the "Cyclone Division" (38th Infantry Division); it may derive from the place where the division was raised or trained (36th Infantry Division, "Texas"), or the places of origin of the division's soldiers (29th Infantry Division, "Blue and Gray", for northern and southern states); it may be bestowed by the enemy in battle, such as the moniker "Red Devils", a nickname for the 5th Infantry Division "granted" by the Germans at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, World War I; it may be the pairing of an adjective (such as "Fighting") paired with the division's ordinal, such as "The Fighting First" for the 1st Infantry Division; or it may defy accurate explanation (albeit not without numerous theories), such as the 9th Infantry Division, or "Old Reliables".

Active divisions are listed in boldface; no distinction has been made between regular Army divisions and those of the Army Reserve or National Guard. The origin of the nickname is noted where possible. In some cases, the nickname was officially adopted by the division in question; this is indicated along with date of adoption (where known). Official status might also be inferred by the presence of the nickname on official distinctive unit insignia or in official military source materials.

Airborne divisions 11th Airborne Division – "The Angels"; possibly after their shoulder patch, a white-bordered red circle with a white numeral "11", with white wings rising obliquely from the circle, all on a royal blue field 13th Airborne Division – "Golden Unicorns"; taken from their shoulder patch, a winged unicorn in orange on an ultramarine blue, the branch of service colours of the United States Army Air Corps, was approved on 2 June 1943. A gold on black "Airborne" tab was worn above the insignia. 17th Airborne Division – "Golden Talon"; taken from their shoulder patch. 173rd Airborne Brigade – "Sky Soldiers"; "The Herd". They received their official nickname (Tien Bing translates to Sky Soldiers) from the Taiwanese locals during exercises when they were parachuting in Taiwan. The 173rd was part of the only major conventional airborne operation (Operation Junction City) during the Vietnam War. The unit's shoulder patch was referred to as the "Flying Butter Knives." 82nd Airborne Division – "America's Guard of Honor", "All-Americans"; original members of the division in 1917 came from every state in the Union. In addition, the 82nd Airborne has been called "Alcoholics Anonymous" or "Almost Airborne" in reference to the "AA" on its shoulder patch by members of other divisions. 101st Airborne Division – "The Screaming Eagles"; after their shoulder insignia, a bald eagle's head on a black shield. During the Vietnam War, the nicknames "Puking Buzzards" and "One 'o Worst", a comment on their mode of transportation and a play on the official divisional name, were used. Both were used derogatorily by other soldiers, and were not used by the division itself. In addition, the Vietnamese called them the "Chicken Men" since they had never seen a bald eagle. Several regiments within the 101st were nicknamed "The Battered Bastards of Bastogne", due to their part in holding the important crossroads town during the Battle of the Bulge.

Armored divisions 1st Armored Division – "Old Ironsides" (official, 1941); Devised by its first commander, Major General Bruce Magruder, after he saw a picture of the USS Constitution, which bears the same nickname. The "Dorito" 2nd Armored Division – "Hell on Wheels"; Brigadier General George S. Patton, while witnessing it on maneuvers in 1941, reportedly said the division would be "Hell on Wheels" when it met the enemy 3rd Armored Division – "Spearhead"; in recognition of the division's role as the "spearhead" of many attacks during the liberation of France in 1944. 4th Armored Division "Breakthrough" – According to the Center of Military History, the 4th was "sometimes called the 'Breakthrough Division,' but the division never officially pursued the designation, preferring to be 'known by its deeds alone.'"CMH "Name Enough" "Rolling Fourth" "Patton's Best" 5th Armored Division – "Victory"; probably from the Roman numeral 5, which is a "V" (for "Victory"). 6th Armored Division – "Super Sixth" 7th Armored Division – "Lucky Seventh" 8th Armored Division "Thundering Herd" "Iron Deuce" "Iron Snake" "Show Horse" "Tornado" 9th Armored Division – "Phantom";World War II Divisional Combat Chronicles so dubbed by the German army at the Battle of the Bulge because, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the division "seemed, like a phantom, to be everywhere along the front." "Remagen"; because the division captured intact the Ludendorf Bridge at Remagen, Germany; the first bridge across the Rhine River captured by the Allies. 10th Armored Division – "Tiger Division"; so named by Major General Paul Newgarden, the division's first commander, because a tiger has soldierly qualities, including being clean and neat and the ability to maneuver and surprise his prey. 11th Armored Division – "Thunderbolt" 12th Armored Division – "Hellcat Division" "Suicide Division" The Mystery Division" 13th Armored Division – "Black Cat"World War II Divisional Combat Chronicles 14th Armored Division – "Liberators"; earned during the last days of World War II when it liberated some 200,000 Allied prisoners of war from German prison camps. 20th Armored Division – "Armoraiders"; not official, but the division did associate itself with this nickname while in training at Camp Campbell during World War II 27th Armored Division – "Empire"; referring to the fact that it was a New York National Guard unit, after the state's nickname. 30th Armored Division – "Volunteers"; referring to the fact that it was a Tennessee National Guard unit, after the state's nickname. 40th Armored Division – "Grizzly"; referring to the fact that it was a California National Guard unit, after the state's nickname. 48th Armored Division – "Hurricane" 49th Armored Division – "Lone Star"; referring to its status as a Texas National Guard formation, after the state's nickname. 50th Armored Division – "Jersey Blues"; referring to the fact that it was a New Jersey National Guard unit. This is today's 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Cavalry divisions 1st Cavalry Division – "The First Team" "Hell for Leather" (see: https://archive.org/details/gov.dod.dimoc.20366), "The Black Horse"

Infantry divisions

1st Infantry Division "The Big Red One" – from the division's official shoulder patch: Red numeral "1" on an olive drab shield. "The Fighting First" "The Big Dead One" 2nd Infantry Division "Warrior Division" – official nickname "Indian Head" – Official as of 1948. From the shoulder patch: an Indian head on a white star superimposed on black shield. 3rd Infantry Division "Rock of the Marne" and "Marne Men" – earned for the Battle of the Marne during World War I, when the division held its position and repulsed two German divisions. "Blue and White Devils" () – during the Battle of Anzio during World War II, the division was called this nickname by their German opponents, based on their shoulder patch (a square containing three diagonal white stripes on a dark blue field). "Broken Television" – from their shoulder patch resembling a television with static on screen. "Dog Faced Soldiers" – from the 3rd ID Song. 4th Infantry Division The division's patch is four ivy leaves pointing up, down, and to the sides "Ivy" – play on the Roman numeral "IV" ("4"). Also, ivy leaves are symbolic of tenacity and fidelity, the basis of the division's motto, "Steadfast and Loyal". From the Vietnam Era "Funky Fourth". "Poison Ivy". "Iron Horse" – official nickname, has been recently adopted to indicate the speed and power of the division "Famous Fighting Fourth" "Lost Lieutenants" or "4 Lieutenants Pointing North" – a play on the division shoulder sleeve insignia and the stereotype of 2nd Lieutenants being inexperienced and unskilled. 5th Infantry Division "Red Diamonds" – a plain red diamond or lozenge shape "Red Devils" – during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel in World War I, the Germans referred to the division as "Die roten Teufel" (German, "The Red Devils"). 6th Infantry Division The division's patch is a red six-pointed star "Sightseeing Sixth" ”Death Star” ”Commie Jew Division” (as described by General William Westmoreland when it was proposed the 6th Division would be sent to Vietnam) ”Jumping Jews” (when worn with an Airborne tab, 1/501 PIR in the 1990s) 7th Infantry Division "Bayonet Division" – this nickname "became synonymous with the division through its participation in the Korean War and symbolizes the fighting spirit of the men of the 7th Infantry division." "H-Hour" – Shoulder patch: Red circular patch bearing black hour glass which is formed by an inverted "7" and a superimposed "7". ”The Crushed Beer Can” 8th Infantry Division "Golden Arrow" – Official as of 1948. Shoulder patch: An upward pointing gold arrow piercing a silver figure "8" on a blue shield. "Pathfinder Division" – Official; original nickname (supplanted by "Golden Arrow" and later reinstated), so named in honor of John C. Fremont, an explorer of California, the namesake of Camp Fremont, which is where the division was formed. ”The Eight-Up Division” (play on words and the design of the patch alluding to the Army term “ate up” which means incompetent) 9th Infantry Division "Varsity" "Old Reliables" – origin unknown, but some possibilities recorded here "Psychedelic Cookie" – Used during the Vietnam War in reference to its shoulder patch. 10th Mountain Division "Mountaineer" ”Fighting Beer Keg” 12th Infantry Division "Carabao" 23rd Infantry Division "Americal" – At one point in time this was the official Divisional designation, when it was redesignated as the 23rd Infantry Division, Americal became the divisional nickname. Originally formed in World War II out of separate American National Guard units on the island of New Caledonia, hence the origin of the name. 24th Infantry Division "Pineapple Division"**"Taro Leaf"; "Victory". 25th Infantry Division "Tropic Lightning" – Official (adopted August 3, 1953). In 1942 the division was ordered to deploy to Guadalcanal to relieve U.S. Marines there; only 31 days were required to accomplish the mission and earned the division its official designation. The Division patch is a taro leaf (indicating Hawaii, where the division was formed), and a lightning bolt, "representative of the manner in which the Division performs its allotted assignments." "Electric Strawberry" – so called because the shoulder patch taro leaf resembles a strawberry with a lightning bolt on it. 26th Infantry Division – "Yankee"; This is today's 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. 27th Infantry Division – "Empire," a legacy of the 27th Armored Division. "O'Ryan's Roughnecks," a reference to the first division commander, John F. O'Ryan. "New York Division." – Many members were part of the New York National Guard. The abbreviation N.Y.D. can be seen in the division shoulder sleeve insignia. “Orion Division”, as the insignia also contains an "O" for O'Ryan, as well as a depiction of the Orion constellation as a pun on O'Ryan's name. This is today's 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.