The city is nicknamed the Duke City because the 1706 villa was named for the Duke of Alburquerque, a hereditary Spanish title that refers to the town of Alburquerque in Badajoz, Spain. The nickname lives on in the old Albuquerque Dukes baseball team, whose mascot, The Duke, is still a city icon, and in the Duke City Marathon, run since 1984.
Questions people ask
Why is Albuquerque called the Duke City?
The town was named in 1706 for the Duke of Alburquerque, a viceroy of New Spain.