How Dixie Got Its Name

Prior to the War Between the States, one of the largest and most successful banks in the South, indeed, even in the United States, was the Citizens' Bank of Louisiana, which issued its own money during the 1850s and 1860s.

Probably the most famous banknote issued by any bank was the $10 note issued by the Citizens' Bank, printed in French and English. "Dix" is the French word for "ten," and the American slang term for those notes became "Dixies."

Later, the entire Louisiana area in which those notes circulated became known as "the land of the Dixies." Then, Dan Emmett wrote the sone "Dixie," and a Southern heritage was born.

The Citizens' Bank of Louisiana, as well as the Canal and Banking Company of New Orleans, survived the war, merged, and became the multi-billion dollar National Bank of Commerce of today.