Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland, UK. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about 25 miles (40 km) by road from the Anglo-Scottish border and just 15 miles (24 km) away from Cumbria by air. Dumfries is the traditional county town of the historic county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South. The nickname has also given name to the town’s professional football club.

People from Dumfries are known colloquially in Scots language as Doonhamers. The term doonhamer comes from the way that natives of Dumfries over the years have referred to the area when working away from home. The town is often referred to as doon hamein the Scots language (down home). The term doonhamer followed, to describe those that originate from Dumfries.

Dumfries got its nickname ‘Queen of the South’ from David Dunbar, a local poet, who in 1857 stood in the general election.

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