Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (also ’Bam, ’Bama) Alabama.

1914		W.C. Handy ‘Yellow Dog Rag’ 🎵 Letters come from down in ’Bam.
1935		Z.N. Hurston Mules and Men (1995) 143: Ah’m goin’ back to de Bama, Won’t be worried wid you.
1942		Z.N. Hurston ‘Story in Harlem Sl.’ in Novels and Stories (1995) 1005: Oh, don’t try to make out youse no northerner, you! Youse from right down in ’Bam your ownself!
1986		S. King It (1987) 82: In he had ambled, wearing jeans and a GO ’BAMA tee-shirt.
1992		B. Gifford Night People 177: Nothin’ like Silver Queen corn from ’Bama.

2. as a nickname.

1965

D. Pearce Cool Hand Luke (1967) 13: Get a drink there, Bama.

3. (US black, also bamma) a generic term for the South and things Southern; thus an implication of rural naïvety.

1969		U. Hannerz Soulside 83: A man who ignores this rule too conspicuously, appearing in clothes of many bright colors not considered matching, may be branded a ‘bama’; the word is derived from ‘Alabama’ and denotes an ignorant rustic.
1993		G.P. Pelecanos Nick’s Trip 141: ‘Rough two years I spent up there—for a country boy. In D.C. I wasn’t nothin’ but a “bama”’.
1994		N. McCall Makes Me Wanna Holler (1995) 288: Bamas aside, Atlanta provided the escape from my old life. [Ibid.] 288: It was country, all right. Bama Central.
1997–2001		Online Sl. Dict. 🌐 That Sissy character from down south is a real bamma.

4. (US black, also bama, bamma, bammer ) someone or something considered unacceptable or odd.

1970		Current Sl. V:2 5: Bama, n. A rustic; an ‘un-hip’ person.
1980		Eble Campus Sl. Spring 6: bama – a country hick or a homely looking girl.
1985		Eble Campus Sl. Apr. 1: bama – very ugly young woman.
1997–2000		College Sl. Research Project (Cal. State Poly. Uni., Pomona) 🌐 Bama (bamma) 1. (noun) Someone who is not hip; someone who you think is not cool or down or whatever! [Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD] 2. (noun) A geek. [Bowie High School, Bowie, MD.].
2000		Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 bama Definition: 1. an oddball. 2. something that is not good Example: Look at dat nigga wit dos MC Hammer pants on, nigga ain’t nuttin but a stone cold bama.
2002		‘Touré’ Portable Promised Land (ms.) 151: We Words (My Favorite Things) [...] Buppie. Bougie. BAP. Boho. Big Baller. Bougie. Bamma.
2005		G. Pelecanos Drama City 104: The preacher [...] called them slave chains, but that Bama was driving a Ford Taurus with duct tape on the bumper, so what could he know?
2012		‘Dutch’ ? (Pronounced Que) [ebook] The nigguh that really took it out is some bamma name Dion.
2019		C.D. Rosales Word Is Bone [ebook] [of marijuana] I gave him that bammer. [...] That shit was so weak I left it up by the coffee.