If you are settling a quiz question, filling in a fantasy league sheet, or simply learning the league, this complete guide to football nfl team names gives you every current team in alphabetical order, plus the division each team plays in. The National Football League, known as the NFL, has 32 teams, split evenly between two conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Each conference has four divisions, North, South, East, and West, with four teams in each division. This guide to football nfl team names lists all 32 clubs from the Arizona Cardinals to the Washington Commanders, so you can find any team quickly without scrolling through a standings table.
Alphabetical order is a practical way to present the list because it does not depend on the current season’s results. Standings change every week, but an alphabetical list stays stable and easy to search. It also helps newcomers notice patterns, such as how many team names are animals, how many come from local history, and how a few names have changed over the years. Whether you need the full set of football nfl team names for a trivia night or you are checking a single club, the alphabetical list below is the fastest place to start.
Football NFL Team Names: The Full Alphabetical List
Here are all 32 football nfl team names in alphabetical order, with each team’s conference and division noted. Team names are given in their current official form. City names come first, followed by the team nickname, which is the part most fans use in conversation.
- Arizona Cardinals — NFC West
- Atlanta Falcons — NFC South
- Baltimore Ravens — AFC North
- Buffalo Bills — AFC East
- Carolina Panthers — NFC South
- Chicago Bears — NFC North
- Cincinnati Bengals — AFC North
- Cleveland Browns — AFC North
- Dallas Cowboys — NFC East
- Denver Broncos — AFC West
- Detroit Lions — NFC North
- Green Bay Packers — NFC North
- Houston Texans — AFC South
- Indianapolis Colts — AFC South
- Jacksonville Jaguars — AFC South
- Kansas City Chiefs — AFC West
- Las Vegas Raiders — AFC West
- Los Angeles Chargers — AFC West
- Los Angeles Rams — NFC West
- Miami Dolphins — AFC East
- Minnesota Vikings — NFC North
- New England Patriots — AFC East
- New Orleans Saints — NFC South
- New York Giants — NFC East
- New York Jets — AFC East
- Philadelphia Eagles — NFC East
- Pittsburgh Steelers — AFC North
- San Francisco 49ers — NFC West
- Seattle Seahawks — NFC West
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers — NFC South
- Tennessee Titans — AFC South
- Washington Commanders — NFC East
Counting the list is a useful check: 16 teams in the AFC and 16 in the NFC, for 32 in total. If a list you find elsewhere has fewer, it may be out of date or missing a relocated team. Relocation is the most common reason a familiar name seems to vanish. The Raiders, for example, have played in Oakland and Los Angeles before Las Vegas, and the Rams have played in Cleveland, Los Angeles, and St. Louis at different times. The nickname often travels with the club, while the city name changes, which is why keeping an up-to-date alphabetical list matters.
Football NFL Team Names by Division
Divisions decide much of the regular-season schedule, since each team plays its three division rivals twice a year. That familiarity breeds some of the league’s fiercest rivalries. The table below regroups the same football nfl team names by division, so you can see the structure at a glance.
| Division | Teams |
|---|---|
| AFC East | Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets |
| AFC North | Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers |
| AFC South | Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans |
| AFC West | Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers |
| NFC East | Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders |
| NFC North | Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings |
| NFC South | Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| NFC West | Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks |
Notice that division names describe geography only loosely. The NFC East includes Dallas, which sits far to the south of the other East teams, and the AFC South includes Indianapolis, which is further north than several teams in other divisions. These quirks are the result of history: divisions were shaped by old rivalries and league mergers, and the NFL has generally preferred to preserve historic matchups rather than redraw the map neatly. For fans, the result is a set of divisions that feel traditional even when they look odd on a map.
Animal Names Among Football NFL Team Names
Animals dominate the list of football nfl team names, which is no surprise in a sport that prizes speed, strength, and toughness. The animal clubs are the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks. That is eleven of the 32 teams, more than a third of the league, and each animal carries a slightly different image. Falcons and eagles suggest speed and sharp eyesight, lions and bears suggest power, and dolphins suggest intelligence and agility.
Some animal names also carry a local connection. The Baltimore Ravens take their name from the famous poem about a raven by Edgar Allan Poe, who lived and died in Baltimore, so the name is both an animal and a literary nod to the city. The Miami Dolphins suit a coastal Florida city, and the Seattle Seahawks suit a Pacific Northwest port city where seabirds are a familiar sight. These local touches are part of why team names stick: they feel like they belong to the place, not just to the sport.
History Behind the Other Football NFL Team Names
The remaining football nfl team names draw on history, work, and local identity rather than animals. The Green Bay Packers are named after a meat-packing company that sponsored the early team, a reminder of the league’s small-town industrial roots. The Pittsburgh Steelers honor the city’s steel industry, and the Cleveland Browns are named after an early coach, Paul Brown, rather than a color. The San Francisco 49ers recall the gold seekers who arrived in California in 1849, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers nod to the pirate legends of Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Other names reflect people and events. The New England Patriots evoke the American Revolution, fitting for a team representing a region steeped in that history. The New Orleans Saints borrow from the city’s musical and cultural heritage, including its famous jazz standard. The Kansas City Chiefs and the Tennessee Titans both reach back to older ideas of leadership and power, while the Las Vegas Raiders suggest boldness and independence, an image that fits the team’s long-standing identity. The Washington Commanders, the league’s newest name on this list, replaced an older name in 2022 and points to a military and leadership theme.
A few names are simply practical. The Houston Texans name the state they play in, the New York Jets and New York Giants use straightforward New York imagery, and the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams both suggest energy and motion. The Buffalo Bills are named after the showman Buffalo Bill Cody, a name chosen by fans in a contest, which shows how supporter involvement has shaped team identity from the early days. Together, these stories turn a plain list of names into a small tour of American places and pastimes.
AFC and NFC: How the Two Conferences Work
The AFC and NFC grew out of the merger between the NFL and the rival American Football League in 1970. Before the merger, the two leagues competed for players and fans; after it, they became the two conferences of a single league. That history still shapes the season. Each team plays a mix of games inside its own conference, inside its division, and against the other conference on a rotating basis, so that over several seasons every team meets every other team.
The season ends with the playoffs, in which the best teams from each conference compete for a place in the Super Bowl, the championship game between the AFC champion and the NFC champion. Because the conferences are equal in size, the path to the championship is balanced, and the Super Bowl has become one of the most watched sporting events in the world. For a newcomer, the simplest way to follow it is to pick a division, learn its four teams, and then expand outward to the rest of the conference.
Fans who want more background on the league can also read our pages on the NFL headquarters and the NFL television schedule, which cover where the league is run and how to catch the games.
Football NFL Team Names: A Quick Recap
If you need the list in a hurry, this recap of football nfl team names has you covered: 32 clubs, 16 in each conference, four per division. Memorizing football nfl team names is easier in alphabetical chunks, from the Arizona Cardinals through the middle of the list to the Washington Commanders. Use football nfl team names by division when you follow a season, since division games shape the standings and the rivalries. And when a friend disputes a name, check it against this guide to football nfl team names rather than memory, because relocations and renames catch everyone out sooner or later.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many teams are in the NFL?
There are 32 teams, split evenly with 16 in the AFC and 16 in the NFC. Each conference has four divisions of four teams.
Which NFL team name comes first alphabetically?
The Arizona Cardinals come first, followed by the Atlanta Falcons. The Washington Commanders come last in alphabetical order.
Why do some team cities not match their division names?
Divisions were shaped by history and old rivalries rather than strict geography, and the league has kept traditional groupings even when a team moved city. Dallas in the NFC East is the best-known example.
Have any NFL team names changed recently?
Yes. The Washington club became the Washington Commanders in 2022, and several clubs have changed city over the years while keeping their nicknames, such as the Raiders and the Rams.
Conclusion
This alphabetical guide to football nfl team names covers all 32 clubs, from the Arizona Cardinals to the Washington Commanders, organized by division and by the stories behind the names. Whether you use it to settle a quiz, to learn a new division, or to keep track of a season, the list is a reliable reference because it is complete, current, and easy to search. Keep it bookmarked, and the next time someone asks you to name every team in the league, you will have the full set ready, in order, with no club missing.