In the debate over what to call people from Tampa, the Tampeños have spoken

The Tampeños have spoken.

Picking up on a campaign by local TV host Mario Núñez to have the Tampa City Council make an official decision on what to call people from Tampa, the Tampa Bay Times ran a Twitter poll.

The choices were Tampeño, Tampanian and Tampan.

The ñ's have it.

Tampeño pulled in 43 percent of the 299 votes. Tampanian ran a close second with 38 percent. With 19 percent, Tampan finished last in the poll but first in the number of off-colored jokes referencing a similar-sounding women's hygiene product.

Núñez celebrates local history as host of The Tampa Natives Show on the Tampa Bay Arts & Education Network. The City Council hasn't taken up his cause yet so Núñez continues speaking out about it.

He prefers Tampeño because it highlights the city's Latin roots and because he believes it rolls off the tongue in a way the other options do not.

Those supporting Tampeño echoed these sentiments.

"My vote is for #Tampeno," tweeted Natalie Campisi at @NatalieMCampisi. "As a native Tampeno living in Los Angeles, I love that the locals here call themselves Angelenos. It celebrates the cultural richness in the cities. Plus, Tampanian sounds too much like "pain." Viva Tampenos!"

Added Dave Roberson from @flprogressive1, on Twitter, "I grew up in Orlando, but since living in West Tampa for the last 10 yrs, the good people here seem to embrace 'Tampeno' and I do as well. 'Tampeno' seems to better capture the rich history and culture of this city!"

Still, because Tampeño is a Spanish word, Núñez expected some from the Anglo community to push back on the label.

He was correct.

"Tampan has been used for generations," tweeted @charsun52's Charlotte Sunderland. "Hispanics aren't the only ones that helped shape our city. I am a native Tampan and it should stay that way."

Tweeted Wayne King from @PenponKing, "We're not all Hispanic."

On Facebook, some suggested that Tampeño will never stick because typing an ñ is too difficult, so, as seen on Twitter, people instead write Tampeno, which sounds phonetically flat when spoken.

In response, Núñez wrote the following "How To" Facebook post, "Hold down the Alt key then press 164 on the Number Keypad then release."

A few people, including 102.5 The Bone radio personality Mike Calta, chimed in with new suggestions.

"I already decided," Calta tweeted from @MrMikeCalta. "We don't need a poll. We are Tampaneers."

Another reader, @maryhad_a_ who goes by VSauce on Twitter, proposed "Tampanites."

Via Facebook, David Krauss quipped, "A stuckintraffican."

And others said the Tampa City Council has more important issues to debate.

"Holy hell," wrote Chris Hamilton on Facebook. "If we're getting bent on that, I would say we're pinheads."