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Austin borrowed the title from Athens, Greece. Originally, Athens was called the “City of the Violet Crown” or “City of the Violet-Crowned Hills.” Some say that when Athens was ruled by King Ion (Ion = “violet"), Athens acquired this name. Pindar (the Greek poet of the fifth century B.C.) used the “violet crown” term. During the 19th century, in a time when Athens was considered the cradle of western civilization, Austin called itself the "Athens of the South".

O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) called Austin, Texas the “City of the Violet Crown” in 1894. His short story Tictocq: The Great French Detective, in Austin. The story was originally published in his locally published newspaper The Rolling Stone on October 27, 1894. The phrase is used in Chapter Two: “The drawing-rooms of one of the most magnificent private residences in Austin are a blaze of lights. Carriages line the streets in front, and from gate to doorway is spread a velvet carpet, on which the delicate feet of the guests may tread. The occasion is the entre into society of one of the fairest buds in the City of the Violet Crown.” Most people now attribute the nickname to this short story.

More than a half century ago Austin civic boosters noticed how at sunset the light often took on a rich and lovely violet hue. So they decided to capitalize on this beauty by promoting Austin as the “City of the Violet Crown.”