One of the most unique nicknames among Illinois high schools is Hampshire High School's "Whip-Purs."

Per Hampshire High School...

"The story behind the name of the Whip-Purs is that sometime in the 1940’s, there was a contest within the school to decide what the Hampshire High School mascot would be named. The school colors are white and purple. One of the mascot name suggestions was 'Whi-Pur' for the first three letters in 'white' and the first three letters in 'purple'."

It is unknown exactly when and why the 'p' was added to 'whi', but it was likely to turn the nonsense word into a real one, which proved significant as the whip became an important part of the original mascot drawing (a cat holding a whip).

One of the original Whip-Pur renditions is below, in both black & white and color, while the current Whip-Pur mascot can be seen to the right.

Some distinguished Whip-Pur alumni include:
-Dr. John Lurain; one of the nation’s leading oncologists, Northwestern University Hospital
-Joel Maynard; USAF, first HHS graduate to attend the US Air Force Academy, retired as a General
-Kathleen Fuchs; San Francisco Metropolitan Opera singer
-Jake Goebbert; MLB baseball player for the San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates