Social media was aflutter with chatter about how President Obama came to refer to New London in his State of the Union speech Tuesday, with some scratching their heads about the veiled nod to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and others exulting in the idea that their “hip little city” had finally arrived.

“Did Obama name drop New London?” asked Rich Martin, owner of The Telegraph record store and managing director of Hygienic Art, both in New London.

City Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio took some credit for the reference, posting in a Facebook comment that he had been talking up the idea among Coast Guard brass that he would like cadets to start mentioning New London the same way U.S. Military Academy students refer to West Point and U.S. Naval Academy cadets talk about Annapolis.

“I am so excited the President called the USCGA ‘New London’ tonight!” he said in the post.

“There was a collective cheer from my house when he said NL! Awesome!!!” said another Facebook post, by Aziza Marshall Clayton.

The quote in which Obama referred to New London was one of the emotional highlights of his speech, a section in which he reflected on critics who see his vision as misguided and naïve and bemoaned the proliferation of partisanship and gridlock. But he said he believes the cynics are wrong.

“I still believe that we are one people,” Obama said in a transcript of his speech found online. “I still believe that together, we can do great things, even when the odds are long.

“I believe this because over and over in my six years in office, I have seen America at its best. I’ve seen the hopeful faces of young graduates from New York to California; and our newest officers at West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs and New London. I’ve mourned with grieving families in Tucson and Newtown; in Boston, West Texas, and West Virginia.

“I’ve watched Americans beat back adversity from the Gulf Coast to the Great Plains; from Midwest assembly lines to the Mid-Atlantic seaboard. I’ve seen something like gay marriage go from a wedge issue used to drive us apart to a story of freedom across our country, a civil right now legal in states that seven in ten Americans call home.”

While many in southeastern Connecticut understood Obama’s reference to New London as the home of the Coast Guard Academy — and the planned site of the U.S. Coast Guard Museum — the name elicited little recognition nationwide.

“Of course, 90% of people watching have no clue that #New London is home to the (academy),” read one Twitter post.

Brittany Lewis, another poster, tweeted out that she “loved the shout-out to my hometown and the CGA.”

“Who ever heard of New London?” opined another Twitter user named Tom Rogers, while others pointed out that there are several New Londons in the United States and another tweet from Shon Harris stated, perhaps tongue in cheek, “Wait there is a service academy in New London?”

Garret Condon, a former reporter for The Day who grew up in New London, said in a Facebook message that he was guessing this might have been the first State of the Union in which his hometown was named.

“Apparently, much of the Twittersphere didn’t get the reference to ‘New London.’ Hint: It’s home to a federal military service academy.”

Connor Cox was one who got it, saying in a tweet: “Obama mentioned the Coast Guard Academy when referencing all the service academies. Nice! Too often ignored.”

The exultation among some locals may have been best expressed by Brain Stradczuk in this Facebook post: “Not Stamford, or New Haven, not anywhere in Fairfield county. Not even Mystic. NEW LONDON. I say HELL YEAH! Hold your head high NL. This is your 15 seconds...”

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow