The term city fathers is used in the United States as a municipal version of "Founding Fathers." City fathers are usually those men (and once in a while, women) who founded the city and/or its major institutions. The term can be used to describe contemporary city leaders as well.

One notable example from fiction is Jebediah Springfield of The Simpsons. The Daley family of Chicago could be an example of city fathers from the present-day.