Origin of State Names
Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff ![]( "Updated by an Factmonster Editor on February 21, 2017")
| Alabama | May come from Choctaw meaning ?thicket-clearers? or ?vegetation-gatherers? |
| Alaska | Corruption of Aleut word meaning ?great land? or ?that which the sea breaks against? |
| Arizona | Uncertain. Perhaps from the O'odham Indian word for ?little spring? |
| Arkansas | From the Quapaw Indians |
| California | From a book, Las Sergas de Esplandin, by Garcia Ordez de Montalvo, c. 1500 |
| Colorado | From the Spanish, ?ruddy? or ?red? |
| Connecticut | From an Indian word (Quinnehtukqut) meaning ?beside the long tidal river? |
| Delaware | From Delaware River and Bay; named in turn for Sir Thomas West, Baron De La Warr |
| Florida | From the Spanish Pascua Florida, meaning ?feast of flowers? (Easter) |
| Georgia | In honor of George II of England |
| Hawaii | Uncertain. The islands may have been named by Hawaii Loa, their traditional discoverer. Or they may have been named after Hawaii or Hawaiki, the traditional home of the Polynesians. |
| Idaho | An invented name whose meaning is unknown. |
| Illinois | Algonquin for ?tribe of superior men? |
| Indiana | Meaning ?land of Indians? |
| Iowa | Probably from an Indian word meaning ?this is the place? or ?the Beautiful Land? |
| Kansas | From a Sioux word meaning ?people of the south wind? |
| Kentucky | From an Iroquoian word ?Ken-tah-ten? meaning ?land of tomorrow? |
| Louisiana | In honor of Louis XIV of France |
| Maine | First used to distinguish the mainland from the offshore islands. It has been considered a compliment to Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles I of England. She was said to have owned the province of Mayne in France. |
| Maryland | In honor of Henrietta Maria (queen of Charles I of England) |
| Massachusetts | From Massachusett tribe of Native Americans, meaning ?at or about the great hill? |
| Michigan | From Indian word ?Michigana? meaning ?great or large lake? |
| Minnesota | From a Dakota Indian word meaning ?sky-tinted water? |
| Mississippi | From an Indian word meaning ?Father of Waters? |
| Missouri | Named after the Missouri Indian tribe. ?Missouri? means ?town of the large canoes.? |
| Montana | From the Spanish word meaning ?mountain.? |
| Nebraska | From an Oto Indian word meaning ?flat water? |
| Nevada | Spanish: ?snowcapped? |
| New Hampshire | From the English county of Hampshire |
| New Jersey | From the Channel Isle of Jersey |
| New Mexico | From Mexico, ?place of Mexitli,? an Aztec god or leader |
| New York | In honor of the Duke of York |
| North Carolina | In honor of Charles I of England |
| North Dakota | From the Sioux tribe, meaning ?allies? |
| Ohio | From an Iroquoian word meaning ?great river? |
| Oklahoma | From two Choctaw Indian words meaning ?red people? |
| Oregon | Unknown. However, it is generally accepted that the name, first used by Jonathan Carver in 1778, was taken from the writings of Maj. Robert Rogers, an English army officer. |
| Pennsylvania | In honor of Adm. Sir William Penn, father of William Penn. It means ?Penn's Woodland.? |
| Rhode Island | From the Greek Island of Rhodes |
| South Carolina | In honor of Charles I of England |
| South Dakota | From the Sioux tribe, meaning ?allies? |
| Tennessee | Of Cherokee origin; the exact meaning is unknown |
| Texas | From an Indian word meaning ?friends? |
| Utah | From the Ute tribe, meaning ?people of the mountains? |
| Vermont | From the French ?vert mont,? meaning ?green mountain? |
| Virginia | In honor of Elizabeth ?Virgin Queen? of England |
| Washington | In honor of George Washington |
| West Virginia | In honor of Elizabeth, ?Virgin Queen? of England |
| Wisconsin | French corruption of an Indian word whose meaning is disputed |
| Wyoming | From the Delaware Indian word, meaning ?mountains and valleys alternating?; the same as the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania |
