How All 50 States of America Got Their Names

You may have lived all your life in the U.S. but do you really know where each of the 50 American states got their names? It’s a bit embarrassing if you lived your whole life in one state but realize that you never know so much about its history, especially its etymology.

Maybe you have an idea about where Alabama or Georgia got its name but what if you’re wrong and you’ve been wrong the entire time? Check out the origins of the state names below and see what you’ve been missing all those years.

#1. Alabama

The name “Alabama” originally referred to the natives who resided along what is now called the Alabama River. The exact meaning of the word remains unclear but it’s somewhat close to “clearer of thickets” or “herb gatherers.”

#2. Alaska

The word means “mainland” or if you want to take it literally, an “object to which the action of the sea is directed.”

#3. Arizona

The state name is derived from the native word, ali sonak or “small spring.” Over time, it became Arissona and eventually to its modern spelling. Some people believe that the word came from the Basque phrase, aritz ona, which means “good oak.”

#4. Arkansas

The word came from Quapaw Indians. Explorers met a group of Native Americans — the Ugakhpah, or “people who live downstream.” They came to be known Quapaw or Arkansaw.

#5. California

California was the name given to the mythical island with gold and monsters found in the 16th-century fantasy-adventure novel by Spanish author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.

#6. Colorado

Spanish settlers described the territory as colorado, or “red-colored.”

#7. Connecticut

The word is derived from the language of the Algonquian people, who originally called the place “Quinnehtukqut.”

#8. Delaware

The state name comes from Sir Thomas West, Lord De La Warr, the governor-general of Jamestown and the original governor of the colony in Virginia.

#9. Florida

Spanish explorers discovered Florida in Easter and if you know the language, the territory should have been named pascua. However, “pascua” in Spanish means both Christmas and Easter. They ended up with Florida (flowering) to avoid the confusion.

#10. Georgia

The state was named for King George II of Great Britain and also in honor of England’s patron saint, Saint George.

#11. Hawaii

In Hawaiian myths, the state name is derived from Hawaiki, or home of the gods. But in other versions, it is named after Hawai’iloa, the hero who discovered the territory.

#12. Idaho

Lobbyist George M. Willing suggested the name, which according to him was derived from a Shoshone language term, meaning “the sun comes from the mountains” or “gem of the mountains.”

#13. Illinois

Another state name that was derived from the Algonquian word, ilenweewa, but given a French twist. The word means “speaking normally.”

#14. Indiana

The name is Latin for “land of the Indians.”

#15. Iowa

The state was named after the Iowa River, which got its name from the territory residents, the Iowa Indians. The tribal name “Ayuxwa” was given a French twist,” Ayoua” and the English “Ioway.”

#16. Kansas

The Sunflower State got its name from the American Kaws or Kansa people, a Sioux tribe.

#17. Kentucky

The Bluegrass State’s name is of Native American origin with different possible meanings, including “land of tomorrow” from the Iroquois word, “ken-tah-ten.”

#18. Louisiana

The territory is named after Louis XIV, King of France from 1643 to 1715.

#19. Maine

The name was first used to distinguish the offshore islands from the mainland. It was also a compliment to Henrietta Maria, queen to Charles I of England. It was said that she owned the French province, Mayne.

#20. Maryland

The state was named for Henrietta Maria when the territory was still an English province.

#21. Massachusetts

Massachusetts is a plural form of massachusett, an Algonquian term for “near the great hill.”

#22. Michigan

The state got its name from mishigami, an Ojibwe term for “large lake” or “large water.”

#23. Minnesota

The Gopher State got its name from the Dakota word “mnisota,” which means “cloudy water,” a description of the Minnesota River.

#24. Mississippi

Mississippi is named after the river, which got its name from the Ojibwe phrase “misi-ziibi,” meaning “great river.”

#25. Missouri

Native tribes who took residence along what is now Missouri River were called Mishoori in the Illinois language, which means “dugout canoe.”

#26. Montana

Montana is derived from the Spanish word for mountains, which is montaña. After all, the state is nicknamed Big Sky Country.

#27. Nebraska

Nebraska got its name from “nibraske,” a Chiwere word for “flattened water.”

#28. Nevada

The Silver State got its name from the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the name that means “snow-covered mountains.”

#29. New Hampshire

Hampshire is a county in England and this U.S. state is named in its honor.

#30. New Jersey

The territory was named for the largest of the British Channel Islands, Jersey. The name was given by its founders Sir John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret.

#31. New Mexico

It is quite obvious that this state is named after Mexico, a word that comes from Nahuatl Mēxihca, the group who founded the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan or the modern-day Mexico City.

#32. New York

The Empire State is named after the Duke of York.

#33. North Carolina

King Charles, I of England had a Latin name of Carolus or Carolana, and the Tar Heel State was named in his honor.

#34. North Dakota

Dakhóta is a Sioux term for ally or friend.

#35. Ohio

Ohio is derived from the Seneca language, “ohiyo,” which means large creek.

#36. Oklahoma

The state got its name from a mix of the Choctaw words “okla” and “humma,” which means “red people.”

#37. Oregon

The origin of the state name is unknown but it is generally believed that it was first used in 1778 by Jonathan Carver. The name was taken from the writings of English army officer, Maj. Robert Rogers.

#38. Pennsylvania

The Keystone State got its name from Adm. Sir William Penn, the father of William Penn. The word means “Penn’s Woodland.”

#39. Rhode Island

The state was named for the Greek island of Rhodes.

#40. South Carolina

The origin of this state’s name is the same as North Carolina.

#41. South Dakota

The origin of the state name is the same as North Dakota.

#42. Tennessee

British traders stumbled upon a Cherokee town named Tanasi in the early 18th century. The town is known today as Monroe County, Tennessee.

#43. Texas

The Lone Star State got its nam from the Caddo word “tejas,” which means “friend” or “allies.”

#44. Utah

Utah is derived from Ute, a native tribe, which the Spanish have come to call Yuta.

#45. Vermont

Vermont is a combination of French words “vert” and “mont,” which means “green mountain.”

#46. Virginia

The state is named in honor of Queen Elizabeth I of England, who was considered a Virgin Queen since she never had children or got married.

#47. Washington

You guessed it right if you thought the state was named after the first U.S. President George Washington.

#48. West Virginia

The origin of this name is the same as Virginia.

#49. Wisconsin

The state got its name from the Miami Indian word, “meskonsing,” which means “river running through a red place.”

#50. Wyoming

Wyoming is derived from “mscheweamiing,” a Dakota word that means “at the big flats.”

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