List of state name etymologies of the United States

Map showing the source languages of state names

The fifty U.S. states have taken their names from a wide variety of languages. The names of 24 states derive from indigenous languages of the Americas and one from Hawaiian: eight come from Algonquian languages, seven from Siouan languages (one of those by way of Illinois, an Algonquian language), three from Iroquoian languages, one from a Uto-Aztecan language, and five from other Native American languages.

Twenty-two other state names derive from European languages: seven come from Latin (mostly from Latinate forms of English personal names, one coming from Welsh), five come from English, five come from Spanish (and one more from an Indigenous language by way of Spanish), and four come from French (one of these by way of English). The etymologies of six states are disputed or unclear: Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Oregon, and Rhode Island (in the table below, those states have one row for each potential source language or meaning).

Of the fifty states, eleven are named after an individual person. Of those eleven, seven are named in honor of European monarchs: the two Carolinas, the two Virginias, Maryland, Louisiana and Georgia. Over the years, several attempts have been made to name a state after one of the Founding fathers or other great statesmen of US history: the State of Franklin, the State of Jefferson (three different attempts), the State of Lincoln, and the State of Washington; in the end, only Washington materialized (ironically, Washington Territory was carved out of the Columbia District, and was renamed "Washington" in order to avoid confusion with the District of Columbia, which contains the city of Washington.^[1][2])

Several of the states that derive their names from (corrupted) names used for Native peoples, have retained the plural ending of "s": Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts and Texas. One common naming pattern has been as follows:

Native tribal group > River > Territory > State

e.g. Illinois people > Illinois River > Illinois Country > Illinois Territory > State of Illinois

State names

State name	Date first attested in original language	Year first attested in original language	Language of origin	Word(s) in original language	Meaning and notes
Alabama	April 19	1742	Choctaw	albah amo	"Thicket-clearers"[3] or "plant-cutters", from albah, "(medicinal) plants", and amo, "to clear". The modern Choctaw name for the tribe is Albaamu.[4]
Alaska	December 2	1897	Aleut via Russian	alaxsxaq via Аляска	"Mainland" (literally "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed").[5]
Arizona	February 1	1883	Basque	aritz ona	"The good oak".[6]
			O'odham via Spanish	ali ṣona-g via Arizonac[7]	"Having a little spring".[8]
			Spanish	zonas áridas	"Arid zones".
Arkansas	July 20	1796	Kansa, via Illinois and French	akaansa	Borrowed from a French spelling of an Illinois rendering of the tribal name kką:ze (see Kansas, below), which the Miami and Illinois used to refer to the Quapaw.[8][9][10][11]
California	May 22	1850	Spanish	Unknown	Probably named for the fictional Island of California ruled by Queen Calafia in the 16th century novel Las sergas de Esplandián by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.[12] See also: Etymology of California
Colorado		1743	Spanish	colorado	"Ruddy", or "red",[13] originally referring to the Colorado River.[14]
Connecticut	April 15	1675	Eastern Algonquian	quinnitukqut	From some Eastern Algonquian language of southern New England (perhaps Mahican), meaning "at the long tidal river", after the Connecticut River.[15][16] The name reflects Proto-Eastern-Algonquian *kwən-, "long"; *-əhtəkw, "tidal river"; and *-ənk, the locative suffix).[17]
Delaware	January 31	1680	French via English	de la Warr	After the Delaware River, which was named for Lord de la Warr (originally probably Norman French de la guerre or de la werre, "of the war").[18] Lord de la Warr was the first Governor-General of Jamestown.[19]
Florida	April 2	1513	Spanish	(pascua) florida	"Flowery (Easter)"[20] (to distinguish it from Christmastide which was also called Pascua), in honor of its discovery by the Spanish during the Easter season.[21]
Georgia	October 3	1674	Latin via English (ultimately from Greek)	Georgius	The feminine Latin form of "George", named after King George II of Great Britain.[22][23] It was also a reference to Saint George, whose name was derived from the Greek word georgos meaning "husbandman" or "farmer" from ge "earth" + ergon "work".[24]
Hawaii	December 29	1879	Hawaiian	Hawaiʻi	From Hawaiki, legendary homeland of the Polynesians.[25] Hawaiki is believed to mean "place of the gods".[26]
					Named for Hawaiʻiloa, legendary discoverer of the Hawaiian Islands.[27]
Idaho	June 6	1864	English	I-dah-hoe	Probably made up by George M. "Doc" Willing as a practical joke; originally claimed to have been derived from a word in a Native American language that meant "Gem of the Mountains".[28] The name was initially proposed for the state of Colorado until its origins were discovered. Years later it fell into common usage, and was proposed for the state it now names.[29]
			Plains Apache	ídaahę́	Possibly from the Plains Apache word for "enemy" (ídaahę́), which was used to refer to the Comanches.[30]
Illinois	March 24	1793	Algonquian via French	ilenweewa	The state is named for the French adaptation of an Algonquian language (perhaps Miami) word apparently meaning "speaks normally" (cf. Miami ilenweewa,[31] Old Ottawa <ilinoüek>,[32] Proto-Algonquian *elen-, "ordinary" and -we·, "to speak"),[33] referring to the Illiniwek (Illinois).[32]
Indiana	December 2	1794	Latin (ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian)		"Land of the Indians".[34] The names Indians and India come, via Greek and Persian, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sindhu-, which originally referred to the Indus River.[35]
Iowa	August 31	1818	Dakota via French	ayúxba/ayuxwe via Aiouez	By way of French Aiouez, and named after the Iowa tribe. The name seems to have no further known etymology,[36][37] though some give it the meaning "sleepy ones".[38]
Kansas	May 12	1832	Kansa via French	kką:ze via Cansez[39]	Named after the Kansas River,[40][41] which in turn was named after the Kaw or Kansas tribe.[9] The name seems to be connected to the idea of "wind".[42]
Kentucky	April 28	1728	Iroquoian		Originally referring to the Kentucky River. While some sources say the etymology is uncertain,[43][44] most agree on a meaning of "(on) the meadow" or "(on) the prairie"[45][46] (cf. Mohawk kenhtà:ke, Seneca gëdá’geh (phonemic /kẽtaʔkeh/), "at the field").[47]
Louisiana	July 18	1787	French (ultimately from Frankish)	Louisiane	After King Louis XIV of France.[48] The name Louis came itself from Frankish hluda "heard of, famous" (cf. loud) + wiga "war".[49]
Maine	October 13	1729	English	main	A common historical etymology is that the state's name refers to the mainland, as opposed to the coastal islands.[50][51]
			French		After the French province of Maine.[52]
			English		A more recent proposal is that the state was named after the English village of Broadmayne which was the family estate of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the colony's founder.[29][53]
Maryland	January 18	1691	English (ultimately from Hebrew)	Myriam	After Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England.[54] The name Mary originally meant in Hebrew "bitterness" or "rebelliousness", and could also have come from Egyptian "beloved" or "love".[55]
Massachusetts	June 4	1665	Algonquian		Plural of "Massachusett" meaning "Near the great little-mountain", or "at the great hill", usually identified as Great Blue Hill on the border of Milton and Canton, Massachusetts[56] (cf. the Narragansett name Massachusêuck).[56]
Michigan	October 28	1811	Ojibwe via French	mishigami	"Large water" or "large lake"[57][58] (in Old Algonquin, *meshi-gami).[59]
Minnesota	April 21	1821	Dakota	mnisota	"Cloudy water", referring to the Minnesota River.[16][60]
Mississippi	March 9	1800	Ojibwe via French	misi-ziibi	"Great river", after the Mississippi River.[57][61]
Missouri	September 7	1805	Illinois	mihsoori	"Dugout canoe". The Missouri tribe was noteworthy among the Illinois for their dugout canoes, and so was referred to as the wimihsoorita, "one who has a wood boat [dugout canoe]".[62]
Montana	November 1	1860	Spanish	montaña	"Mountain".[63]
Nebraska	June 22	1847	Chiwere	ñįbraske	"flattened water", after the Platte River, which used to be known as the Nebraska River, due to the flatness of the plains, when the river would flood, it would blanket the region.[64]
Nevada	February 9	1845	Spanish		"Snow-covered",[65] after the Sierra Nevada ("snow-covered mountains").
New Hampshire	August 27	1692	English		After the county of Hampshire in England.[66]
New Jersey	April 2	1669	French (ultimately from Old Norse)		After Jersey[67] (the largest of the British Channel Islands), birthplace of one of the colony's two co-founders, Sir George de Carteret.[67] The state was established under the name of New Caeserea or New Jersey because the Roman name of the island was thought to have been Caesarea.[68][69] The name "Jersey" most likely comes from the Norse name Geirrs ey meaning "Geirr's Island".[70]
New Mexico	November 1	1859	Nahuatl via Spanish	Mēxihco via Nuevo México	A calque of Spanish Nuevo México.[71] The name Mexico comes from Nahuatl Mēxihca, the Aztec people who founded the city of Tenochtitlan(pronounced [meːˈʃiʔko]).[72][73] Its literal meaning is unknown, though many possibilities have been proposed such as that the name comes from the God Metztli,[74] or that it means "navel of the moon".[75]
New York	October 15	1680	English		After the then Duke of York (later King James II of England). Named by then King Charles II of England, James II's brother.[76] The name "York" is derived from its Latin name Eboracum (via Old English Eoforwic and then Old Norse Jórvík), apparently borrowed from Brythonic Celtic *eborakon, which probably meant "Yew-Tree Estate".[77] See also York#Toponymy for more information.
North Carolina	June 30	1686	Latin via English (ultimately from Frankish)	Carolus via Carolana	After King Charles I of England.[78] The name Charles came itself from Frankish karl "man, husband".[79]
North Dakota	November 2	1867	Sioux	dakhóta	"Ally" or "friend",[64] after the Dakota tribe.[80]
Ohio	April 19	1785	Seneca via French	ohi:yo’ [81]	"Large creek",[45] originally the name of both the Ohio River and Allegheny River.[82] Often incorrectly translated as "beautiful river",[83] due to a French mistranslation.[31]
Oklahoma	September 5	1842	Choctaw	okla + homa	Devised as a rough translation of "Indian Territory"; in Choctaw, okla means "people", "tribe", or "nation", and homa- means "red", thus: "Red people".[16][84]
Oregon	July 20	1860	Unknown Native American	Disputed	Disputed meaning. First named by Major Robert Rogers in a petition to King George III.[85] See also: Oregon (toponym)
Pennsylvania	March 8	1650	Welsh and Latin	Penn + silvania	"Penn's woods", after Admiral William Penn.[86] The name "Penn" comes from the Welsh word for "head".[87] Silvana is the Latin word for Forest
Rhode Island	February 3	1680	Dutch	roodt eylandt	"Red island", referring to Aquidneck Island.[88] The Modern Dutch form of the phrase is "rood eiland".
			Greek	῾Ρόδος	For a resemblance to the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea.[88]
South Carolina	November 12	1687	Latin via English (ultimately from Frankish)	Carolus via Carolana	After King Charles I of England.[89] The name Charles came itself from Frankish karl "man, husband".[79]
South Dakota	November 2	1867	Sioux	dakhóta	"Ally" or "friend". See North Dakota, above.
Tennessee	May 24	1747	Cherokee	ᏔᎾᏏ tanasi	Tanasi (in Cherokee: ᏔᎾᏏ) was the name of a Cherokee village;[90] the meaning is unknown.[91]
Texas	June 30	1827	Caddo via Spanish	táyshaʔ via Tejas	"Friend",[92] used by the Caddo to refer the larger Caddo nation (in opposition to enemy tribes). The name was borrowed into Spanish as texa, plural texas, and used to refer to the Caddo Nation.[93]
Utah	December 20	1877	Western Apache via Spanish	yúdah via yuta	From the Spanish designation for the Ute people, yuta, in turn perhaps a borrowing from Western Apache yúdah meaning "high"[94] (not, as is commonly stated,[95] "people of the mountains"[96] and not[97] from the Ute's own self-designation [nutʃi̥] (plural [nuːtʃiu]), as suggested by J. P. Harrington).[98][99]
Vermont	September 27	1721	French	vert + mont	"Green mount" or "Green mountain"; vert in French means "green", and mont means "mount" or "mountain".[100]
Virginia	March 21	1652	Latin		"Country of the Virgin", after Elizabeth I of England, who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married.[101]
Washington	February 22	1872	English		After George Washington.[102]
West Virginia	September 1	1831	Latin		The western, transmontane, counties of Virginia; separated from Virginia during Civil War; see Virginia, above.
Wisconsin	February 5	1822	Miami via French	Wishkonsing [103]	Originally spelled Mescousing by the French, and later corrupted to Ouisconsin.[104] Likely it derives from a Miami word Meskonsing meaning "it lies red".[104][105] It may also come from the Ojibwe term miskwasiniing, "red-stone place".[57]
Wyoming	August 14	1877	Munsee Delaware	xwé:wamənk	"At the big river flat"; the name was transplanted westward from the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania.[106]

See also

• List of Canadian provincial and territorial name etymologies
• Lists of U.S. county name etymologies
• Toponymy

References

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Bibliography

• Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
• Guyton, Kathy (2009) U.S. State Names: The Stories of How Our States Were Named (Nederland, Colorado: Mountain Storm Press)

External links