Stephanie Camello Compiles the Origins of U.S. State Names

1. Alabama - Native American Choctaw name meaning “vegetation gatherer.”
2. Alaska - Aleut language translates “Alaska” to “the object toward which the action of the sea is directed.”
3. Arizona - Spanish word “Arizonac” which has origins from the Native American O’odham tribe’s word meaning “small spring.”
4. Arkansas - The French pronunciation of the Quapawa Indians word for which the Algonquin tribe referred to as “akansa.” The French pronunciation was “Arcansas.” The reason we don’t say the “S” is because on an 1881 act passed by the state to solve a dispute between two senators who disputed over the pronunciation. We now pronounce it the French way with the silent “S.”
5. California - The name of an island in a Spanish 16th Century novel for which the Spanish explorers named the land they thought was an island. Turns out it was what we think of today as the state of California!
6. Colorado - Named after the Colorado River which in Spanish means “Rio Colorado” or “colored red” for the color of the river!
7. Connecticut - Named after the Connecticut River which in Mohican means “at the long tidal river.”
8. Delaware - Named for the Delaware River which was named after Thomas West, 12th Baron De la Warr, one of the founders of Virginia. 
9. Florida - Two Theories:

        a. Juan Ponce de Leon discovered the land on Palm Sunday in 1513 and named it             “Pascua florida” or “full of flowers.”

        b. Juan Ponce de Leon tried to find the fountain of youth and discovered Florida and         called it “la florida” or “full of flowers.”

10. Georgia - Named after King George II of England after the state was colonized in 1732.

11.  Hawaii - Legend says a man named Hawaii Loa discovered one of the islands on a fishing excursion. The legend also contains reference to his children: Maui (eldest son), Kauaʻi (son), and Oʻahu (daughter) who settled on the islands that bear their names.

12. Idaho - A mining lobbyist George M. Willing claimed the word came from the Shoshone Indians, but it was a hoax, but the name already was popular so it stuck.

13. Illinois - Came from the French spelling for Inoca, a group of Indians in that area. The Native word “iliniwok” means “best people.”

14. Indiana - In Latin, this means “Land of the Indians” which was named by explorers who thought they discovered the South Indes.

15.  Iowa - Named after the Iowa River which was named after the Indians of Iowa, the Ioways, a Sioux tribe of that land.

16. Kansas - A Siouan term for the Kansa tribe. We do say the “S” here because this is the English word and spelling and not the French spelling as seen with Arkansas.

17. Kentucky - Named after the Kentucky River which in Iriquois and Shawane means “meadow.”

18. Louisiana - Named “Land of Louis” after the French King Louis XIV. In 1682, French explorer Cavelier claimed the territory for France.

19. Maine - No definitive origin, but it’s possible that French explorers called it the “Main Land” to distinguish it from smaller surrounding islands. Or it could be named for the Maine province in France.

20.  Maryland - England’s Charles I named it after his wife Henrietta Maria, aka Queen Mary. Maryland was founded as a religious haven for Catholics persecuted in Protestant England.

21. Massachusetts - Named for the native Massachusett tribe meaning “at the large hill” in reference to the Great Blue Hill. It’s the plural form of the tribe name.

22. Michigan - Named for Lake Michigan which is Michigama, meaning “big lake” in Native American.

23. Minnesota - Named for the Minnesota River which the Dakota Sioux named the river “mnisota” which means “cloudy water.”

24. Mississippi - Named after the Mississippi River which comes from the French variation of a Native American word meaning “big river.”

25. Missouri - Comes from a Native American word “wimihsoorita” meaning “people of the big canoes.”

26. Montana - Named from the Spanish word “Montana” meaning “mountain” for the Rocky Mountains in that area.

27. Nebraska - Native American word “Nebrathka” means “flat water” which refers to the Platte River.

28. Nevada - Named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range which in Spanish means “covered in snow.” Las Vegas means “the meadows” in Spanish.

29. New Hampshire - English settler Captain John Mason named it after the county of Hampshire on the southern coast of England.

30. New Jersey - Named after the Island of Jersey in the English Channel.

31. New Mexico - The Spanish named it for the lands north of the Rio Grande which runs along northern Mexico. In the Native American Nahuatl language, Mexico means “place of Mexitli,” an Aztec god.

32.  New York - Named after the 17th century Duke of York (brother of England’s King Charles II). It was originally called New Amsterdam when the Dutch controlled the territory before England claimed it.

33. North/South Carolina - Named after England’s Charles I. Charles’ name comes from the root of the Latin word Carolus.

34.  North/South Dakota - Came from the name of the Dakota Native American tribe. “Dakota” means “friend.”

35.  Ohio - Named after the Ohio River. Ohio comes from a Native American word meaning “good river.”

36. Oklahoma - This name comes from a combination of 2 Choctaw words “okla” which means “people” and “homma” which means “red.” It means “red people” and this name started being used as of 1541 with the Spanish explorer Coronado.

37.  Oregon - Unknown origins, but it might be from a name on a 1715 French explorer’s map.

38. Pennsylvania - Combination of the surname Penn (state named after Admiral William Penn, the father of William Penn, the state’s proprietor) and the Latin word “sylvania” which means “woods.” So this is Penn’s woods.

39. Rhode Island - Two theories:

    a. One theory is that Italian explorer Giovanni de Verrazzano named it after the Isle of         Rhodes because of its similarities to the Greek island in the Aegean Sea.

    b. The other theory is that the Dutch explorer Adriaen Block named the island “Rood             Eylandt” which means “red island” or “red clay” in Dutch.

40. Tennessee - In 1567, Spanish explorer Captain Juan Pardo first recorded the name when his soldiers discovered the Native American village called “tan a squi” which is a Cherokee village called “ta nasi.”

41. Texas - This name derived from the Native American word “teyshas” which means “friend.” Spanish explorers also recorded the word as “tejas” in the 1540s thinking it was a tribal name.

42.  Utah - Comes from the Apache word “yuttahih” meaning “people of the mountains.” Europeans began referring to the area as the land of the Utes.

43. Vermont - French words “ver” and “mont” put together means green mountain.

44. Virginia - Named after England’s virgin queen, Queen Elizabeth I.

45.  Washington - Named after America’s first president, George Washington whose likeness also appears on their state flag.

46.  West Virginia - Named for England’s virgin queen, Queen Elizabeth I. In 1863, West Virginia was granted statehood after the people of the western region of Virginia sought to join the union.

47.  Wisconsin - Unknown origins, but it was likely a miscommunication. French explorers misread another explorer’s journal who called it Ouisconsin, but after the War of 1812 and more people were living there, the Americans changed the French “ou” to the American English, “W.”

48.  Wyoming - Named for the Wyoming Valley which was in northeastern Pennsylvania. The name comes from the Native American word “mecheweamiing” meaning “at the big plains.”