Gourt Home::Gourt :: List of U.S. state name etymologies
This is a list of the origins of the names of U.S. states:
| State name | Language of origin | Word of origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Choctaw | albalmo | Cleared-up thicket |
| Alaska | Aleut | alaxsxaq | Great country |
| Arizona | O'odham or Spanish | alĭ ṣon (O'odham origin) or perhaps árida zona (Spanish) | Small spring (O'odham) or Arid zone (Spanish) |
| Arkansas | Sioux | akakaze | Those going downstream |
| California | Spanish, Latin or Native American | Origins disputed: May be named for the fictional Island of California in the 16th century novel The Sergas de Esplandian by Garcia Ordoñez de Montalvo. May be from caliente fornalia, Spanish for hot furnace. May come from calida fornax, Latin for hot climate. May be from kali forno, high mountains in a Native American language. There is no agreement among scholars. | |
| Colorado | Spanish | Río Colorado | Red in color, presumably referring to the Colorado River, or the red sandstone formations in the area. |
| Connecticut | Pequot | Quonehtacut | "Long tidal river", after the Connecticut River |
| Delaware | French via English | de la Warre | After the Delaware River, which was named after Lord de la Warre (originally de la Guerre), who travelled it in 1610 |
| Florida | Spanish | Pascua florida | "Easter" (lit. 'flowery Easter,' to distinguish it from Christmastide which was also called Pascua) in honor of its Spanish discovery on Easter |
| Georgia | Latin or English, ultimately from Greek | After King George II of England | |
| Hawai'i | Polynesian | Hawai'i | From Hawaiki, legendary homeland of the Polynesians. |
| Idaho | English | An invented word, but originally claimed to have been derived from a word in a Native American language meaning "Gem of the Mountains." | |
| Illinois | Algonquian | iliniwek | "They are men", after the Illiniwek confederation |
| Indiana | Latin | Land of the Indians | |
| Iowa | Sioux | aiyuwe | "Marrow", after the Iowa tribe |
| Kansas | Sioux | kansa | "The wind-people", perhaps referring to the winds of the open prairie, after the Kaw or Kansas tribe |
| Kentucky | Huron? | kentake | Prairie? |
| Louisiana | French | After King Louis XIV of France | |
| Maine | French | After French province of Maine, to honor the Duke of Maine, son of Louis XIV | |
| Maryland | English | After Queen Henrietta Maria of England | |
| Massachusetts | Algonquian | "Near the great little-mountain", or "land near the big hill", usually identified as Big Blue Hill on the border of Milton and Canton, Massachusetts | |
| Michigan | Ojibwe | mishigami or Michigama or misshikama | Derived from the Indian word Michigama, meaning great or large lake. Also the great sea. |
| Minnesota | Dakota | mni-sota | Turbid water, referring to the Minnesota River |
| Mississippi | Ojibwe | Misi-ziibi | Great river, after the Mississippi River |
| Missouri | Sioux | Town of the large canoes, or wooden canoe people, after the Missouri tribe | |
| Montana | Spanish | montaña | Mountain |
| Nebraska | Oto | ñįbraske | Flattened water, after the Platte River, which used to be known as the Nebraska River |
| Nevada | Spanish | Snow-covered, after the Sierra Nevada ("snow-covered mountains") | |
| New Hampshire | English | After Hampshire in England | |
| New Jersey | English | After the island of Jersey in the English Channel | |
| New Mexico | Nahuatl via Spanish | Mexico via Nuevo México | After Mexico, Me-∫ico in Aztec language that means "land of god Huitzilopochtli" (also known as Mexi/''Me-∫i) |
| New York | English | After York, England, to honor the then Duke of York (later King James II of England). Originally called New Netherland. | |
| North Carolina | Latin | After King Charles I of England | |
| North Dakota | Sioux | dakota | "Allies" (western Sioux; lakota in eastern Sioux), after the Lakota tribe |
| Ohio | Iroquois | Beautiful river, after the Ohio River | |
| Oklahoma | Choctaw | okla-homma | Red people |
| Oregon | Cree | ooligan (pronounced oorigan) | A fish similar to smelt |
| Oregon | French | ouragan, or Ouaricon-sint | Storm, or Wisconsin River, respectively |
| Pennsylvania | Latin | "Penn's woods", after Admiral William Penn | |
| Rhode Island | Dutch or Greek | roodt eylandt (Dutch) or Ρόδος (Greek) | Red island, perhaps referring to the clay deposits of Aquidneck Island; or for a resemblance to the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea |
| South Carolina | Latin | After King Charles I of England | |
| South Dakota | Sioux | dakota | Allies (western Sioux; lakota in eastern Sioux), after the Lakota tribe |
| Tennessee | Cherokee | tannassee or tennessee | "Place where it bends", from tannass bends and -ee place; "it" is "the river", implied by location |
| Texas | Caddo | táysha | "Friend", used by the Caddo to refer to another Caddo band. Written as texa by the Spaniards, -s was added for plural to refer to the Caddo Nation. |
| Utah | Ute | Named after Ute Indians | |
| Vermont | French | Vert mont | Green mountain |
| Virginia | Latin or English | The virgin country (or country of the virgin), after Elizabeth I of England, who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married | |
| Washington | English | After George Washington | |
| West Virginia | Latin or English | The western, transmontane, counties of Virginia; separated from Virginia during Civil War; see Virginia, above | |
| Wisconsin | Ojibwe | Miska(sin)sin (via French Ouisconsin) | "Red Stone (river)," after the Wisconsin River |
| Wyoming | Delaware | machewe-ami-ing | Of the great prairies |
See also
References
Lists of United States placename etymology | States of the United States related lists
"List of U.S. state name etymologies"