Interesting
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.
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