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List of state and territory name etymologies of the United States

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Map showing the source languages/language families of state names

The fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia, the five inhabited U.S. territories, and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands 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. Of those that come from Native American languages, eight come from Algonquian languages, seven from Siouan languages (one of those via Miami-Illinois, which is an Algonquian language), three from Iroquoian languages, two from Muskogean languages, one from a Caddoan language, one from an Eskimo-Aleut language, one from a Uto-Aztecan language, and one from either an Athabaskan language or a Uto-Aztecan language.

Twenty other state names derive from European languages: seven come from Latin (mostly from Latinized forms of English personal names, one of those coming from Welsh), five from English, five from Spanish, and three from French (one of those via English). The source language/language family of the remaining five states is disputed or unclear: Arizona, Idaho, Maine, Oregon, and Rhode Island.

Of the fifty states, eleven are named after an individual person. Six of those are named in honor of European monarchs: the two Carolinas, the two Virginias, Georgia, and Louisiana. In addition, Maryland is named after Queen Henrietta Maria, queen consort of King Charles I of England, and New York after the then-Duke of York, who later became King James II of England. Over the years, several attempts have been made to name a state after one of the Founding Fathers or other great statesmen of U.S. history: the State of Franklin, the State of Jefferson (three separate attempts), the State of Lincoln (two separate attempts), and the State of Washington; in the end, only Washington materialized (Washington Territory was carved out of the Oregon Territory and 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 names used for Native peoples have retained the plural ending in "s": Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, and Texas. One common naming pattern has been as follows:

Native tribal group → River → Territory → State

State names

[edit]
State name Date first attested in original language Language of origin Word(s) in original language Meaning and notes
 Alabama
 April 19, 1692 Choctaw/Alabama alba amo/Albaamaha 'Thicket-clearers'[3] or 'plant-cutters', from alba, '(medicinal) plants', and amo, 'to clear'. The modern Choctaw name for the tribe is Albaamu.[4]
 Alaska
 December 2, 1666 Aleut via Russian alaxsxaq via Аляска (Alyaska) '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]
Oʼodham via Spanish ali ṣona-g via Arizonac[7] 'Having a little spring'.[8]
 Arkansas
 July 20, 1796 Kansa, Quapaw via Miami-Illinois and French akakaze via Arcansas Borrowed from a French spelling of a Miami-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 california 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, 1696 Eastern Algonquian, Mohegan-Pequot 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 the Colony of Virginia.[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 (U.S. state) 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 Either from Hawaiki, legendary homeland of the Polynesians[25] (Hawaiki is believed to mean 'place of the gods'),[26] or named for Hawaiʻiloa, legendary discoverer of the Hawaiian Islands.[27]
 Idaho
 June 6, 1864 Germanic Idaho Probably made up by George M. "Doc" Willing as a practical joke;[28] originally claimed to have been derived from a word in a Native American language that meant 'Gem of the Mountains'.[29] The name was initially proposed for the Territory of Colorado until its origins were discovered. Years later it fell into common usage, and was proposed for the Territory of Idaho instead.[30][31]
Plains Apache ídaahę́ Possibly from the Plains Apache word for 'enemy' (ídaahę́), which was used to refer to the Comanches.[32]
 Illinois
 March 24, 1793 Algonquian, Miami-Illinois via French ilenweewa The state is named for the French adaptation of an Algonquian language (perhaps Miami-Illinois) word apparently meaning 'speaks normally' (cf. Miami-Illinois ilenweewa,[33] Ojibwe <ilinoüek>,[34] Proto-Algonquian *elen-, 'ordinary', and -we·, 'to speak'),[35] referring to the Illiniwek (Illinois).[34]
 Indiana
 December 2, 1794 Latin (ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian) indiāna 'Land of the Indians'.[36] The names "Indians" and "India" come, via Latin, Greek, Old Persian and Sanskrit, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sindhu-, which originally referred to the Indus River.[37]
 Iowa
 August 31, 1818 Dakota, Chiwere via French ayúxba/ayuxwe via Aiouez Via French Aiouez, and named after the Iowa tribe. This demonym has no further known etymology,[38][39] though some give it the meaning 'sleepy ones'.[40]
 Kansas
 May 12, 1832 Kansa via French kką:ze via Cansez[41] Named after the Kansas River,[42][43] which in turn was named after the Kaw or Kansas tribe.[9] The name seems to be connected to the idea of "wind".[44]
 Kentucky
 April 28, 1728 Iroquoian (see Meaning and notes) Originally referring to the Kentucky River. While some sources say the etymology is uncertain,[45][46] most agree on a meaning of '(on) the meadow' or '(on) the prairie'[47][48] (cf. Mohawk kenhtà:ke, Seneca gëdá’geh (phonemic /kẽtaʔkeh/), 'at the field').[49]
 Louisiana
 July 18, 1787 French (ultimately from Frankish) Louisiane After King Louis XIV of France.[50] The name Louis itself comes from Frankish hluda, 'heard of, famous' (cf. loud) + wiga, 'war'.[51]
 Maine
 October 13, 1729 English main A common historical etymology is that the name refers to the mainland, as opposed to the coastal islands.[52][53]
French Maine After the French province of Maine.[54]
English (Broad)mayne 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.[30][55]
 Maryland
 January 18, 1691 English (ultimately from Hebrew) Myriam After Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England.[56] The name Mary originally meant 'bitterness' or 'rebelliousness' in Hebrew, and could also have come from the Egyptian word for 'beloved' or 'love'.[57]
 Massachusetts
June 4, 1665 Eastern Algonquian, Massachusett muhsachuweesut Plural of muswachusut, meaning 'near the great little-mountain' or 'at the great hill', which is usually identified as Great Blue Hill on the border of Milton and Canton, Massachusetts[58] (cf. the Narragansett name Massachusêuck).[58]
 Michigan
 October 28, 1811 Ojibwe via French ᒥᔑᑲᒥ (mishigami) 'Large water' or 'large lake'[59][60] (in Old Algonquin, *meshi-gami).[61]
 Minnesota
 April 21, 1821 Dakota mní sóta 'Cloudy water', referring to the Minnesota River.[16][62]
 Mississippi
 March 9, 1800 Ojibwe via French ᒥᓯᓰᐱ (misi-ziibi) 'Great river', after the Mississippi River.[59][63]
 Missouri
 September 7, 1805 Miami-Illinois via French wimihsoorita '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]'.[64]
 Montana
 November 1, 1860 Spanish montaña 'Mountain'.[65]
 Nebraska
 June 22, 1847 Chiwere via French ñįbraske 'Flattened water', after the Platte River, which used to be known as the Nebraska River. Due to the flatness of the plains, flooding of the river would inundate the region with a flat expanse of water.[66]
 Nevada
 February 9, 1845 Spanish nevada 'Snow-covered',[67] after the Sierra Nevada ('snow-covered mountains').
 New Hampshire
 August 27, 1692 English (ultimately from Old English) Hampshire After the county of Hampshire in England,[68] whose name is derived from the original name for its largest city, Southampton, that being Hamtun, which is an Old English word that roughly translates to 'Village-Town'.
 New Jersey
 April 2, 1669 English (ultimately from Old Norse) Jersey After Jersey,[69] the largest of the British Channel Islands and the birthplace of one of the colony's two co-founders, Sir George Carteret.[69] The Latin name Caesarea was also applied to the colony of New Jersey as Nova Caesarea, because the Roman name of the island was thought to have been Caesarea.[70][71] The name "Jersey" most likely comes from the Norse name Geirrsey, meaning 'Geirr's Island'.[72]
 New Mexico
 November 1, 1859 Nahuatl via Spanish Mēxihco via Nuevo México From Spanish Nuevo México.[73] The name Mexico comes from Nahuatl Mēxihca (pronounced [meːˈʃiʔko]), which referred to the Aztec people who founded the city of Tenochtitlan.[74][75] Its literal meaning is unknown, though many possibilities have been proposed, such as that the name comes from the god Metztli.[76]
New York (state) New York
 October 15, 1680 English York After the Duke of York (later King James II of England). Named by King Charles II of England, James II's brother.[77] 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'.[78]
See also: York § Origin of the name
 North Carolina
 June 30, 1686 Latin via English (ultimately from Frankish) Carolus via Carolana After King Charles I of England and his son, King Charles II of England.[79] The name Charles itself is derived from Frankish karl, 'man, husband'.[80]
 North Dakota
 November 2, 1867 Sioux/Dakota dakhóta 'Ally' or 'friend',[66] after the Dakota tribe.[81]
 Ohio
 April 19, 1785 Seneca via French ohi:yo’[82] 'Large creek',[47] originally the name of both the Ohio River and Allegheny River.[83] Often incorrectly translated as 'beautiful river',[84] due to a French mistranslation.[33]
 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][85]
 Oregon
 1765 Unknown Disputed Disputed meaning. First named by Major Robert Rogers in a petition to King George III.[86]
Further information: Etymology of Oregon
 Pennsylvania
 March 8, 1650 Welsh and Latin Penn + silvania 'Penn's woods', after Admiral William Penn, the father of its founder William Penn.[87] Pennsylvania is the only state that shares part of its name with its founder.[88] The name "Penn" comes from the Welsh word for 'head'.[89]
 Rhode Island
 February 3, 1680 Dutch roodt eylandt 'Red island', referring to Aquidneck Island.[90] The Modern Dutch form of the phrase is 'rood eiland'.
Greek Ρόδος (Ródos) For a resemblance to the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea.[90]
 South Carolina
 November 12, 1687 Latin via English (ultimately from Frankish) Carolus via Carolana After King Charles I of England and his son, King Charles II of England.[79] The name Charles itself is derived from Frankish karl, 'man, husband'.[80]
 South Dakota
 November 2, 1867 Sioux/Dakota dakhóta 'Ally' or 'friend',[66] after the Dakota tribe.[81]
 Tennessee
 May 24, 1747 Cherokee ᏔᎾᏏ (tanasi) Tanasi (in Cherokee: ᏔᎾᏏ) was the name of a Cherokee village;[91] the meaning is unknown.[92]
 Texas
 June 30, 1827 Caddo via Spanish táyshaʔ via Tejas 'Friend',[93] 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 was used to refer to the Nabedache people (and later to the Caddo Nation in general). When the Spanish decided to convert the Nabedache to Catholicism, they constructed La Misión de San Francisco de los Texas, which later came to be used in naming the Viceroyalty of New Spain’s province.[94]
 Utah
 December 20, 1877 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',[95] sometimes incorrectly translated as 'people of the mountains'.[96][97]
Ute via Spanish noochee via yuta From the Ute's self-designation [nutʃi̥], plural [nuːtʃiu], as suggested by J. P. Harrington,[98][99] though this etymology is disputed.[100]
 Vermont
 September 27, 1721 French vert + mont 'Green mount' or 'green mountain'; vert in French means 'green', and mont means 'mount' or 'mountain'. However, in French, 'green mountain' would actually be written mont vert.[101][102]
 Virginia
 1584 Latin Virginia 'Country of the Virgin', after Elizabeth I of England, who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married.[103]
Washington (state) Washington
 February 22, 1872 English Washington After George Washington,[104] whose surname was in turn derived from the town of Washington in historic County Durham, England.[105][106] The etymology of the town's name is disputed, but agreed to be ultimately Old English.
 West Virginia
 September 1, 1831 Latin Virginia The western, transmontane counties of Virginia, which separated from Virginia during the American Civil War. See Virginia, above.
 Wisconsin
 February 5, 1822 Miami-Illinois via French Meeskohsinki[107] via Ouisconsin(k) Originally spelled Mescousing by the French, and later corrupted to Ouisconsin.[108] It likely derives from a Miami-Illinois word Meskonsing, meaning 'it lies red' or 'river running through a red place'.[108][109] It may also come from the Ojibwe term miskwasiniing, 'red-stone place'.[59]
 Wyoming
 August 14, 1877 Munsee/Delaware xwé:wamənk 'At the big river flat'; the name was transplanted westward from the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania.[110]

Territory and federal district names

[edit]
Territory or federal district name Year first attested in original language Language of origin Word(s) in original language Meaning and notes
 American Samoa
 1911[111][note 1]
(July 17)		 English and Samoan American + Sāmoa The CIA World Factbook says "The name Samoa is composed of two parts, 'sa', meaning sacred, and 'moa', meaning center, so the name can mean Holy Center; alternately, it can mean 'place of the sacred moa bird' of Polynesian mythology."[113] "American" is ultimately derived from Amerigo Vespucci.[114] The name "American Samoa" first started being used by the U.S. Navy around 1904,[112] and "American Samoa" was made official in 1911.[113]
 District of Columbia
 1738 Neo-Latin Columbia Named for Columbia, the national personification of the United States, which is itself named for Christopher Columbus.
 Guam
 1898[115][note 2]
(December 10)		 Chamorro Guåhan 'What we have', from Guåhån in Chamorro language.[116] The name "Guam" was first used in the Treaty of Paris (1898).[115]
 Northern Mariana Islands
 1667[117][note 3] Spanish Islas Marianas Mariana Islands chain named by Spain for Mariana of Austria.[118][117]
 Puerto Rico
 1493[119] Spanish puerto rico "Rich port".[120] The CIA World Factbook says "Christopher Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista (Saint John the Baptist) and the capital city and main port Ciudad de Puerto Rico (Rich Port City); over time, however, the names were shortened and transposed and the island came to be called Puerto Rico and its capital San Juan."[119]
 U.S. Virgin Islands
 1493[121] Spanish Islas Vírgenes Named by Christopher Columbus for Saint Ursula and her 11,000 virgins.[122][121] The name "Virgin Islands of the United States" (U.S. Virgin Islands) was adopted in 1917 when the islands were purchased by the U.S. from Denmark.[123][note 4]
United States United States Minor Outlying Islands
 Various Various Various The name "United States Minor Outlying Islands" started to be used in 1986.[124] Previously, some of the islands were included in a group called "United States Miscellaneous Pacific Islands".
  • Baker Island was named for Michael Baker in 1832.[125]
  • Howland Island was named after a whaling vessel in 1842.[126]
  • Jarvis Island was named after three people named "Jarvis" in 1821 (when they discovered the island).[127]
  • Johnston Atoll was named for Captain Charles Johnston in 1807.[128]
  • Kingman Reef was named for Captain W. E. Kingman in 1853.[129]
  • Midway Atoll was named in the 19th century for its location being approximately halfway between North America and Asia.[130]
  • The CIA World Factbook says this about Navassa Island: "The flat island was named 'Navaza' by some of Christopher Columbus' sailors in 1504; the name derives from the Spanish term "nava" meaning 'flat land, plain, or field'".[131]
  • Palmyra Atoll was named in 1802 when the USS Palmyra shipwrecked there.[132]
  • Wake Island was named after Samuel Wake, a British captain, in 1796. A different captain, William Wake, discovered the island in 1792.[133]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ This is the date that the name "American Samoa" was officially adopted.[111] It had been used unofficially since about 1904.[112] It is unclear when the word "Samoa" first started being used.
  2. ^ This is the date for the origin of the name "Guam", not "Guåhån". There is no information about when "Guåhån" first started being used.
  3. ^ 1667 is the date the Mariana Islands were named; the name "Northern Mariana Islands" appears to have been first used when its constitution was created on January 9, 1978.[117] Previously it was called the "Mariana Islands District" (within the TTPI).[117]
  4. ^ Some of the Virgin Islands became, and still are, a separate political area — the British Virgin Islands.

References

[edit]
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Bibliography

[edit]
  • 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.
[edit]

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