The fifty

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

s, the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...

, 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 Over a thousand indigenous languages are spoken by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. These languages cannot all be demonstrated to be related to each other and are classified into a hundred or so language families (including a large nu ...

and one from Hawaiian: eight come from

Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically simi ...

, seven from

Siouan languages Siouan or Siouan–Catawban is a language family of North America that is located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east. Name Authors who call the entire ...

(one of those by way of Miami-Illinois, an Algonquian language), three from

Iroquoian languages The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian ...

, one from a

Uto-Aztecan language Uto-Aztecan, Uto-Aztekan or (rarely in English) Uto-Nahuatl is a family of indigenous languages of the Americas, consisting of over thirty languages. Uto-Aztecan languages are found almost entirely in the Western United States and Mexico. Th ...

, and five from other Native American languages. Twenty-two other state names derive from European languages: seven come from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

(mostly from Latinate forms of English personal names, one coming from

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

), five from

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, five from

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

(and one more from an Indigenous language by way of Spanish), and four from

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

(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, six are named in honor of European monarchs: the two Carolinas, the two Virginias, Louisiana and Georgia. Maryland is named after Queen Henrietta Maria, queen consort of King Charles I of England. Over the years, several attempts have been made to name a state after one of the

Founding Fathers The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

or other great statesmen of U.S. history: the

State of Franklin The State of Franklin (also the Free Republic of Franklin or the State of Frankland)Landrum, refers to the proposed state as "the proposed republic of Franklin; while Wheeler has it as ''Frankland''." In ''That's Not in My American History Boo ...

, the State of Jefferson (three separate attempts), the State of Lincoln (two separate attempts), and the

State of Washington Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

; in the end, only Washington materialized (

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

was carved out of the

Columbia District The Columbia District was a fur trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of British North America in the 19th century. Much of its territory overlapped with the disputed Oregon Country. It was explored by the North West Company bet ...

, and was renamed Washington in order to avoid confusion with the

, which contains the city of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

). 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:

State names

, - ,
, , data-sort-value="January 1, 1743", 1743 , ,

, , ''colorado'' , , 'Ruddy' or 'red', originally referring to the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

. , - ,

, , April 15, 1696 , ,

Eastern Algonquian The Eastern Algonquian languages constitute a subgroup of the Algonquian languages. Prior to European contact, Eastern Algonquian consisted of at least 17 languages, whose speakers collectively occupied the Atlantic coast of North America and adj ...

, Mohegan-Pequot , , ''quinnitukqut'' , , From some Eastern Algonquian language of southern New England (perhaps Mahican), meaning 'at the long tidal river', after the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Islan ...

.Campbell, Lyle. 1997. ''American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pg. 11 The name reflects Proto-Eastern-Algonquian ''*kwən-'', 'long'; ''*-əhtəkw'', 'tidal river'; and ''*-ənk'', the locative suffix). , - ,
Map of USA DE

, , January 31, 1680 , ,

via

, , ''de la Warr'' , , After the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before ...

, which was named for

Lord de la Warr Earl De La Warr ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1761 for John West, 7th Baron De La Warr. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles of Viscount Cantelupe (1761) in the Peerage of Great Britain, Baron De La Warr ...

(originally probably

Norman French Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...

''de la guerre'' or ''de la werre'', 'of the war').

was the first Governor-General of the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...

. , - ,

, , April 2, 1513 , ,

, , ''(pascua) florida'' , , 'Flowery (Easter)' (to distinguish it from Christmastide, which was also called ''Pascua''), in honor of its discovery by the Spanish during the

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

season. , - ,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, , October 3, 1674 , ,

via

(ultimately from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

), , ''Georgius'' , , The feminine Latin form of "George", named after King

George II of Great Britain George II (George Augustus; german: link=no, Georg August; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover, Hanover) and a prince-ele ...

. It was also a reference to

Saint George Saint George ( Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

, whose name was derived from the

word ''georgos'' meaning 'husbandman' or 'farmer' from ''ge'' 'earth' + ''ergon'' 'work'. , - , rowspan=2,
Map of USA HI

, , rowspan=2, December 29, 1879 , , rowspan=2, Hawaiian , , rowspan=2, ''Hawaiʻi'' , , From

Hawaiki In Polynesian mythology, (also rendered as in Cook Islands Māori, in Samoan, in Tahitian, in Hawaiian) is the original home of the Polynesians, before dispersal across Polynesia. It also features as the underworld in many Māori stories. ...

, legendary homeland of the

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

ns. Hawaiki is believed to mean 'place of the gods'. , - , , Named for Hawaiʻiloa, legendary discoverer of the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost ...

. , - , rowspan=2,
Map of USA ID

, , rowspan=2, June 6, 1864 , , none , , ''Idaho'' , , 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'. 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.Guyton, Kathy (2009) U.S. State Names: The Stories of How Our States Were Named (Nederland, Colorado: Mountain Storm Press) pp. 127–136. , - , ,

Plains Apache The Plains Apache are a small Southern Athabaskan group who live on the Southern Plains of North America, in close association with the linguistically unrelated Kiowa Tribe. Today, they are centered in Southwestern Oklahoma and Northern Texas ...

, , ''ídaahę́'' , , Possibly from the

word for 'enemy' (''ídaahę́''), which was used to refer to the

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in ...

s. , - ,

, , March 24, 1793 , , Algonquian, Miami-Illinois via

, , ''ilenweewa'' , , The state is named for the

adaptation of an Algonquian language (perhaps Miami-Illinois) word apparently meaning 'speaks normally' (cf. Miami-Illinois ''ilenweewa'',

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

,Bright (2004:181)

Proto-Algonquian Proto-Algonquian (commonly abbreviated PA) is the proto-language from which the various Algonquian languages are descended. It is generally estimated to have been spoken around 2,500 to 3,000 years ago, but there is less agreement on where it was ...

''*elen-'', 'ordinary', and ''-we·'', 'to speak'), referring to the

Illiniwek The Illinois Confederation, also referred to as the Illiniwek or Illini, were made up of 12 to 13 tribes who lived in the Mississippi River Valley. Eventually member tribes occupied an area reaching from Lake Michicigao (Michigan) to Iowa, Ill ...

(Illinois). , - ,
Map of USA IN

, , December 2, 1794 , ,

(ultimately from

Proto-Indo-Iranian Proto-Indo-Iranian, also Proto-Indo-Iranic is the reconstructed proto-language of the Indo-Iranian/Indo-Iranic branch of Indo-European. Its speakers, the hypothetical Proto-Indo-Iranians, are assumed to have lived in the late 3rd millennium ...

) , , ''indiāna'' , , 'Land of the Indians'. The names "Indians" and "India" come, via

and Persian, from

''*sindhu-'', which originally referred to the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmi ...

. , - ,

, , August 31, 1818 , ,

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, ...

Chiwere Chiwere (also called Iowa-Otoe-Missouria or Báxoje-Jíwere-Ñút'achi) is a Siouan language originally spoken by the Missouria, Otoe, and Iowa peoples, who originated in the Great Lakes region but later moved throughout the Midwest and plains. ...

via

, , ''ayúxba'' / ''ayuxwe'' via ''Aiouez'' , , By way of

''Aiouez'', and named after the

Iowa tribe The Iowa, also known as Ioway, and the Bah-Kho-Je or Báxoje (English: grey snow; Chiwere: Báxoje ich'é) are a Native American Siouan people. Today, they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma an ...

. This demonym has no further known etymology, though some give it the meaning 'sleepy ones'. , - ,
Map of USA KS

, , May 12, 1832 , , Kansa via

, , ''kką:ze'' via ''Cansez'' , , Named after the

Kansas River The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwesternmost part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwesternmost portion of the extensive Mississippi River dr ...

, which in turn was named after the

Kaw Kaw or KAW may refer to: Mythology * Kaw (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology * Johnny Kaw, mythical settler of Kansas, US * Kaw (character), in ''The Chronicles of Prydain'' People * Kaw people, a Native American tribe Places * Kaw, Fr ...

or Kansas tribe. The name seems to be connected to the idea of "wind". , - ,
Map of USA KY

, , April 28, 1728 , ,

Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoia ...

, , (see ''Meaning and notes'') , , Originally referring to the

Kentucky River The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 13, 2011 in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. The river and its t ...

. While some sources say the etymology is uncertain, most agree on a meaning of '(on) the meadow' or '(on) the prairie'Mithun, Marianne. 1999. ''Languages of Native North America''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pg. 312 (cf.

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

''kenhtà:ke,'' Seneca ''gëdá’geh'' (

phonemic In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-west ...

), 'at the field'). , - ,
Map of USA LA

, , July 18, 1787 , ,

(ultimately from Frankish) , , ''Louisiane'' , , After King

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The name Louis itself comes from Frankish ''hluda'', 'heard of, famous' (cf. loud) + ''wiga'', 'war'. , - , rowspan=3,
Map of USA ME

, , rowspan=3, October 13, 1729 , ,

, , ''main'' , , A common historical etymology is that the name refers to the mainland, as opposed to the coastal islands. , - , ,

, , ''Maine'', , After the

province of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

. , - , ,

, , ''(Broad)mayne'' , , A more recent proposal is that the state was named after the English village of

Broadmayne Broadmayne is a village in the English county of Dorset. It lies two miles south-east of the county town Dorchester. The A352 main road between Dorchester (from Sherborne) and Wareham passes through the village. In the 2001 Census the populat ...

, which was the family estate of Sir

Ferdinando Gorges Sir Ferdinando Gorges ( – 24 May 1647) was a naval and military commander and governor of the important port of Plymouth in England. He was involved in Essex's Rebellion against the Queen, but escaped punishment by testifying against the mai ...

, the colony's founder. , - ,
Map of USA MD

, , January 18, 1691 , ,

(ultimately from

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

) , , '' Myriam'' , , After Queen

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...

, wife of King

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after ...

. The name ''

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

'' originally meant in

'bitterness' or 'rebelliousness', and could also have come from Egyptian 'beloved' or 'love'. , - ,
Map of USA MA

, , June 4, 1665 , ,

Massachusett The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hil ...

, , ''muhsachuweesut'' , , Plural of ''muswachusut'' meaning 'near the great little-mountain' or 'at the great hill', which is usually identified as

Great Blue Hill Great Blue Hill is a hill of 635 feet (194 m) located within the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton, Randolph and Canton, Massachusetts, about south of downtown Boston. It is the highest point in Norfolk County and the Greater Boston area. The ...

on the border of Milton and

Canton, Massachusetts Canton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,370 at the 2020 census. Canton is part of Greater Boston, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of downtown Boston. History The area that would beco ...

Salwen, Bert, 1978. ''Indians of Southern New England and Long Island: Early Period''. In "Northeast", ed. Bruce G. Trigger. Vol. 15 of "Handbook of North American Indians", ed. William C. Sturtevant, pp. 160–176. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution (cf. the Narragansett name ''Massachusêuck''). , - ,
Map of USA MI

, , October 28, 1811 , ,

via

, , ᒥᔑᑲᒥ (''mishigami'') , , 'Large water' or 'large lake' (in Old Algonquin, ''*meshi-gami''). , - ,
Map of USA MN

, , April 21, 1821 , ,

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

, , ''mní sóta'' , , 'Cloudy water', referring to the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It ris ...

. , - ,

, , March 9, 1800 , ,

via

, , ᒥᓯᓰᐱ (''misi-ziibi'') , , 'Great river', after the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

. , - ,

, , September 7, 1805 , , Miami-Illinois via

, , ''wimihsoorita'' , , 'Dugout canoe'. The

Missouri tribe Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to th ...

was noteworthy among the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

for their dugout canoes, and so was referred to as the ''wimihsoorita'', 'one who has a wood boat ugout canoe. , - ,
Map of U

, , November 1, 1860 , ,

, , ''montaña'' , , 'Mountain'. , - ,
Map of USA NE

, , June 22, 1847 , ,

, , ''ñįbraske'' , , 'Flattened water', after the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itsel ...

, 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. , - ,
Map of USA NV

, , February 9, 1845 , ,

, , ''nevada'' , , 'Snow-covered', after the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

('snow-covered mountains'). , - ,
Map of USA NH

, , August 27, 1692 , ,

(ultimately from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

) , , ''Hampshire'' , , After the county of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

in England, whose name is derived from the original name for its largest city,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, that being ''Hamtun'', which is an Old English word that roughly translates to 'Village-Town'. , - ,
Map of USA NJ

, , April 2, 1669 , ,

(ultimately from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

) , , ''Jersey'' , , After

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...

, the largest of the British

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

and the birthplace of one of the colony's two co-founders, Sir George de Carteret. 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. The name "Jersey" most likely comes from the Norse name ''Geirrs ey'', meaning 'Geirr's Island'. , - ,
Map of USA NM

, , November 1, 1859 , ,

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...

via

, , ''Mēxihco'' via ''Nuevo México'' , , From Spanish ''Nuevo México''. The name Mexico comes from Nahuatl ''Mēxihca'' (), which referred to the

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

people who founded the city of Tenochtitlan. Its literal meaning is unknown, though many possibilities have been proposed, such as that the name comes from the god

Metztli In Aztec mythology, Mētztli (; also rendered Meztli, Metzi, literally "Moon") was a god or goddess of the moon, the night, and farmers. They were likely the same deity as Yohaulticetl or Coyolxauhqui and the male moon god Tecciztecatl; like ...

. , - ,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, , October 15, 1680 , ,

, , ''York'' , , After the then-

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was ...

(later King

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

). Named by then-King

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child o ...

, James II's brother. The name "York" is derived from its Latin name ''Eboracum'' (via

''Eoforwic'' and then

Jórvík Scandinavian York ( non, Jórvík) Viking Yorkshire or Norwegian York is a term used by historians for the south of Northumbria (modern-day Yorkshire) during the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was do ...

), apparently borrowed from

Brythonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

''*eborakon'', which probably meant 'Yew-Tree Estate'. , - ,
Map of USA NC

, , June 30, 1686 , ,

via

(ultimately from Frankish) , , ''Carolus'' via ''Carolana'' , , After King

. The name Charles itself is derived from Frankish ''karl'', 'man, husband'. , - ,
Map of USA ND

, , November 2, 1867 , ,

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota: /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations peoples in North America. The modern Sioux consist of two major divisions based on language divisions: the Dakota and ...

, , ''dakhóta'' , , 'Ally' or 'friend', after the

tribe. , - ,
Map of USA OH

, , April 19, 1785 , , Seneca via

, , ''ohi:yo’'' , , 'Large creek', originally the name of both the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

and

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into New York then i ...

. Often incorrectly translated as 'beautiful river', due to a French mistranslation. , - ,
Map of USA OK

, , September 5, 1842 , ,

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

, , ''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'. , - ,
Map of USA OR

, , July 20, 1860 , , Unknown , , Disputed , , Disputed meaning. First named by Major

Robert Rogers Robert Rogers may refer to: Politics * Robert Rogers (Irish politician) (died 1719), Irish politician, MP for Cork City 1692–1699 *Robert Rogers (Manitoba politician) (1864–1936), Canadian politician * Robert Rogers, Baron Lisvane (born 1950), ...

in a petition to

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

. , - ,

, , March 8, 1650 , ,

and

, , ''Penn'' + ''silvania'' , , 'Penn's woods', after Admiral

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, the father of its founder

. Pennsylvania is the only state that shares part of its name with its founder. The name "Penn" comes from the

word for 'head'. , - , rowspan=2 ,
Map of USA RI

, , rowspan=2 , February 3, 1680 , ,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, , ''roodt eylandt'' , , 'Red island', referring to

Aquidneck Island Aquidneck Island, also known as Rhode Island, is an island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island. The total land area is , which makes it the largest island in the bay. The 2020 United States Census reported its population as 60,109. T ...

. The Modern Dutch form of the phrase is 'rood eiland'. , - , ,

, , Ρόδος (''Ródos'') , , For a resemblance to the island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

. , - ,

, , November 12, 1687 , ,

via

(ultimately from Frankish) , , ''Carolus'' via ''Carolana'' , , See North Carolina, above. , - ,
Map of USA SD

, , November 2, 1867 , ,

, , ''dakhóta'' , , See North Dakota, above. , - ,
Map of USA TN

, , May 24, 1747 , ,

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

, , ᏔᎾᏏ (''tanasi'') , ,

Tanasi Tanasi ( chr, ᏔᎾᏏ, translit=Tanasi) (also spelled Tanase, Tenasi, Tenassee, Tunissee, Tennessee, and other such variations) was a historic Overhill settlement site in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. ...

(in

: ᏔᎾᏏ) was the name of a

village; the meaning is unknown. , - ,
Map of USA TX

, , June 30, 1827 , ,

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, w ...

via

, , ''táyshaʔ'' via ''Tejas'' , , 'Friend', used by the Caddo to refer the larger Caddo nation (in opposition to enemy tribes). The name was borrowed into

as ''texa'', plural ''texas'', and was used to refer to the Nabedache people (and later to the

Caddo Nation The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, wh ...

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 New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Amer ...

’s

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

. , - ,

, , December 20, 1877 , ,

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño a ...

/ Ute via

, , ''yúdah'' via ''yuta'' , , From the Spanish designation for the Ute people, ''yuta'', in turn perhaps a borrowing from Western Apache ''yúdah'', meaning 'high' (not, as is commonly stated, 'people of the mountains' and not from the Ute's own self-designation , plural , as suggested by J. P. Harrington). , - ,
Map of USA VT

, , September 27, 1721 , ,

, , ''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''. , - ,
Map of USA VA

, , March 21, 1652 , ,

, , ''Virginia'' , , 'Country of the Virgin', after

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

, who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married. , - ,

, , February 22, 1872 , ,

, , ''Washington'' , , After

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, whose surname was in turn derived from the town of

in historic

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, England. The etymology of the town's name is disputed, but agreed to be ultimately

. , - ,

, , September 1, 1831 , ,

, , ''Virginia'' , , The western, transmontane counties of Virginia, which separated from Virginia during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. See Virginia, above. , - ,
Map of USA WI

, , February 5, 1822 , , Miami-Illinois via

, , ''Meeskohsinki'' via ''Ouisconsin(k)'' , , Originally spelled ''Mescousing'' by the French, and later corrupted to ''Ouisconsin''. It likely derives from a Miami-Illinois word ''Meskonsing'', meaning 'it lies red' or 'river running through a red place'. It may also come from the

term ''miskwasiniing'', 'red-stone place'. , - ,
Map of USA WY

, , August 14, 1877 , ,

Munsee The Munsee (or Minsi or Muncee) or mə́n'si·w ( del, Monsiyok)Online Lenape Talking Dictionary, "Munsee Indians"Link/ref> are a subtribe of the Lenape, originally constituting one of the three great divisions of that nation and dwelling along ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

, , ''xwé:wamənk'' , , 'At the big river flat'; the name was transplanted westward from the

Wyoming Valley The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal-mines. As a metropolitan ...

in Pennsylvania.Bright (2004:576)

Territory and federal district names

Notes

References

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

{{Place name etymologies

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Etymologies Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words a ...

State Name

State names

Territory and federal district names

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links