List of U.S. state name etymologies

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This is a list of the origins of the names of U.S. states. State names with more than one possible etymology have a subrow for each parent language.

State name	Language of origin	Word of origin	Meaning
Alabama	Choctaw	albalmo	Cleared-up thicket
Alaska	Aleut	alaxsxaq	Great country
Arizona	Probably O'odham	alĭ ṣonak	The most likely source is the O'odham phrase, which means "small spring"[1][2]. Other possibilities for the source of the name include Nahuatl and Spanish.
Arkansas	Sioux	akakaze	Those going downstream
California	Spanish, Unknown		Probably named for the fictional Island of California in the 16th century novel Las Sergas de Esplandian by Garcia Ordoñez de Montalvo[3]. See also: Origin of the name California
Colorado	Spanish	Río Colorado	Red in color, presumably referring to the Colorado River, or the red sandstone formations in the area.
Connecticut	Mahican	Quinnitukqut	"Long tidal river", after the Connecticut River[4]
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[5].
Idaho	English		Possibly an invented word. Claimed to have been derived from a word in a Native American language meaning "Gem of the Mountains."[6] See also: Idaho#Origin of name
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? at the head of the river, or the dark and bloody ground
Louisiana	French		After King Louis XIV  of France
Maine	French or English		Either after French province of Maine, to honor the Duke of Maine, son of Louis XIV; or referring to the mainland, as opposed to the coastal islands[7]
Maryland	English		After Queen Henrietta Maria of England
Massachusetts	Algonquian		Plural of "Massachusett" meaning "Near the great little-mountain", or "land near the big hill", usually identified as Great Blue Hill on the border of Milton and Canton, Massachusetts
Michigan	Algonquian languages		Derived from an Algonquian language, and meaning "large water", "large lake"[8] (c.f. Ojibwe mishigami[9])
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	Chiwere	ñįbraske	Flattened water, after the Platte River, which used to be known as the Nebraska River[10]
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, from Nahuatl Mēxihco (IPA: [meːˈʃihko]), whose meaning is debated.
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
	French	ouragan or Ouaricon-sint	Storm or Wisconsin River, respectively
Pennsylvania	Latin		"Penn's woods", after Admiral William Penn
Rhode Island	Dutch	roodt eylandt	Red island, perhaps referring to the clay deposits of Aquidneck Island
	Greek	Ρόδος	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	táyshaʔ	"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

[edit] See also

• Canadian provincial name etymologies
• Lists of U.S. county name etymologies
• Placename etymology

[edit] References

1. ^ Arizona Symbols, State Names
2. ^ Saxton, D., Saxton, L., & Enos, S. (1983). Dictionary: Tohono O'odham/Pima to English, English to Tohono O'odham/Pima. Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona Press.
3. ^ Word of the Day: California
4. ^ Online Etymological Dictionary
5. ^ Crowley, Terry (1992). An Introduction to Historical Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pg 289
6. ^ Origins of the Name "Idaho"
7. ^ Maine State Library: Origin of Maine’s Name
8. ^ Michigan.gov
9. ^ Freelang Ojibwe Dictionary
10. ^ Siouan Languages: Etymology