NAMES OF THE UNITED STATES AND THEIR ORIGIN

ALABAMA Indian; named for tribe of Creek Confederacy and tribal town. Nickname: The Cotton State; The Heart of Dixie

ALASKA Russian version of Aleut word for Alaska peninsula.
Nickname:  Land of the Midnight Sun; America’s Last Frontier

ARIZONA ”Little spring place” Spanish version of Pima Indian word meaning “spring.” Nickname: Grand Canyon State; Copper State; Apache State

ARKANSAS ”South wind people” French version of name of Sioux Indian tribe. Nickname: Land of Opportunity

CALIFORNIA Supposedly named by the conquistadors for an imaginary island in a Spanish romantic novel. Nickname: The Golden State

COLORADO
”Red Spanish"; first given to the Colorado River.
Nickname:  The Centennial State; The Switzerland of America

CONNECTICUT ”Long river place” Algonquian Indian. Nickname:

The Constitution State; The Nutmeg State

DELAWARE Named after colonial administrator Lord Delaware; also given to river and Indian tribe. Nickname: The Diamond State; The First State

FLORIDA ”Flowery” Spanish; given by Ponce de Leon on Easter Sunday (pascua florida). Nickname: The Sunshine State

GEORGIA Neo—Latin; named for Kings George I and II by James E. Oglethorpe, colonial administrator. Nickname: Empire State of

the South; The Peach State

HAWAII”Homeland” Native word. Nickname: The Aloha State

IDAHO ”Salmon tribe” Shoshone Indian. Nickname: The Gem Stat

ILLINOIS ”Land of warriors French version of Algonquian word Illini, meaning “warriors” or “men”; also given to river and tribe. Nickname: The Prairie State; The Land of Lincoln

INDIANA So called because Indians lived there. Nickname: The Hoosier State; Crossroads of America

IOWA ”One who puts to sleep” Sioux Indian; name also given to river and tribe. Nickname: The Hawkeye State

KANSAS ”South wind people” Sioux Indian. Nickname: The Sunflower State; The Cyclone State

KENTUCKY ”Plain” Indian. Nickname: The Blue Grass State

LOUISIANA Named for Louis XIV of France by Sieur de La Salle.

Nickname:  The Pelican State

MAINE French; after Mayne, a former province of France.

Nickname:  The Pine Tree State

MARYLAND Named after Queen Henrietta Maria of England, wife of

Charles I. Nickname: The Old Line State

MASSACHUSETTS ”Large hill place” Indian; named for tribe in

Massachusetts Bay area. Nickname: The Bay State

MICHIGAN ”Great water” Chippewa Indian. Nickname: The

Wolverine State

MINNESOTA ”Cloudy water” Dakota Sioux Indian; also given to

river. Nickname: The Gopher State

MISSISSIPPI ”Large river” Indian, probably Chippewa. Nickname:

The Magnolia State

MISSOURI ”Canoeist” Algonquian Indian; also given to river and tribe. Nickname: The Show Me State

MONTANA ”MountainOus” Latin. Nickname: The Treasure State

NEBRASKA ”Flat, shallow” Omaha Indian; also given to river.

Nickname:  The Beef State

NEVADA ”Snowclad mountain” Spanish sierra nevada. Nickname:

The Silver State

NEW HAMPSHIRE Named after Hampshire, England. Nickname: The

Granite State

NEW JERSEY Named after Jersey Island, England. Nickname: The

Garden State

NEW MEXICO Spanish nuevo Mexico, term applied by Spaniards in

Mexico to land north and west of the Rio Grande. Nickname: The

Land of Enchantment

NEW YORK Named for James, Duke of York, when the English took over the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. Nickname: The Empire State

NORTH CAROLINA Neo—Latin; named for Charles I and Charles II.

Nickname:The Tar Heel State

NORTH DAKOTA ”Friend, ally” Sioux Indian. Nickname: The Sioux State

OHIO ”Magnificent, beautiful” Indian; name also given to river.

Nckname:   The Buckeye State

OKLAHOMA ”Red people” Choctaw Indian; name suggested by Chief Allen Wright, an Indian. Nickname: The Sooner State

OREGON ”Hurricane” Origin uncertain; name used by Indians for a river but may have come from the French ouragan, meaning “hurricane.” Nickname: The Beaver State

PENNSYLVANIA ”Penn’s woodland” Neo—Latin “sylvania”; named in honor of Admiral William Penn, the Quaker, who received the land from Charles II. Nickname: The Keystone State

RHODE ISLAND The island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean Sea.

Nickname: Little Rhody

SOUTH CAROLINA Neo—Latin; named for Charles I and Charles II.

Nickname: The Palmetto State

SOUTH DAKOTA ”Friend, ally” Sioux Indian. Nickname: The Coyote State

TENNESSEE Cherokee Indian. Nickname: The Volunteer State

TEXAS ”Hello, friend” Caddo Indian.- Nickname: The Lone Star State

UTAH ”Higher up” Navajo Indian; also given to a Shoshone tribe called Utes. Nickname: The Beehive State

VERMONT ”Green mountains” French vert (green) and mont (mountains). Nickname: The Green Mountain State

VIRGINIA Neo—Latin; named in honor of Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen of England. Nickname: The Old Dominion State

WASHINGTON Named in honor of George Washington. Nickname: The Evergreen State

WEST VIRGINIA Same as derivation of Virginia. Nickname: The Mountain State

WISCONSIN ”Grassy place” Chippewa Indian. Nickname: The Badger State

WYOMING ”Large prairie place” Indian. Nickname: The Equality State

FACTS ABOUT THE U.S.A.

Form of Government:  Republic (Democracy)

A government in which the people hold the ruling power through elected representatives.

Capital:  Washington, D.C.

Site chosen by George Washington in 1791.

National Anthem:  “The Star Spangled Banner”

Adopted March 3, 1931

Bird:  Bald Eagle

Adopted June 20, 1782

Flower:  Rose

Adopted October 7, 1986

Highest Elevation:  Mt. McKinley in Alaska

20,320 feet above sea level

Lowest Elevation:  Death Valley in California

282 feet below sea level

TWO LETTER STATE NAME ABBREVIATIONS