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Map showing the source languages of state names

This is a 'list' of the 'origins of the names of U.S. states'.
The fifty U.S. states have taken their names from a wide variety of languages. The names of 25 states derive from indigenous languages of the Americas: eight come from Algonquian languages, seven from Siouan languages (one of those by way of Illinois, an Algonquian language), three from Iroquoian languages, one from a Uto-Aztecan language, five from other Native American languages, and one comes from Hawaiian. The other names derive from European languages: seven come from Latin (mostly from Latinate forms of English personal names), six come from English, five come from Spanish (and one more from an Indigenous language by way of Spanish), and three come from French (one of those by way of English).
Of the fifty states, eleven were named in honor of an individual. There are multiple possible etymologies for six states (Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Oregon, and Rhode Island); in the table below, those states have one row for each potential source language or meaning.

State name	Language of origin	Word of origin	Meaning and Notes
Alabama	Choctaw	''albah amo''	"Thicket-clearers"[1] or "plant-cutters", from ''albah'', "(medicinal) plants", and ''amo'', "to clear". The modern Choctaw name for the tribe is ''Albaamu''.[2]
Alaska	Aleut	''alaxsxaq''	"Mainland" (literally "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed").[3]
Arizona	Basque	''aritz onak''	"Good oaks".[4][5]
	O'odham	''	"Having a little spring".[6]
Arkansas	Kaw, via Illinois	''akaansa''	Borrowed from an Illinois rendering of the tribal name ''kką:ze'' (see Kansas, below), which the Miami and Illinois used to refer to the Quapaw.[6][8][9][10]
California	Spanish, Unknown		Probably named for the fictional Island of California in the 16th century novel ''Las sergas de Esplandián'' by Garcia Ordoñez de Montalvo.[11]:''See also: Origin of the name California''

|-
| Colorado || Spanish || || "Red" or "reddish",^[12] originally referring to the Colorado River.^[13]
|-
| Connecticut || Eastern Algonquian || ''quinnitukqut'' || From some Eastern Algonquian language of southern New England (perhaps Mahican), meaning "at the long tidal river", after the Connecticut River.^[14][15] The name reflects Proto-Eastern-Algonquian ''
★ kwən-'', "long"; ''
★ -əhtəkw'', "tidal river"; and ''
★ -ənk'', the locative suffix^[16] (c.f. Ojibwe ''ginootigweyaad'', "be a long river").^[17]
|-
| Delaware || French via English || ''de la Warr'' || After the Delaware River, which was named for Lord de la Warr (originally ''de la Guerre'', "of the war"), who travelled it in 1610.^[18]
|-
| Florida || Spanish || ''(pascua) florida'' || "Flowery (Easter)"^[19] (to distinguish it from Christmastide which was also called ''Pascua''), in honor of its discovery by the Spanish during the Easter season.^[20]
|-
| Georgia || Latin || ||The feminine Latin form of "George", named after King George II of England.^[21][22]
|-
| rowspan=2|Hawai'i || rowspan=2|Hawaiian || rowspan=2|'' || From Hawaiki, legendary homeland of the Polynesians.^[23]
|-
|| Named for , legendary discoverer of the Hawaiian islands.^[24]
|-
| rowspan=2|Idaho || English || || Probably an invented word. Originally claimed to have been derived from a word in a Native American language that meant "Gem of the Mountains."^[25]
:'' See also: Idaho#Origin of name''
|-
|| Plains Apache || ''ídaahę́'' || Possibly from the Plains Apache word for "enemy" (''ídaahę́''), which was used to refer to the Comanches.^[26]
|-
| Illinois || Algonquian || ''ilenweewa'' || The state is named for the French adaptation of an Algonquian language (perhaps Miami) word apparently meaning "s/he speaks normally" (c.f. Miami ''ilenweewa'',^[27] Old Ottawa ,^[28] Proto-Algonquian ''
★ elen-'', "ordinary" and ''-we·'', "to speak"),^[29] referring to the Illiniwek (Illinois).²⁸
|-
| Indiana || Latin || || "Land of the Indians".^[30]
|-
| Iowa || Dakota || ''ayúxba''/''ayuxwe'' || By way of French ''Aiouez'', and named after the Iowa tribe. The name seems to have no further known etymology,^[31][32] though some give it the meaning "sleepy ones".^[33]
|-
| Kansas || Kaw || ''kką:ze'' || Named after the Kaw or Kansas tribe.⁸ The name seems to be connected to the idea of "wind".^[34]
|-
| Kentucky || Iroquoian || || Originally referring to the Kentucky River. While some sources say the etymology is uncertain,^[35][36] most agree on a meaning of "(on) the meadow" or "(on) the prairie"^[37][38] (c.f. Seneca ''gëdá’geh'' (phonemic ), "at the field").^[39]
|-
| Louisiana || French || ''Louisiane'' || After King Louis XIV of France.^[40]
|-
| rowspan=2|Maine || English || || The more probable etymology is that the state's name refers to the mainland, as opposed to the coastal islands.^[41]
|-
|| French || || After the French province of Maine.^[42]
|-
| Maryland || English || || After Queen Henrietta Maria of England, wife of King Charles I.^[43]
|-
| Massachusetts || Algonquian || || Plural of "Massachusett" meaning "Near the great little-mountain", or "at the great hill", usually identified as Great Blue Hill on the border of Milton and Canton, Massachusetts^[44] (c.f. the Narragansett name ''Massachusêuck''⁴⁴; Ojibwe ''misajiwens'', "little big hill").¹⁷
|-
| Michigan || Ottawa || ''mishigami'' || "Large water" or "large lake".^[45]
|-
| Minnesota || Dakota || ''mnisota'' || "Cloudy water", referring to the Minnesota River.^[46]15
|-
| Mississippi || Ojibwe || ''misi-ziibi'' || "Great river", after the Mississippi River.^[47]
|-
| Missouri || Illinois || ''mihsoori'' || "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]".^[48]
|-
| Montana || Spanish || ''montaña'' || "Mountain".^[49]
|-
| Nebraska || Chiwere || ''ñįbraske'' || "Flattened water", after the Platte River, which used to be known as the ''Nebraska River''.^[50]
|-
| Nevada || Spanish || || "Snow-covered",^[51] after the Sierra Nevada ("snow-covered mountains").
|-
| New Hampshire || English || || After the county of Hampshire in England.^[52]
|-
| New Jersey || English || || After the island of Jersey in the English Channel.^[53]
|-
| New Mexico || Nahuatl via Spanish || ''Mēxihco'' via ''Nuevo México'' || A calque of Spanish ''Nuevo México''.^[54] The name ''Mexico'' comes from Nahuatl ''Mēxihco'' (IPA: )^[55][56], whose meaning is unknown, though many possibilities have been proposed (such as that the name comes from the name of the God Mextli,^[57] or that it means "navel of the moon").^[58]
|-
| New York || English || || After York, England, to honor the then Duke of York (later King James II of England).^[59]
|-
| North Carolina || Latin || || After King Charles I of England.^[60]
|-
| North Dakota || Sioux || ''dakhóta'' || "Ally" or "friend",⁵⁰ after the Dakota tribe.^[61]
|-
| Ohio || Seneca || ''ohi:yo’'' || "Large creek",³⁷ originally the name of both the Ohio River and Allegheny River.^[62] Often incorrectly given as "beautiful river",^[63] due to a French mistranslation.²⁷
|-
| Oklahoma || 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".^15[64]
|-
| rowspan=3 | Oregon
| Connecticut Pidgin Algonquian || ''wauregan'' || "Beautiful".^[65][66] First named by Major Robert Rogers in a petition to King George III.^[67]
|-
| French
| ''Ouaricon-sint'' || A mistranscription of ''Ouisconsin'', the name for the Wisconsin River.^[68]
|-
| Chinook Jargon || ''ulâkân'' || From the Cree pronunciation of the Chinook Jargon word.^[69] A species of smelt, Thaleichthys pacificus, with great significance to inhabitants of the Northwest Coast and an enormous oil content.^[70][71] Chinook Jargon probably got the fish's name from Clatsop ''u-tlalxwə(n)'', "brook trout".^[72]
|-
| Pennsylvania || Latin || || "Penn's woods", after Admiral William Penn.^[73]
|-
| rowspan=2 | Rhode Island
| Dutch || ''roodt eylandt'' || "Red island", referring to Aquidneck Island.^[74]
|-
| Greek || ''Ρόδος'' || For a resemblance to the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea.⁷⁴
|-
| South Carolina || Latin || || After King Charles I of England.^[75]
|-
| South Dakota || Sioux || ''dakhóta'' || "Ally" or "friend". See North Dakota, above.
|-
| Tennessee || Cherokee || ''tanasi'' || Tanasi was the name of a Cherokee village;^[76] the meaning is unknown.^[77]
|-
| Texas || Caddo || '' || "Friend",^[78] 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 used to refer to the Caddo Nation.^[79]
|-
| Utah || Western Apache || ''yúdah'' || "High"^[80] (not, as is commonly stated,^[81] "people of the mountains").^[82] J. P. Harrington suggested the name was from the Ute self-designation (plural ),^[83][84] but this has been rejected.^[85]
|-
| Vermont || French || ''vert'' + ''mont'' || "Green mountain"; ''vert'' in French means "green", and ''mont'' means "mountain".^[86]
|-
| Virginia || Latin || || "Country of the Virgin", after Elizabeth I of England, who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married.^[87]
|-
| Washington || English || || After George Washington.^[88]
|-
| West Virginia || Latin || || The western, transmontane, counties of Virginia; separated from Virginia during Civil War; see Virginia, above.
|-
| Wisconsin || Miami || || Originally spelled ''Mescousing'' by the French, and later corrupted to ''Ouisconsin''.^[89] Likely it derives from a Miami word for "it lies red"^[90]89 (c.f. Ojibwe ''miskosin'', "it lies red").¹⁷ It may also come from the Ojibwe term ''miskwasiniing'', "red-stone place".¹⁷
|-
| Wyoming || Munsee Delaware || ''xwé:wamənk'' || "At the big river flat"; the name was transplanted westward from the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania.^[91]
|}

Contents

See also

References

Bibliography

See also

★ Canadian provincial name etymologies

★ Lists of U.S. county name etymologies

★ Toponomy

References

1. Alabama: The State Name
2. Bright (2004:29)
3. Ransom, J. Ellis. 1940. ''Derivation of the Word ‘Alaska’''. American Anthropologist n.s., 42: pp. 550-551
4. A sorry state of affairs when views change Thompson, Clay
5. How Arizona did NOT Get its Name Jim Turner
6. Bright (2004:47)
7. Bright (2004:47)
8. Rankin, Robert. 2005. "Quapaw". In ''Native Languages of the Southeastern United States'', eds. Heather K. Hardy and Janine Scancarelli. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, pg. 492
9. Arkansas
10. To appear. "Arkansas" in the Oxford English Dictionary
11. "California"
12. Colorado
13. Colorado
14. Connecticut
15. Campbell, Lyle. 1997. ''American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pg. 11
16. Afable, Patricia O. and Madison S. Beeler (1996). "Place Names", in "Languages", ed. Ives Goddard. Vol. 17 of ''Handbook of North American Indians'', ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 193
17. Freelang Ojibwe Dictionary
18. Delaware
19. Florida
20. Florida
21. Georgia
22. Georgia
23. Crowley, Terry. 1992. ''An Introduction to Historical Linguistics''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pg. 289
24. Origins of Hawaii's Names
25. Origins of the Name "Idaho" Merle W. Wells
26. Bright (2004:177)
27. Comments by Michael McCafferty on "Readers' Feedback (page 4)"
28. Bright (2004:181)
29. Illinois
30. Indiana
31. 2001. "Plains", ed. Raymond J. DeMallie. Vol. 13 of "Handbook of North American Indians", ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 445
32. Iowa
33. Bright (2004:185)
34. Connelley, William E. 1918. ''Indians''. A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, ch. 10, vol. 1
35. Kentucky
36. Kentucky
37. Mithun, Marianne. 1999. ''Languages of Native North America''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pg. 312
38. Kentucky
39. Bright (2004:213)
40. Louisiana
41. Origin of Maine’s Name
42. Maine
43. Maryland
44. 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. Quoted in: Campbell, Lyle. 1997. ''American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pg. 401
45. Michigan in Brief: Information About the State of Michigan
46. Minnesota
47. Mississippi
48. McCafferty, Michael. 2004. ''Correction: Etymology of Missouri''. American Speech, 79.1:32
49. Montaña
50. Etymology Koontz, John
51. Nevada
52. New Hampshire
53. New Jersey
54. New Mexico
55. Campbell, Lyle. 1997. ''American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pg. 378
56. Nahuatl Pronunciation Lesson 1
57. Mextli
58. The Aztecs
59. New York
60. North Carolina
61. North Dakota
62. Native Ohio
63. On the Banks of the Ohi:yo Dow, Dustin
64. Halito Okla Homma! (Chahta Anumpa - Choctaw Language) Bruce, Benjamin
65. Oregon
66. Goddard, Ives, and Thomas Love, 2004. ''Oregon the Beautiful'', Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 105, no. 2.
67. The History of Naming Oregon
68. Oregon Name Controversy Hasting, Mark
69. Indian Trade Routes Lead to Overlooked Origin of 'Oregon'
70. The Ooligan Ford, Charlsey
71. Eulachon
72. Bright (2004:172)
73. Pennsylvania
74. Rhode Island
75. South Carolina
76. Tennessee
77. Mooney, James. 1900(1995). ''Myths of the Cherokee'', pg. 534
78. Texas
79. Bright (2004:491)
80. 1986. "Great Basin", ed. Warren L. d'Azevedo. Vol. 11 of ''Handbook of North American Indians''. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. Cited in: Bright (2004:534)
81. Quick Facts about Utah's History and Land
82. Original Tribal Names of Native North American People
83. Opler, Marvin K. 1943. ''The Origins of Comanche and Ute''. American Anthropologist, n.s., 45: pp. 155-158
84. Harrington, John P. 1911. ''The Origin of the Names Ute and Paiute''. American Anthropologist, n.s., 13: pp. 173-174
85. 1986. Warren L. d'Azevedo, ed., "Great Basin". Vol. 11 of William C. Sturtevant, ed., ''Handbook of North American Indians''. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. pp. 364-5
86. Vermont
87. Virginia
88. Washington
89. Wisconsin's Name: Where it Came from and What it Means
90. McCafferty, Michael. 2003. ''On Wisconsin: The Derivation and Referent of an Old Puzzle in American Placenames''. Onoma 38: 39-56
91. Bright (2004:576)

Bibliography

★ Bright, William (2004). ''Native American Placenames of the United States''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.