How and why does Massachusetts have so many S‘s? Why are there four states whose names begin New? And why are there two different spellings of Hawaii? In this article, we will answer all of these questions and more as we cover how all 50 states got their names. You’ll be surprised by the stories we’ve uncovered and the rarely known facts historians continue to debate and shape into theories even today.
Disclaimer: Many states have names with unclear or uncertain specific origins, especially if they originate from Native American words. We have done our best to consult as many historical sources as possible, but sometimes even the states themselves can’t figure this stuff out—we’re looking at you, Maine!
Alabama
The southeastern state of Alabama kicks off our alphabetical list of all 50 states. The word Alabama is an Anglicized form of the name of a Native tribe of the Muscogee Creek Confederacy that lived in the southeastern United States when the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto arrived in the region. The name is said to combine the Choctaw words alba and amo, meaning “plant-gatherer.” Alabama was first a name given to the Alabama River and then adopted as the state name in 1819.
Alaska
The name of the state of Alaska comes from the language of the Aleut or Unangan people. Alaska ultimately comes from Aleut alaxsxaq, meaning “the mainland” or “the object toward which the action of the sea is directed.” Alaska was originally the name of a peninsula and was adopted for the entire region in 1867 in part because it was “brief, euphonious, and suitable.” As you’ll see, many state names were regionally adopted long before the official date of statehood. (Alaska joined in 1959.)
Arizona
The origin of the name of Arizona is disputed by experts. Some claim that it comes from Tohono O’odham/Pima language for “place of the small spring.” Others, however, argue that the name is from the Basque language, as the area was settled by ranchers of Basque origins in the early 1700s. They believe that Arizona comes from the Basque words aritz, meaning “oak,” and ona, meaning “good” or “place of the good oaks.”
Arkansas
Arkansas took a long, meandering path into English. The story begins with the Algonquin people who referred to the Sioux tribe the Quapaw or Ugahxpa as the “Akansa.” The French in the area picked up the Algonquin term, spelling it Arkansas. In French, the final –s is not pronounced, and neither is the final -s in Arkansas even after the English-speaking state adopted it as a name.
California
The name California is believed to come from, of all things, a 16th-century chivalric novel. The 1510 epic Las Sergas de Esplandián by Garcí Rodríguez de Montalvo includes a story of the titular Esplandián defending Constantinople from soldiers from a mythical island paradise named California. The early Spanish explorers thought California was a magical place like the fictional island. Historian Damian Bacich suggests the name California in the novel itself may ultimately derive from the real life medieval fortress city of Kal-Ifrene off the coast of modern-day Algeria.
Colorado
Colorado comes from the Spanish for “of red color” and may refer to the muddy reddish color of the river or the red rocks in the area. When Colorado became a territory of the United States in 1861, the name was given to the region itself.
Connecticut
The name Connecticut comes from the Mohegan or Algonquian word quinnehtukqut, meaning “beside the long tidal river,” describing what is today known as the Connecticut River. The name was Anglicized by at least 1630.
Delaware
Delaware is named for the expedition investor and governor of Virginia from 1610 until 1618: Thomas West, 3rd Baron de la Warr. At the time, the territory was part of the commonwealth of Virginia. The name de la Warr itself comes from Anglo-French for “of the war” or “warrior.”
Florida
The Florida territory was named by explorer Juan Ponce de Léon when he landed on the peninsula in April 1513. The name is believed to be a reference to the Spanish celebration of Pascua Florida or the Easter feast, which happened to be around the day of his landing, and Florida’s abundance of flowers, as florida roughly translates to “full of flowers.”
Georgia
The American state of Georgia is named for King George II of Great Britain. In 1732, King George granted the charter for the formation of the Georgia Colony, granting it limited self-governance powers. The -ia part of the word comes from Greek and is used to denote the names of places, especially states.
Hawaii
The origin of the name Hawaii, or Hawai’i, is disputed. The name Hawai’i is traditionally written with an ʻokina, representing a glottal stop, although this is often represented with an apostrophe.
Some believe the name Hawaii comes from the Polynesian “small or new homeland,” Hawa ii. Others claim the name for the islands comes from the Polynesian legend of chief Hawai’i Loa, an explorer who returned to Polynesia describing the place as a paradise. Another origin story is that the name comes from Polynesian hawaiki, meaning “Place of the Gods.”
Idaho
How Idaho got its name is pretty funny. It starts in 1860, when mining lobbyist George M. Willing proposed Idaho as a name for a part of what would become Colorado. He would later claim that he invented the name inspired by a girl named Ida. Whether promoted by Willing or simply widely believed, however, Idaho was thought to be related to a Shoshone expression meaning “Gem of the Mountains.” When the origin couldn’t be verified, the name Idaho was dropped for Colorado. Thirty years later, the state of Idaho adopted the name when it broke off from Oregon Country, believing once again its fake connection to a Native American word.
Illinois
The name Illinois comes to English via—you guessed it—French. But it actually started as a borrowed word between two indigenous American languages. The confederacy of tribes in the Mississippi River valley called themselves the Inoca. The neighboring Ojibwa tribes in the eastern Great Lakes region adopted an Inoca word irenweewa, meaning “he who speaks in a regular way,” as their name for the Inoca. In Ojibwa, irenweewa became ilinwe. French explorers transformed the name into Illinois, and it became the name of the river and then the territory where the Inoca lived.
Indiana
Indiana literally means “Indian country,” said to come from the purchase of the land from the Iroquois Confederacy. The Indian- part refers to Native Americans, and -ana is a variant of -ia, which is used to denote a name of a place, particularly of a state.
Iowa
While according to folk legend Iowa comes from a Native American word for “the beautiful land,” the origin is much more complex. The Báxoje people of the area were known as Ayuway by neighboring tribes. The name Ayuway comes from the Dakota for Ayuxba, said to mean “sleepy ones.” Ayuway was transcribed as Ioway by the French explorers, and it was Anglicized to Iowa in 1835 by Lt. Albert M. Lea.
Kansas
As you may have guessed, the name of Kansas comes from the same root as Arkansas. The Algonquin people referred to the Sioux tribe the Quapaw or Ugahxpa as the “Akansa,” or, in its plural form, the Akansas. By 1854, Kansas was used to refer to a large portion of the territory itself.
Kentucky
The name Kentucky is of highly disputed origin. It’s said to come from Wyandot for “land of tomorrow,” Shawnee for “at the head of the river,” or Iroquois for “among the meadows.” Another common story is that it comes from a Native American expression meaning “dark and bloody ground.” While that last meaning is almost certainly untrue, the ultimate origins of Kentucky remain murky.
Louisiana
The origins of Louisiana‘s name begin with King Louis XIV of France, who gave his royal mandate to the expedition of René-Robert Cavelier de la Salle. La Salle named the territory he discovered in the Sun King’s honor in 1682. The French name La Louisiane was later adopted into English as Louisiana.
Maine
The name Maine has disputed origins. The earliest record of Maine as the name of the territory is spelled Mayne. This word’s origin is uncertain, but it may have been inspired by one of the small British towns with a variation of Maine, as in Broadmayne. Another folk etymology is that the name refers to the mainland, to distinguish it from the islands just off the coast.
Maryland
Like Louisiana, Maryland is also named in tribute to royalty. In this case, Maryland was named in honor of Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of Great Britain. King Charles I had signed the charter establishing the Maryland colony in 1632.
Massachusetts
The state of Massachusetts has its origins in the name of a tribe that once occupied the territory, the Massachuseuck. The word in Algonquin is said to translate to “at the great hill,” thought to refer to what is today known as Great Blue Hill. The name Massachusetts for the area is attested by Captain John Smith in 1616.
Michigan
The name Michigan comes from the Ojibwe (Chippewa) michigama, meaning “large body of water” or “large lake.” This is a fitting name for Michigan, which touches four of the five Great Lakes.
Minnesota
There is general agreement that Minnesota comes from the Dakota name for the Minnesota River: mni sota. But what that expression translates to is disputed. Mni means “water,” but sota can mean “sky-tinted” or “cloudy.” The most poetic translation is Gwen Westerman’s “land where the water is so clear it reflects the sky.”
Mississippi
Mississippi gets its name from a French transcription of the Objiwe word misi-ziibi, meaning “big river.” However, popular folk etymology would have you believe misi-ziibi means “Father of Waters.” The French Messipi became the English Mississippi when it became an American territory in 1798.
Missouri
Missouri is another state that is named for a Native American tribe. The name Missouri is an Anglicized form of the Algonquian Emessourit, meaning “people with canoes (made from logs).”
Montana
It’s easy to understand how Montana got its name: it comes from the Spanish montaña (“mountain”) and the Latin montana, as a reference to the Rocky Mountains. According to legend, the name was suggested by gold rush miner Josiah Hinman for a small town near Pike’s Peak in Colorado. Later, Congressman James Ashley suggested it for the name of a new territory in 1864.
Nebraska
Like many states, Nebraska‘s name comes from the Native American name for a major river in the territory. In this case, Nebraska comes from the Otos word nebrathka, meaning “broad or flat water,” referring to the Platte River. Platte means “flat” in French.
Nevada
When the Spanish arrived on the West Coast in the mid-18th century, they named the mountains they saw the Sierra Nevadas or “snow-covered mountains,” because that’s what they were. The nearby region they simply called Nevada for short. The name stuck.
New Hampshire
The name New Hampshire is a reference to, well, “Old” Hampshire, a county in England. Captain John Mason named the region New Hampshire after Hampshire, England. The name Hampshire itself comes from the Old English Hamtur, meaning “village town.”
New Jersey
Like New Hampshire, New Jersey makes tacit reference to an “Old” Jersey. In this case, the reference is to the Isle of Jersey, an island in the English Channel. In 1649, the governor of the Isle of Jersey, Sir George Carteret, was given land in the New World by King Charles II. The land was named New Jersey in honor of Sir Carteret. It is not clear where the original name Jersey itself comes from, however.
New Mexico
The name the Spanish gave the lands north of the Rio Grande was Nuevo México, or New Mexico in English. According to historians, the Spanish conquistadors thought of this region as a symbolic part of the homeland of the Aztec people (sometimes known as the Mexica). The name Nuevo México actually predates the country of Mexico, which was founded in 1821. The name Mexico itself is of disputed origin, but it’s said to come from expressions in the Nahuatl language, spoken by the Aztecs.
New York
New York, New York used to be named New Amsterdam, New Netherlands. But when the British acquired the land from the Dutch in 1664, they renamed it New York after James Stuart, Duke of York, who later became King James II. York itself comes from the Old English Eoforwíc, of disputed meaning.
North Carolina
The Carolina part of North Carolina doesn’t refer to a lady named Carol but rather to King Charles I of the United Kingdom who made the original land grant to form the colony in 1629. The Latin form of Charles is Carolus, and the territory was originally referred to as Carolana. Later, in 1663, under King Charles II, it was named Carolina definitively. When the territory was split in 1710, the northern part was duly renamed North Carolina.
North Dakota
The name Dakota comes from the name of the Dakota tribe, one of three tribes commonly referred to as Sioux. It means “friendly people” or “allies” in the Dakota language. In 1861, the Dakota Territory was formed. After a dispute over the location of the state capital, the territory was split in two in 1889. The northern part of the state is North Dakota.
Ohio
The origins of the name Ohio are murky and disputed. The most common theory states that Ohio comes from an Anglicized version of an Iroquois word meaning “great river,” which referred to the Ohio River that shares the state’s name.
Oklahoma
The word Oklahoma comes from the combination of two Choctaw words: okla, meaning “people,” and humma. While humma is often translated to mean “red,” as in “red people,” it is also used as an honorific title for men who are called to be courageous in the Choctaw language. Oklahumma was Anglicized to Oklahoma when it became a US territory.
Oregon
The origin of the name Oregon has been lost to history. It was first attested by British Major Robert Rogers in 1765 in a petition to King George III. Major Rogers writes that there is a river called Ouragon by the Native Americans. However, what tribe or language this may have been or what the name may have meant is unknown to this day.
Pennsylvania
The name Pennsylvania is a tribute from William Penn to his father, Admiral William Penn. The younger Penn was given the land grant to the territory by the King of England and named it after his dad, although he originally simply wanted to name it Sylvania. Sylvania comes from the Latin for “forest lands” or “woods.” Pennsylvania is often translated as “Penn’s Woods.”
Rhode Island
While somewhat disputed, most likely the name Rhode Island originally comes from the Dutch een rodlich Eylande, a name given to what is today Aquidneck Island by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It means “Red Island,” a reference to the red clay on the shore. The name was later Anglicized into Rhode Island, linking the place with the mythical Isle of Rhodes. The name was shortened from State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations to simply Rhode Island in 2020 because of the association with slavery.
South Carolina
As we already know, the Carolina part of South Carolina comes from the Latin name for Charles, a reference to King Charles I and King Charles II of the United Kingdom. The South part of the name was added when the Carolina territory was split in 1712.
South Dakota
Similarly, we have already seen that the name Dakota comes from the name of the Dakota tribe, also known as the Sioux. It means “friendly people” or “allies” in that language. In 1861, the Dakota Territory was formed. After a dispute over the location of the state capital, the territory was split in two in 1889. The southern part of the state is South Dakota.
Tennessee
The name Tennessee comes from the Cherokee word Tanasqui, a name for two towns in the state, meaning roughly “meeting place.” The Anglicized spelling Tennessee is attributed to James Glen, Governor of South Carolina in the 1750s.
Texas
According to popular legend, the name Texas ultimately comes from Caddo taysha, a term used by the Caddo people meaning “friend” or “ally.” It was adopted as Tejas by the Spanish and became Texas in English. However, historian García Ruiz has proposed a controversial twist: that the state was named after the Spanish word for yew (a tree found in Spain), teja. The local bald cypress trees reminded the Spanish of the yew, and they chose the word to refer to the region.
Utah
The name Utah may come from a series of misunderstandings. The Apache used the word Yuttahih to mean “one that is higher up.” This was transcribed by the Spanish as yuta and was given as a name to the area inhabited by the Ute tribe. It is also possible that the name comes from a corruption of Nuutsiu, what the Ute call themselves.
Vermont
It is popularly believed that the name Vermont comes from the French ver(t) mont, or “green mountain,” describing the state’s mountain ranges. However, historian Joseph-André Senécal suggests that in fact revolutionary Thomas Young translated the existing nickname Green Mountain into French in 1777 in order to come up with the name for the territory: Vermont.
Virginia
The commonwealth of Virginia is named in honor of Queen Elizabeth I, nicknamed “the Virgin Queen,” who gave the land grant for the colony in 1584.
Washington
Washington State has the honor of being the only state named after a president: President George Washington.
West Virginia
West Virginia used to be part of the state of Virginia, named for the Virgin Queen, until it seceded from the Confederate state in 1862.
Wisconsin
While the name Wisconsin, like so many other state names we have seen, likely comes from a Native American language and word, it is uncertain which one. Some argue it comes from the Menominee Weskohsaeh, meaning roughly “a good place to stay.” Others suggest it comes from Algonquin Meskousing, meaning “river running through a red place,” a reference to the red cliffs in the state.
Wyoming
The name Wyoming was first used to refer to a valley in Pennsylvania. The name was suggested for the state by Representative James M. Ashley, who was born in Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania. The name Wyoming itself is said to come from a Native American word and language of disputed origin.
