How Each State got its Name

Most state names are just noise. You say them without thinking. But dig into where they came from and things get weird fast.

California is named after a fake island from a Spanish fantasy novel. Some lobbyist apparently invented Idaho out of thin air. Minnesota does not mean “clear blue water” no matter what anyone told you.

Native American Names

Twenty-five states borrowed their names from Indigenous languages.

The East Coast is almost entirely Algonquian. Massachusetts is “at or about the great hill.” Connecticut is “beside the long tidal river.” Michigan is “large water” in Ojibwe. Simple geographic facts turned into names.

Head west and you’re in Siouan country. Both Dakotas use the same word, which means friend or ally. Minnesota is cloudy water. Nebraska is flat water. Kansas and Iowa are both named after peoples. Missouri means people with dugout canoes. Notice how many involve water.

Kentucky is Iroquoian, probably “land of tomorrow,” but people still fight about the exact translation. Ohio means “great river.” The “beautiful river” version is a myth.

Alabama is Choctaw for something like “thicket clearers.” Texas comes from Caddo meaning “friends.” Oklahoma is special because someone made it up on purpose. In 1866, Choctaw chief Allen Wright took okla (people) and humma (red) and created a brand new word for the territory.

Alaska is “the mainland” in Aleut. Hawaii goes back to Polynesian ideas about where their ancestors came from.

European Names

The other twenty-two states pulled from European languages. Spanish names track old exploration routes. French names follow the Mississippi.

Florida got its name when Ponce de León showed up during Easter 1513. “Flowery Easter” in Spanish. Colorado is “colored red” from the river. Nevada is snow-covered.

California is absurd. In 1510, some Spanish writer published an adventure novel about a magical island called California where Amazon queens ruled. Spanish explorers apparently read this book, sailed to the Pacific coast, and said “close enough.” The name stuck.

Louisiana honors King Louis XIV. Vermont is French for green mountain. Maine probably refers to a French province but the reason is lost.

Six states memorialize European royalty. Both Virginias for Queen Elizabeth I. Both Carolinas for King Charles I. Georgia for King George II. Maryland for Queen Henrietta Maria.

Washington is the only American who got a state. People tried to name states after Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln. Never worked. Washington succeeded because he was safely dead and universally revered.

The Mysteries

Six states have origins that remain unclear or disputed.

Idaho is probably a hoax. In the 1860s, George Willing (mining lobbyist) proposed this name. Claimed it was Shoshone for “gem of the mountains.” That word doesn’t exist in Shoshone. Doesn’t exist in any documented Native language. Willing seems to have fabricated it.

Arizona might be Basque for “good oak.” Might be O’odham for “small spring.” Spanish explorers wrote “Arizonac” but the source is murky.

Oregon is just lost. Could be French for hurricane. Could be Indigenous. Multiple theories, no answers.

Rhode Island references either the Greek island Rhodes or comes from Dutch for “red island.” Pick one.

Wisconsin is Ojibwe but means either “red stone place” or “gathering of waters” depending on which scholar you ask.

Arkansas derives from the Quapaw people via French. Not disputed. What’s disputed is pronunciation. The state passed a law telling people how to say it so they’d stop confusing it with Kansas.

State	Language Origin	Original Word/Form	Meaning/Translation	Notes
Alabama	Choctaw (Muskogean)	alba ayamule / albah amo	“thicket clearers” or “plant gatherers”	Multiple interpretations exist; refers to tribal group
Alaska	Aleut (Eskimo-Aleut)	aláxsxaq / alaxsxix	“mainland” or “great land”	Borrowed through Russian
Arizona	Spanish (possibly O’odham or Basque)	Arizonac / alĭ ṣonak	“small spring” OR “good oak”	Etymology disputed; Spanish recorded from Indigenous or Basque sources
Arkansas	Algonquian via French	Akansa (Quapaw tribal name)	“people of the south wind” or “downstream people”	French pronunciation preserved by state law
California	Spanish (literary fiction)	California (from novel)	Fictional paradise island	From “Las sergas de Esplandián” by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo (1510)
Colorado	Spanish	colorado	“colored red” or “reddish”	Refers to Colorado River’s sediment
Connecticut	Algonquian (Mohegan)	Quinnehtukqut	“beside the long tidal river”	Refers to Connecticut River
Delaware	English (via French title)	Named for Lord De La Warr	Named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr	Title derives from Norman French “de la guerre”
Florida	Spanish	Pascua Florida	“Flowery Easter” or “Feast of Flowers”	Named by Ponce de León in 1513 during Easter season
Georgia	English (Latin form)	Named for King George II	Honors King George II of Great Britain	Colony chartered in 1732
Hawaii	Hawaiian (Polynesian)	Hawaiʻi (from Hawaiki)	Likely “homeland” or “place of the gods”	From Proto-Polynesian ancestral homeland concept
Idaho	Uncertain/Possibly fabricated	Claimed to be Shoshone	“gem of the mountains” (unverified)	Likely invented by George M. Willing; no Indigenous source confirmed
Illinois	Algonquian (Miami-Illinois)	Inoca or irenwe·wa	“ordinary speaker” or “the people”	French rendering: Ilinois; popular “tribe of superior men” is folk etymology
Indiana	English	Indiana	“Land of the Indians”	Coined by English speakers in reference to Native inhabitants
Iowa	Siouan (Chiwere)	Ayuxba / Ayuhwa	“sleepy ones” or tribal name	Refers to Ioway people; exact meaning debated
Kansas	Siouan (Kansa)	Kká:ze	“people of the south wind”	Refers to Kansa (Kaw) people
Kentucky	Iroquoian (possibly Wyandot)	Ken-tah-ten	“land of tomorrow” or “meadow land”	Multiple competing etymologies; “dark and bloody ground” is folk etymology
Louisiana	French	Named for King Louis XIV	“Land of Louis”	French territory named by La Salle in 1682
Maine	Uncertain (possibly French)	Maine (French province)	Possibly “mainland”	May distinguish mainland from islands; etymology unclear
Maryland	English (Latin form)	Named for Queen Henrietta Maria	“Mary’s Land”	Honors wife of King Charles I
Massachusetts	Algonquian (Massachusett)	Massachusett	“at or about the great hill”	Refers to Great Blue Hill near Milton
Michigan	Algonquian (Ojibwe)	mishi-gami	“large water” or “large lake”	Refers to Lake Michigan
Minnesota	Siouan (Dakota)	mni sotá	“cloudy water” or “sky-tinted water”	Refers to Minnesota River; “clear blue water” is less accurate
Mississippi	Algonquian (Ojibwe)	misi-ziibi	“great river”	Borrowed by French from Ojibwe
Missouri	Algonquian (Miami-Illinois)	Wimihsoorita	“those who have dugout canoes”	Refers to Missouri people; exact meaning debated
Montana	Spanish (from Latin)	montaña	“mountain” or “mountainous region”	From Latin montanea
Nebraska	Siouan (Otoe)	Ñí Brásge	“flat water”	Refers to Platte River
Nevada	Spanish	nevada	“snow-covered” or “snow-capped”	Refers to Sierra Nevada mountains
New Hampshire	English	Named for Hampshire, England	Named after English county	Granted to John Mason in 1629
New Jersey	English	Named for Jersey (Channel Island)	Named after island of Jersey	Granted to Sir George Carteret from Jersey
New Mexico	Spanish (via Nahuatl)	Nuevo México	“New Mexico”	References Mexico (from Nahuatl Mēxihco)
New York	English	Named for Duke of York	Honors future King James II	Previously New Netherland under Dutch rule
North Carolina	English (Latin form)	Named for King Charles I	“Land of Charles” (Carolus in Latin)	Split from Carolina in 1712
North Dakota	Siouan (Dakota)	Dakhóta	“friend” or “ally”	Dakota people’s self-designation; split from Dakota Territory 1889
Ohio	Iroquoian (Seneca)	ohi:yo’	“great river” or “beautiful river”	Refers to Ohio River; “beautiful” less linguistically supported
Oklahoma	Choctaw	okla humma	“red people”	Coined by Choctaw chief Allen Wright in 1866
Oregon	Uncertain	Multiple theories	Unknown	Theories include French ouragan (hurricane), Indigenous terms; no consensus
Pennsylvania	English + Latin	Named for William Penn	“Penn’s Woods” (sylvania = woods in Latin)	Charles II named it for Admiral William Penn
Rhode Island	Uncertain (Greek or Dutch)	Rhode (Greek island) OR Roodt Eylandt	“Island of Rhodes” OR “Red Island”	Official name: Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
South Carolina	English (Latin form)	Named for King Charles I	“Land of Charles” (Carolus in Latin)	Split from Carolina in 1712
South Dakota	Siouan (Dakota)	Dakhóta	“friend” or “ally”	Dakota people’s self-designation; split from Dakota Territory 1889
Tennessee	Cherokee	Tanasi	Unknown (village name)	Cherokee village name; exact meaning lost
Texas	Caddoan (Hasinai Caddo)	táyshaʔ	“friends” or “allies”	Spanish recorded as Tejas; applied to Caddo peoples
Utah	Uto-Aztecan (Ute)	Yuttahih	“people of the mountains”	Spanish borrowed from Apache term for Ute people
Vermont	French	vert mont	“green mountain”	Named by Samuel de Champlain or later French speakers
Virginia	English (Latin form)	Named for Elizabeth I	“Virgin Queen’s Land”	Honors Elizabeth I, the “Virgin Queen”
Washington	English	Named for George Washington	Honors first U.S. President	Only state named for U.S. president; became state 1889
West Virginia	English	Named for Virginia	“Western Virginia”	Split from Virginia in 1863 during Civil War
Wisconsin	Algonquian (Ojibwe/Miami)	Meskonsing / Ouisconsin	“red stone place” or “gathering of waters”	French rendering of Indigenous name; exact meaning debated
Wyoming	Algonquian (Munsee Delaware)	xwé:wamənk	“at the big river flat” or “large plains”	Borrowed from Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania

Many popular stories are fiction. Kentucky is not “dark and bloody ground.” Minnesota is not “clear blue water.” European explorers heard Native words, wrote down their phonetic interpretation, and meanings got scrambled. What looks authoritative might be a guess from centuries ago.

Recommended Books: Available on Amazon

• A People’s History of the United States
• A Patriot’s History of the United States: From Columbus’s Great Discovery to America’s Age of Entitlement, Revised Edition
• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (REVISIONING HISTORY)
• These Truths: A History of the United States