However, before we get to that here’s what the author had to say about their map:
A few quick notes:
– Oregon was actually a misinterpretation of the name, “Ouisaconsink,” meaning “Wisconsin,” which appeared on a map in 1863. Half of it got cut off by a river, and now we have “Ouaricon” or Oregon
– The guy who named Idaho claimed that it was a native word when it actually wasn’t
– No one really knows what Maine is named after, but all of the most popular theories suggest French etymology
– Keep in mind, New Mexico is named after Mexico, but that doesn’t mean it has Mexican etymology, as Mexico is named after a Native American word
If you take the categories the map uses you end up with:
- 26 states come from Native American origins
- 11 states come from British (English + Welsh) origins
- 5 states come from Spanish origins
- 3 come from French origins
- 2 come from American origins (Both Washington)
- 2 that were made up and/or were mistakes
- 1 comes from Greek origins (disputed)
- 1 comes from Polynesian
However, if you want a bit mor detail about each here’s a list from Wikipedia’s article on the origins of state names:
| US State | Language of origin | Word(s) in original language | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Choctaw/Alabama | alba amo/Albaamaha | 'Thicket-clearers' or 'plant-cutters', from alba, '(medicinal) plants', and amo, 'to clear'. The modern Choctaw name for the tribe is Albaamu. |
| Alaska | Aleut via Russian | alaxsxaq via Аляска (Alyaska) | 'Mainland' (literally 'the object towards which the action of the sea is directed'). |
| Arizona | Basque | aritz ona | 'The good oak'. |
| Arizona (alternate) | Oʼodham via Spanish | ali ṣona-g via Arizonac | 'Having a little spring'. |
| Arkansas | Kansa, Quapaw via Miami-Illinois and French | akakaze via Arcansas | Borrowed from a French spelling of a Miami-Illinois rendering of the tribal name kką:ze (see Kansas, below), which the Miami and Illinois used to refer to the Quapaw. |
| California | Spanish | california | Probably named for the fictional Island of California ruled by Queen Calafia in the 16th-century novel Las sergas de Esplandián by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. |
| Colorado | Spanish | colorado | 'Ruddy' or 'red', originally referring to the Colorado River. |
| Connecticut | Eastern Algonquian, Mohegan-Pequot | quinnitukqut | From some Eastern Algonquian language of southern New England (perhaps Mahican), meaning 'at the long tidal river', after the Connecticut River. The name reflects Proto-Eastern-Algonquian *kwən-, 'long'; *-əhtəkw, 'tidal river'; and *-ənk, the locative suffix). |
| Delaware | French via English | de la Warr | After the Delaware River, which was named for Lord de la Warr (originally probably Norman French de la guerre or de la werre, 'of the war'). Lord de la Warr was the first Governor-General of the Colony of Virginia. |
| Florida | Spanish | (pascua) florida | 'Flowery (Easter)' (to distinguish it from Christmastide, which was also called Pascua), in honor of its discovery by the Spanish during the Easter season. |
| Georgia | Latin via English (ultimately from Greek) | Georgius | The feminine Latin form of "George", named after King George II of Great Britain. It was also a reference to Saint George, who is also the supposed namesake of the Eurasian country also called Georgia, whose name was derived from the Greek word georgos, meaning 'husbandman' or 'farmer', from ge 'earth' + ergon 'work'. |
| Hawaii | Hawaiian | Hawaiʻi | Either from Hawaiki, legendary homeland of the Polynesians(Hawaiki is believed to mean 'place of the gods'), or named for Hawaiʻiloa, legendary discoverer of the Hawaiian Islands. |
| Idaho | Germanic | Idaho | Probably made up by George M. "Doc" Willing as a practical joke; originally claimed to have been derived from a word in a Native American language that meant 'Gem of the Mountains'. The name was initially proposed for the Territory of Colorado until its origins were discovered. Years later it fell into common usage, and was proposed for the Territory of Idaho instead. |
| Idaho (alternate) | Plains Apache | ídaahę́ | Possibly from the Plains Apache word for 'enemy' (ídaahę́), which was used to refer to the Comanches. |
| Illinois | Algonquian, Miami-Illinois via French | ilenweewa | The state is named for the French adaptation of an Algonquian language (perhaps Miami-Illinois) word apparently meaning 'speaks normally' (cf. Miami-Illinois ilenweewa, Ojibwe |
| Indiana | Latin (ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian) | indiāna | 'Land of the Indians'. The names "Indians" and "India" come, via Latin, Greek, Old Persian and Sanskrit, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sindhu-, which originally referred to the Indus River. |
| Iowa | Dakota, Chiwere via French | ayúxba/ayuxwe via Aiouez | Via French Aiouez, and named after the Iowa tribe. This demonym has no further known etymology, though some give it the meaning 'sleepy ones'. |
| Kansas | Kansa via French | kką:ze via Cansez | Named after the Kansas River, which in turn was named after the Kaw or Kansas tribe. The name seems to be connected to the idea of "wind". |
| Kentucky | Iroquoian | Mohawk kenhtà:ke, Seneca gëdá’geh | Originally referring to the Kentucky River. While some sources say the etymology is uncertain, most agree on a meaning of '(on) the meadow' or '(on) the prairie' |
| Louisiana | French (ultimately from Frankish) | Louisiane | After King Louis XIV of France. The name Louis itself comes from Frankish hluda, 'heard of, famous' (cf. loud) + wiga, 'war'. |
| Maine | English | main | A common historical etymology is that the name refers to the mainland, as opposed to the coastal islands. |
| Maine (alternate) | French | Maine | After the French province of Maine. |
| Maine (alternate) | English | (Broad)mayne | A more recent proposal is that the state was named after the English village of Broadmayne, which was the family estate of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the colony's founder. |
| Maryland | English (ultimately from Hebrew) | Myriam | After Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England. The name Mary originally meant 'bitterness' or 'rebelliousness' in Hebrew, and could also have come from the Egyptian word for 'beloved' or 'love'. |
| Massachusetts | Eastern Algonquian, Massachusett | muhsachuweesut | Plural of muswachusut, meaning 'near the great little-mountain' or 'at the great hill', which is usually identified as Great Blue Hill on the border of Milton and Canton, Massachusetts (cf. the Narragansett name Massachusêuck). |
| Michigan | Ojibwe via French | ᒥᔑᑲᒥ (mishigami) | 'Large water' or 'large lake' (in Old Algonquin, *meshi-gami). |
| Minnesota | Dakota | mní sóta | 'Cloudy water', referring to the Minnesota River. |
| Mississippi | Ojibwe via French | ᒥᓯᓰᐱ (misi-ziibi) | 'Great river', after the Mississippi River. |
| Missouri | Miami-Illinois via French | wimihsoorita | '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]'. |
| Montana | Spanish | montaña | 'Mountain'. |
| Nebraska | Chiwere via French | ñįbraske | 'Flattened water', after the Platte River, which used to be known as the Nebraska River. Due to the flatness of the plains, flooding of the river would inundate the region with a flat expanse of water. |
| Nevada | Spanish | nevada | 'Snow-covered', after the Sierra Nevada ('snow-covered mountains'). |
| New Hampshire | English (ultimately from Old English) | Hampshire | After the county of Hampshire in England, whose name is derived from the original name for its largest city, Southampton, that being Hamtun, which is an Old English word that roughly translates to 'Village-Town'. |
| New Jersey | English (ultimately from Old Norse) | Jersey | After Jersey, the largest of the British Channel Islands and the birthplace of one of the colony's two co-founders, Sir George Carteret. The Latin name Caesarea was also applied to the colony of New Jersey as Nova Caesarea, because the Roman name of the island was thought to have been Caesarea. The name "Jersey" most likely comes from the Norse name Geirrsey, meaning 'Geirr's Island'. |
| New Mexico | Nahuatl via Spanish | Mēxihco via Nuevo México | From Spanish Nuevo México. The name Mexico comes from Nahuatl Mēxihca (pronounced [meːˈʃiʔko]), which referred to the Aztec people who founded the city of Tenochtitlan. Its literal meaning is unknown, though many possibilities have been proposed, such as that the name comes from the god Metztli. |
| New York | English | York | After the Duke of York (later King James II of England). Named by King Charles II of England, James II's brother. The name "York" is derived from its Latin name Eboracum (via Old English Eoforwic and then Old Norse Jórvík), apparently borrowed from Brythonic Celtic *eborakon, which probably meant 'Yew-Tree Estate'. |
| North Carolina | Latin via English (ultimately from Frankish) | Carolus via Carolana | After King Charles I of England and his son, King Charles II of England. The name Charles itself is derived from Frankish karl, 'man, husband'. |
| North Dakota | Sioux/Dakota | dakhóta | 'Ally' or 'friend', after the Dakota tribe. |
| Ohio | Seneca via French | ohi:yo’ | 'Large creek', originally the name of both the Ohio River and Allegheny River. Often incorrectly translated as 'beautiful river', due to a French mistranslation. |
| 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'. |
| Oregon | Unknown | Disputed | Disputed meaning. First named by Major Robert Rogers in a petition to King George III. |
| Pennsylvania | Welsh and Latin | Penn + silvania | 'Penn's woods', after Admiral William Penn, the father of its founder William Penn. Pennsylvania is the only state that shares part of its name with its founder. The name "Penn" comes from the Welsh word for 'head'. |
| Rhode Island | Greek | Ρόδος (Ródos) | For a resemblance to the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea. |
| Rhode Island (alternate) | Dutch | roodt eylandt | 'Red island', referring to Aquidneck Island. The Modern Dutch form of the phrase is 'rood eiland'. |
| South Carolina | Latin via English (ultimately from Frankish) | Carolus via Carolana | After King Charles I of England and his son, King Charles II of England. The name Charles itself is derived from Frankish karl, 'man, husband'. |
| South Dakota | Sioux/Dakota | dakhóta | 'Ally' or 'friend', after the Dakota tribe. |
| Tennessee | Cherokee | ᏔᎾᏏ (tanasi) | Tanasi (in Cherokee: ᏔᎾᏏ) was the name of a Cherokee village; the meaning is unknown. |
| Texas | Caddo via Spanish | táyshaʔ via Tejas | 'Friend', 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 was used to refer to the Nabedache people (and later to the Caddo Nation in general). When the Spanish decided to convert the Nabedache to Catholicism, they constructed La Misión de San Francisco de los Texas, which later came to be used in naming the Viceroyalty of New Spain’s province. |
| Utah | Apache via Spanish | yúdah via yuta | From the Spanish designation for the Ute people, yuta, in turn perhaps a borrowing from Western Apache yúdah, meaning 'high', sometimes incorrectly translated as 'people of the mountains'. |
| Utah (alternate) | Ute via Spanish | noochee via yuta | From the Ute's self-designation [nutʃi̥], plural [nuːtʃiu], as suggested by J. P. Harrington,though this etymology is disputed. |
| Vermont | French | vert + mont | 'Green mount' or 'green mountain'; vert in French means 'green', and mont means 'mount' or 'mountain'. However, in French, 'green mountain' would actually be written mont vert. |
| Virginia | Latin | Virginia | 'Country of the Virgin', after Elizabeth I of England, who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married. |
| Washington | English | Washington | After George Washington, whose surname was in turn derived from the town of Washington in historic County Durham, England. The etymology of the town's name is disputed, but agreed to be ultimately Old English. |
| West Virginia | Latin | Virginia | The western, transmontane counties of Virginia, which separated from Virginia during the American Civil War. See Virginia, above. |
| Wisconsin | Miami-Illinois via French | Meeskohsinki[107] via Ouisconsin(k) | Originally spelled Mescousing by the French, and later corrupted to Ouisconsin. It likely derives from a Miami-Illinois word Meskonsing, meaning 'it lies red' or 'river running through a red place'. It may also come from the Ojibwe term miskwasiniing, 'red-stone place'. |
| Wyoming | Munsee/Delaware | xwé:wamənk | 'At the big river flat'; the name was transplanted westward from the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. |
What do you think?
poyntre says
Don’t forget that in older Spanish, letter x among other sounds represented mostly “sh” sound (México = Meshico, Texas = Teshas, or Xerez = Sheredz, hence Sherry), this sound shifted to modern “kh” sound (like in Swedish) between 16 and 17 centuries, fully completed in 18 century, the Spanish spelling changed between late 18-early 19 century, and letter x was mostly changed by g/j except in some toponyms (dixo, he/she said → dijo, luxo “luxury” → lujo, Xavier → Javier, Xerez → Jerez, but Mexico remains). So, a etymological pronounce of Texas would be “Teshas”, no “Teksas” (in Spanish is pronounced “Tekhas”, the unrelated word “teja” (tileroof, “tejado”, roof) sounds exactly the same, and many people think it has something to do with the state name (it doesn’t).
Pol Rai says
Nevada: Snowfall
Michał Wojciechowski says
1. There is a French province Maine, so it looks as one of many, many names transported from Europe.
2. Arizona could be from arid zone, both words exist in Spanish, zona arida ?
Erika says
Many of the ones notated as British have the wrong origin. New Hampshire, New York, and New Jersey are named after British cities/counties. Pennsylvania was named after a British noble bought land in the colonies Maryland was named after Queen Mary (or Mary, Queen of Scots, can’t remember exactly), Virginia was named after Queen Elizabeth I (otherwise known as the Virgin Queen), and so then was West Virginia, Georgia was named after King George III (or George II, I can’t remember), and the Carolinas were named after King Charles (forget the regnal number). However, DELAWARE is named after a Native American tribe and should be labeled as such.