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U.S. States by Etymology

Guess these U.S. states based on their etymologies.
The etymology of the state of Oregon is heavily disputed and has is therefore not an answer.
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dfarren
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Last updated: May 3, 2021
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First submittedMay 3, 2021
Times taken139
Average score44.9%
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Meaning
Language of Origin
State
Word in Original Language
"Flowery"
Spanish
Florida
florida
"Country of the virgin", after Elizabeth I of England
Latin
Virginia
 
"Country of the virgin", after Elizabeth I of England
Latin
West Virginia
 
"Penn's woods"
Welsh and Latin
Pennsylvania
penn + silvania
"Red island"
Dutch
Rhode Island
roodt eylandt
"Ruddy" or "red"
Spanish
Colorado
colorado
"Cloudy water"
Lakota
Minnesota
mní sóta
"Snow-covered"
Spanish
Nevada
nevado
Named for a fictional island ruled by Queen Calafia in the 16th-century novel Las Sergas de Esplandián
Spanish
California
 
"Ally or friend"
Sioux
North Dakota
dakhóta
"Ally or friend"
Sioux
South Dakota
dakhóta
Named after the Kaw tribe
Kansa via French
Kansas
kkan:ze via Cansez
"Land of the Indians"
Latin
Indiana
 
Derived from the name of the Aztec god Metztli
Nahuatl via Spanish
New Mexico
Mēxihco via Nuevo México
"Enemy"
Plains Apache
Idaho
ídaahę
"River running through a red place"
Miami-Illinois via French
Wisconsin
wishkonsing via Ouisconsin
"On the meadow"
Mohawk
Kentucky
kenhtà:ke
Named after a county in south-east England
English
New Hampshire
 
"At the long tidal river"
Easter Algonquian
Connecticut
quinnitukqut
Named after Queen Henrietta Maria of England
English
Maryland
 
Named after the Ioway tribe
Chiwere via French
Iowa
ayuxwe via Aiouez
Named after the Duke of York
English
New York
 
"Speaks normally" - referring to the Illiniwek tribes
Algonquian via French
Illinois
ilenweewa
"Friend"
Caddo via Spanish
Texas
táysha via Tejas
Named after a Cherokee village, the meaning of which is unknown
Cherokee
Tennessee
tanasi
"High"
Apache via Spanish
Utah
yúdah via yuta
"Flattened water"
Chiwere
Nebraska
ñįbraske
Named with reference to the mainland, as opposed to the coastal islands
English
Maine
main
"Mainland"
Aleut via Russian
Alaska
alaxsxaq via аляска
"Mountain"
Spanish
Montana
montaña
"Good oak"
Basque
Arizona
aritz ona
Named after the first president of the United States
English
Washington
 
"Green mountain"
French
Vermont
vert + mont
"Large lake"
Ojibwe via French
Michigan
mishigami
"Dugout canoe"
Miami-Illinois via French
Missouri
mihsoori
"Large creek"
Seneca via French
Ohio
ohi:yo
"Thicket clearers"
Choctaw
Alabama
alabamaaha
"Near the great little-mountain"
Eastern Algonquian
Massachusetts
muswachusut
Named after Louis XIV of France
French
Louisiana
Louisiane
"Red people"
Choctaw
Oklahoma
okla + homa
"Great river"
Ojibwe via French
Mississippi
misi-ziibi
"Named after the largest of the British Channel Islands"
French
New Jersey
 
Named after King Charles I of England
Latin via English
North Carolina
Carolus via Carolana
Named after King Charles I of England
Latin via English
South Carolina
Carolus via Carolana
"At the big river flat"
Munsee
Wyoming
xwé:wamank
Named after Hawaiki, legendary homeland of the Polynesians
Hawaiian
Hawaii
hawai'i
Named after King George II of Great Britain
Latin via English
Georgia
Georgius
Named after the first Governor-General of the Colony of Virginia
Norman French via English
Delaware
de la Warr
Borrowed from a French spelling of a Miami-Illinois rendering of a name for the Kaw tribe
Kansa via Miami-Illinois and French
Arkansas
akaansa
Disputed origin
Unknown
Oregon
 
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