Etymology of US states and territories

Enter a state or territory based upon the language(s) of origin and the original meaning of its name.

States with a directional distinction are combined

All states are included, but not all territories are

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Last updated: April 24, 2018

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First submitted	April 19, 2018
Times taken	163
Average score	58.0%
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Language of Origin

Meaning

State

Spanish

"Ruddy " or "red"

Colorado

Eastern Algonquian

"At the long tidal river"

Connecticut

Choctaw

"Albaamu", a tribal name meaning "thicket-clearers"

Alabama

Seneca via French

"Large creek"

Ohio

Spanish

"Flowery" after its discovery during the Easter season

Florida

French

After the largest of the British channel islands, the birthplace of its founder

New Jersey

Dakota

"Cloudy water"

Minnesota

Iroquoian

After a major river, "on the meadow"

Kentucky

Munsee Delaware

After a Pennsylvanian valley, "At the big river flat"

Wyoming

English

After an English county, which derived its name from its largest city, Southampton

New Hampshire

Dakota via French

After French "Aiouez", a demonym for a native tribe

Iowa

Aelut via Russian

"Mainland"

Alaska

Latin

"Land of the Indians"

Indiana

Western Apache via Spanish

From a Spanish demonym for the local tribe, which means "high" in their own language

Utah

Hawaiian

"Place of the Gods"

Hawaii

Spanish or Basque

"Having a little spring" or "The good oak"

Arizona

English

After a US president

Washington

Dutch or Greek

"Red Island" or after the name of a Greek island near to Turkey

Rhode Island

Miami via French

From the French spelling "Mescousin" of a tribal name meaning "river running through a red place"

Wisconsin

Spanish

"Snow-covered" after the name of a mountain range in this state

Nevada

English

After Queen Henrietta Maria

Maryland

French via English

After a French lord, whose name means "of the war"

Delaware

French

After King Louis XIV of France

Louisiana

Kansa via Illinois

After an Illinois rendering of a tribal name referring to the Quapaw

Arkansas

Disputed native language

Not known exactly, however the first use refers to apparently a native word for the Columbia River

Oregon

Chiwere

"Flattened water"

Nebraska

Latin via English

After King Charles I of England

North/South Carolina

Caddo via Spanish

"Friends"

Texas

Algonquian

a plural demonym meaning "at the great hill"

Massachusetts

Plains Apache

"Enemy", probably used to refer to the Comanches

Idaho

Chamorro

From "Guahan", meaning "What we have"

Guam

Algonquian via French

"Speaks normally"

Illinois

Welsh and Latin

"Penn's Woods"

Pennsylvania

Ojibwe via French

"Great river"

Mississippi

Kansa via French

After a river named for the Kaw tribe

Kansas

Spanish

Probably a fictional island from a popular novel at the time

California

Cherokee

After Tanasi, a local viliage

Tennessee

Spanish

"Mountain"

Montana

Nahuatl via Spanish

A name imported from a Spanish territory, after the Aztec people who founded Tenochtitlan

New Mexico

Spanish

"Rich port"

Puerto Rico

Sioux

"ally" or "friend"

North/South Dakota

English

"Mainland"

Maine

English

After the duke of an English walled city

New York

Ojibwe via French

"Large lake"

Michigan

Latin via English

After King George II of Great Britain

Georgia

English

After Elizabeth I of England, who was known for never taking a husband

Virginia/West Virginia

French

"Green mountain"

Vermont

Choctaw

"Red People"

Oklahoma

Illinois

"Dugout Canoe"

Missouri

New Latin

After Christopher Columbus

District of Columbia

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1 Comments

Level 46

Apr 20, 2018

Fun quiz! There's a couple typos, though. The language of origin for "Virginia" is listed as "Virginia." And you've got "lartest" for "largest" in the New Hampshire clue.