The New Student's Reference Work/United States Names and Meanings

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2311253The New Student's Reference Work — United States Names and Meanings

United States Names and Meanings.

Name
Origin and Meaning
Popular Name
Alabama  Indian name of a river meaning Here We Rest  Cotton State.
Arkansas  Indian name of a tribe meaning They Who Went down the River   Bear State.
California  Spanish for Hot Furnace  Golden State.
Colorado  Spanish for colored or red  Centennial State.
Connecticut   Indian name meaning The Long River  Nutmeg State.
Delaware  English name of a nobleman  Diamond State (or Little Blue Hen).
Florida  Spanish word meaning Flowery  Everglade State.
Georgia  Latin form meaning Land of (King) George  Empire State of the South or Goober State.
Idaho  Indian name meaning Mountain-Gem  Gem of the Mountains.
Illinois  Indian name of a tribe, meaning The Men  Prairie State.
Indiana  Latin form, meaning Land of Indians  Hoosier State.
Iowa  Indian name of a tribe and a river  Hawkeye State. (There was an Indian chief named Hawkeye).
Kansas  Indian; from kanza, meaning Swift and Wind. It also is said to mean Smoky Water  Sunflower State.
Kentucky  Indian word meaning The Barrens and Prairie  Bluegrass State.
Louisiana  Latin form meaning Land of (King) Louis  Creole, Pelican or Canebrake State.
Maine  French name of a province; or English “main,” to distinguish the mainland from the islands   Pinetree State.
Maryland  English name for the queen of Charles I of England  Old-Line State.
Massachusetts  Indian name meaning Place of Great Hills  Bay State.
Michigan  Indian name meaning the Great Lake  Peninsular or Wolverine State.
Minnesota  Indian name meaning Sky-colored Water  Bread and Butter, or Gopher, or North Star State.
Mississippi  Indian name meaning Father of Waters or Great River  Bayou State.
Missouri  Indian name meaning The Big Muddy  Bullion State.
Montana  Spanish for mountain  Mountain or Treasure State.
Nebraska  Indian name meaning Shallow Water or Water Valley  Tree-Planter State.
Nevada  Spanish for snow-covered  Sage-Brush or Sage-Hen State
New Hampshire   English name for a county in England  Granite State.
New Jersey  English name of an island in the English Channel  Garden State.
New York  English name of a city in England and of a duchy  Empire State.
North Carolina  Latin form meaning Country of (King) Charles  Old North, or Tarheel, or Turpentine State.
North Dakota  Indian name of tribes meaning Allies  Flickertail State.
Ohio  Indian name meaning The Beautiful River  Buckeye State.
Oklahoma  Indian name meaning Land of the Fair God   
Oregon     Beaver or Sunset State.
Pennsylvania  Latin form meaning Penn's Woodland  Keystone State.
Rhode Island  Dutch name meaning Red Island  Little Rhody.
South Carolina  See North Carolina  Palmetto State.
South Dakota  See North Dakota  Coyote or Sunshine State.
Tennessee  Indian name meaning The River of the Big Bend  Big Bend or Volunteer State.
Texas  Indian name of tribes meaning Confederates  Lone Star State.
Utah  Indian name of a tribe  Salt Lake State.
Vermont  French name meaning Green Mountains  Green Mountain State.
Virginia  Latin form meaning Virgin's Land, for Queen Elizabeth  Old Dominion State.
Washington  English and American name of a family  Corner or Evergreen State.
West Virginia  See Virginia  Panhandle State.
Wisconsin  Indian name meaning The Wild, Rushing River  Badger State.
Wyoming  Indian name meaning Great Plains  Equality State.

Alaska is an Inuit word meaning The Great Land; Arizona an Indian name that signifies The Place of Small Springs; Hawaii a Polynesian title; Mexico, as in New Mexico, is from the Aztec name of Mexitl, the Mexican war-god; Panama is an Indian or Spanish name; Philippines is a Latinized Spanish form meaning Land of (King) Philip (of Spain), Filipino meaning an inhabitant of the Philippines; and Porto Rico is a Spanish term meaning Rich Port.