| State name |
Origin |
Derived from |
Meaning |
| Alabama |
Choctaw lang. |
albalmo |
Cleared-up thicket |
| Alaska |
Aleut |
alaxsxaq |
Great country |
| Arizona |
Akimel O'odham (Pima) |
arizuma |
|
| Tohono O'odham (Papago) |
aleh-zon, ari-sonac or ali-shonak |
Small spring |
| Arkansas |
Sioux |
akakaze |
Those going downstream |
| California |
Spanish |
|
Hot oven, after the name of an artificial island from a 17th century novel, The Exploits of Esplandián by García Ordóñez de Montalvo |
| Colorado |
Spanish |
Rio Colorado |
Colored river, presumably referring to the Colorado River |
| Connecticut |
Pequot |
Quonehtacut |
Long tidal river |
| Delaware |
French via English |
de la Warre |
After Lord de la Warre, who in 1610 travelled on the Delaware River |
| Florida |
Spanish |
Pascua florida |
Easter blossom, in honor of its Spanish discovery on Easter |
| Georgia |
Latin or English |
|
After King George II of England |
| Hawaii |
Polynesian |
Hawai'i |
meaning unknown |
| Idaho |
Shoshone |
ee-dah-how |
The sun comes from the mountains |
| Illinois |
Algonquian |
iliniwek |
They are men |
| Indiana |
Latin or English |
|
Indian land |
| Iowa |
Sioux |
aiyuwe |
Marrow |
| Kansas |
Sioux |
kansa |
The wind-people, perhaps referring to the winds of the open prairie |
| Kentucky |
Huron? |
kentake |
Prairie? |
| Louisiana |
French |
|
After King Louis XIV of France |
| Maine |
French |
|
After French province of Maine, to honor the Duke of Maine, son of Louis XIV |
| Maryland |
English |
|
After Queen Henrietta Maria of England |
| Massachusetts |
Algonquian |
|
Near the great mountains |
| Michigan |
Algonquian |
michigamaw |
The great sea |
| Minnesota |
Sioux |
|
Turbid water, referring presumably to the Mississippi or the Minnesota River |
| Mississippi |
Sioux |
|
The father of the water |
| Missouri |
Sioux |
|
The great mud-river |
| Montana |
Spanish |
montaña |
Mountain |
| Nebraska |
Oto |
nebrathka |
Flattened water |
| Nevada |
Spanish |
|
Blanket of snow |
| New Hampshire |
English |
|
After Hampshire in England |
| New Jersey |
English |
|
After the island of Jersey in the English Channel |
| New Mexico |
Spanish |
Nuevo Mejico |
After Mexico, and thus after the Aztec god Mexitli |
| New York |
English |
|
After York, England, to honor the then Duke of York (later King James II of England) |
| North Carolina |
Latin |
|
After King Charles II of England |
| North Dakota |
Sioux |
dakota |
Allies |
| Ohio |
Sioux |
|
Beautiful river |
| Oklahoma |
Choctaw |
okla-homma |
Red people |
| Oregon |
Cree |
ooligan (pronounced oorigan) |
A fish similar to smelt |
| French |
ouragan, or Ouaricon-sint |
Storm, or Wisconsin River, respectively |
| Spanish |
orejon, or orégano |
Big-ear, or wild sage, respectively |
| Pennsylvania |
Latin |
|
Penn's woods, after William Penn |
| Rhode Island |
Dutch |
roodt eylandt |
Red island (perhaps referring to the clay deposits of Block Island) |
| Greek (ultimately) |
Rhodhos; (rhodon?) |
The island of Rhodes (perhaps referring to a visual resemblance with Block Island); (rose) |
| South Carolina |
Latin |
|
After King Charles II of England |
| South Dakota |
Sioux |
dakota |
Allies |
| Tennessee |
Cherokee? |
|
Possibly named after the Cherokee town Tanassee |
| Texas |
Caddo |
texas or tejas |
Allies |
| Utah |
Ute |
|
|
| Vermont |
French |
Vert mont |
Green mountain |
| Virginia |
Latin or English |
|
The virgin country (or country of the virgin), after Elizabeth I of England |
| Washington |
English |
|
After George Washington |
| West Virginia |
Latin or English |
|
The western, transmontane, counties of Virginia; see Virginia, above |
| Wisconsin |
Chippewa |
wees-konsan |
Water-gathering |
| Wyoming |
Delaware |
machewe-ami-ing |
On the great prairies |
