the states

[FarmerChick]

Interesting

ALABAMA may come from Choctaw meaning thicket-clearers or vegetation-gatherers


ALASKA is supposedly a corruption of an Aleut word meaning great land or that which the sea breaks against.

ARIZONA could be from the O'odham Indian word for little spring.


ARKANSAS was named by the Quapaw Indians (its meaning remains unclear)


CALIFORNIA's name comes from Las Sergas de Esplandin (by Garcia Ordez de Montalvo, c. 1500), a book which describes an earthly paradise.


COLORADO is derived from a Spanish form of the word ruddy or red, because of the red sandstone soil of the Pike's Peak region.


CONNECTICUT is derived from an Indian word (Quinnehtukqut) meaning beside the long tidal river (referring to what is now known as the Conneticut River).


DELAWARE is named after Delaware River and Bay, which was named in turn for Sir Thomas West, Lord De La Warr (governor of the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia in 1610).


FLORIDA comes from the Spanish "Pascua Florida," meaning feast of flowers (Easter)

GEORGIA was named in honor of George II of England


HAWAII may have been named after Hawaii or Hawaiki, the traditional home of the Polynesians.


IDAHO is an invented word whose meaning is unknown.


ILLINOIS is Algonquin for tribe of superior men


INDIANA means land of Indians


IOWA is probably derived from an Indian word meaning the Beautiful Land

KANSAS got its name from a Sioux word meaning people of the south wind.


KENTUCKY is named from the Iroquoi word Ken-tah-ten meaning land of tomorrow.


LOUISIANA was named in honor of Louis XIV of France.

MAINE referred to the mainland, as opposed to the offshore islands.


MARYLAND was named in honor of Henrietta Maria, who was the queen of Charles I of England.


MASSACHUSETTS took its name from a word of the Algonquin tribe. Roughly translated, it means at the great hill.


MICHIGAN comes from the Native American word Michigana meaning great lake.



MINNESOTA is from a Dakota word meaning sky-tinted water


MISSISSIPPI is derived from a Native American word meaning Father of Waters


MISSOURI was named after the Missouri tribe. Missouri means town of the large canoes.


MONTANA was named for the Spanish word meaning mountain.


NEBRASKA is a word from the Oto tribe, meaning flat water.


NEVADA is Spanish for "snowcapped."

NEW HAMPSHIRE was named after Hampshire, a county in England


NEW JERSEY was named after the English Channel Isle of Jersey

NEW MEXICO took its name from Mexico, its southern neighbor.


NEW YORK was named after York, England, which was named in honor if the Duke of York


NORTH CAROLINA was named in honor of Charles I of England.


NORTH DAKOTA comes from a Sioux word, meaning allies.


OHIO is derived from an Iroquoi word meaning great river.


OKLAHOMA is a word that comes from two Choctaw words meaning red people.

OREGON is a name whose origin is unknown, but probably comes from a Native American language.


PENNSYLVANIA was named in honor of Adm. Sir William Penn, father of William Penn. It means Penn's Woodland.


RHODE ISLAND is named after the Greek Island of Rhodes.

SOUTH CAROLINA was named in honor of Charles I of England


SOUTH DAKOTA (see North Dakota)


TENNESSEE is of Cherokee origin. Its meaning is unknown


TEXAS is named from the Caddo word "teyshas," meaning friends.


UTAH is named from the Apache word, "yuttahih." It means "those who are higher up," or similarly, people of the mountains.


VERMONT comes from the French words verd" and "mont, meaning green mountain. It was named by French explorer Samuel de Champlain.

VIRGINIA was named in honor of Queen Elizabeth, a.k.a. Virgin Queen of England


WASHINGTON was named after George Washington


WEST VIRGINIA (see Virginia)


WISCONSIN is supposedly a French mispronunciation of a Native American word whose meaning is unclear.


WYOMING is from a word of the Delaware tribe, meaning mountains and valleys"

 

[Marianne]

That's pretty interesting!

 

[Denim Deb]

Funny, I was just wondering the other day where some of the state's names come from and was thinking of looking them up. Now I don't have to! Thanks.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Alaska-Alyeska The Aleut is pronounced Alley-Eska

 

[Henrietta23]

CONNECTICUT is derived from an Indian word (Quinnehtukqut) meaning beside the long tidal river (referring to what is now known as the Connecticut River).

Yup, specifically it's a Mohegan word. I didn't realize that the Connecticut River was tidal all the way up to Windsor Locks, which is kind of embarrassing since my hometown in ON the river south of there!!

So what is/are your state's nicknames? Formally CT is known as the Constitution State and informally as the Nutmeg State. We are more likely to be called Nutmeggers, but I wonder if we mostly call ourselves that??


The "Constitution State"
Connecticut's official nickname is the "Constitution State". According to the Connecticut State Register and Manual, 1998, p. 832:

"Connecticut was designated the Constitution State by the General Assembly in 1959. As early as the 19th Century, John Fiske, a popular historian from Connecticut made the claim that the Fundamental Orders of 1638/1639 were the first written constitution in history. Some contemporary historians dispute Fiske's analysis. However, Simeon E. Baldwin, a former Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, defended Fiske's view of the Fundamental Orders in Osborn's History of Connecticut in Monographic Form by stating that 'never had a company of men deliberately met to frame a social compact for immediate use, constituting a new and independent commonwealth, with definite officers, executive and legislative, and prescribed rules and modes of government, until the first planters of Connecticut came together for their great work on January 14th, 1638-39.'

However, Connecticut is also sometimes referred to as:

The "Nutmeg State"
According to the book State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols by George Earlie Shankle (New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1941):

"The sobriquet, the Nutmeg State, is applied to Connecticut because its early inhabitants had the reputation of being so ingenious and shrewd that they were able to make and sell wooden nutmegs. Sam Slick (Judge Halliburton) seems to be the originator of this story. Some claim that wooden nutmegs were actually sold, but they do not give either the time or the place."

Yankee peddlers from Connecticut sold nutmegs, and an alternative story is that:

"Unknowing buyers may have failed to grate nutmegs, thinking they had to be cracked like a walnut. Nutmegs are wood, and bounce when struck. If southern customers did not grate them, they may very well have accused the Yankees of selling useless "wooden" nutmegs, unaware that they wear down to a pungent powder to season pies and breads." Elizabeth Abbe, Librarian, the Connecticut Historical Society; Connecticut Magazine, April 1980.

 

[savingdogs]

It is interesting how many of the states are named for indian tribes or their words. Cool list!

 

[Denim Deb]

New Jersey is called the Garden State. However, since we have trash brought in from other states (which most people in NJ are opposed to), at times, it's referred to as the Garbage State.

Oh, and to go along w/Delaware, we have a road near here called Delsea Drive. It goes from near the Delaware to the shore. So, since it goes from the Delaware to the sea, Delsea Drive.

 

[ORChick]

The origin of the name Oregon is not certain. One theory has it that the name comes from the French Canadian word "ouragan" meaning "storm" or "hurricane." It's thought that the Columbia River was at one time called "the river of storms" by Canadian fur traders plying their trade in the area.

Another suggestion is that the name of the state came from the Spanish word "orejon" meaning "big-ear." This was a term that was applied to many Indian tribes in the area.

A third idea suggests that the name of this state comes from the Spanish word "organo" for the wild sage which grows so vigorously in eastern Oregon.

An interesting fact about the Oregon state flag is that it is the only one to have a different design on either side - the state seal on one side, and a beaver on the other.

*****

NEW YORK was named after York, England, which was named in honor if the Duke of York

Actually, the Duke of York receives his title from the county/city of York, not the other way around. Also, York (in England) is an Anglicization of the Viking name "Jorvik". (It is a very interesting city, by the way, with a lovely cathedral)

 

[Damummis]

CONNECTICUT is derived from an Indian word (Quinnehtukqut) meaning beside the long tidal river (referring to what is now known as the Connecticut River).

Yup, specifically it's a Mohegan word. I didn't realize that the Connecticut River was tidal all the way up to Windsor Locks, which is kind of embarrassing since my hometown in ON the river south of there!!

So what is/are your state's nicknames? Formally CT is known as the Constitution State and informally as the Nutmeg State. We are more likely to be called Nutmeggers, but I wonder if we mostly call ourselves that??


The "Constitution State"
Connecticut's official nickname is the "Constitution State". According to the Connecticut State Register and Manual, 1998, p. 832:

"Connecticut was designated the Constitution State by the General Assembly in 1959. As early as the 19th Century, John Fiske, a popular historian from Connecticut made the claim that the Fundamental Orders of 1638/1639 were the first written constitution in history. Some contemporary historians dispute Fiske's analysis. However, Simeon E. Baldwin, a former Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, defended Fiske's view of the Fundamental Orders in Osborn's History of Connecticut in Monographic Form by stating that 'never had a company of men deliberately met to frame a social compact for immediate use, constituting a new and independent commonwealth, with definite officers, executive and legislative, and prescribed rules and modes of government, until the first planters of Connecticut came together for their great work on January 14th, 1638-39.'

However, Connecticut is also sometimes referred to as:

The "Nutmeg State"
According to the book State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols by George Earlie Shankle (New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1941):

"The sobriquet, the Nutmeg State, is applied to Connecticut because its early inhabitants had the reputation of being so ingenious and shrewd that they were able to make and sell wooden nutmegs. Sam Slick (Judge Halliburton) seems to be the originator of this story. Some claim that wooden nutmegs were actually sold, but they do not give either the time or the place."

Yankee peddlers from Connecticut sold nutmegs, and an alternative story is that:

"Unknowing buyers may have failed to grate nutmegs, thinking they had to be cracked like a walnut. Nutmegs are wood, and bounce when struck. If southern customers did not grate them, they may very well have accused the Yankees of selling useless "wooden" nutmegs, unaware that they wear down to a pungent powder to season pies and breads." Elizabeth Abbe, Librarian, the Connecticut Historical Society; Connecticut Magazine, April 1980.

Some of us are called Swamp Yankees.
OR The Buffy and Bobby State.

I almost peed myself when someone told me that. When asked where I was from and I told them Mystic, CT. They replied, "Oh, the Buffy and Bobby State."

 

[Henrietta23]

CONNECTICUT is derived from an Indian word (Quinnehtukqut) meaning beside the long tidal river (referring to what is now known as the Connecticut River).

Yup, specifically it's a Mohegan word. I didn't realize that the Connecticut River was tidal all the way up to Windsor Locks, which is kind of embarrassing since my hometown in ON the river south of there!!

So what is/are your state's nicknames? Formally CT is known as the Constitution State and informally as the Nutmeg State. We are more likely to be called Nutmeggers, but I wonder if we mostly call ourselves that??


The "Constitution State"
Connecticut's official nickname is the "Constitution State". According to the Connecticut State Register and Manual, 1998, p. 832:

"Connecticut was designated the Constitution State by the General Assembly in 1959. As early as the 19th Century, John Fiske, a popular historian from Connecticut made the claim that the Fundamental Orders of 1638/1639 were the first written constitution in history. Some contemporary historians dispute Fiske's analysis. However, Simeon E. Baldwin, a former Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, defended Fiske's view of the Fundamental Orders in Osborn's History of Connecticut in Monographic Form by stating that 'never had a company of men deliberately met to frame a social compact for immediate use, constituting a new and independent commonwealth, with definite officers, executive and legislative, and prescribed rules and modes of government, until the first planters of Connecticut came together for their great work on January 14th, 1638-39.'

However, Connecticut is also sometimes referred to as:

The "Nutmeg State"
According to the book State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols by George Earlie Shankle (New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1941):

"The sobriquet, the Nutmeg State, is applied to Connecticut because its early inhabitants had the reputation of being so ingenious and shrewd that they were able to make and sell wooden nutmegs. Sam Slick (Judge Halliburton) seems to be the originator of this story. Some claim that wooden nutmegs were actually sold, but they do not give either the time or the place."

Yankee peddlers from Connecticut sold nutmegs, and an alternative story is that:

"Unknowing buyers may have failed to grate nutmegs, thinking they had to be cracked like a walnut. Nutmegs are wood, and bounce when struck. If southern customers did not grate them, they may very well have accused the Yankees of selling useless "wooden" nutmegs, unaware that they wear down to a pungent powder to season pies and breads." Elizabeth Abbe, Librarian, the Connecticut Historical Society; Connecticut Magazine, April 1980.

Some of us are called Swamp Yankees.
OR The Buffy and Bobby State.

I almost peed myself when someone told me that. When asked where I was from and I told them Mystic, CT. They replied, "Oh, the Buffy and Booby State."

Now, Swamp Yankee I've heard lots of times but never Buffy and Bobby State. That would only apply down toward Greenwich, not up where I am! Definitely Swamp Yankee territory up here!!