 | Term | Definition |
| |
Alabama |
Named by French. Means "tribal town." |
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Alaska |
Named by the Aleut, "great land." |
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Arizona |
From the Spanish "arido zona," or "dry place." |
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Arkansas |
Named after a Native American tribe, the Arkansea. |
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California |
Named after a fictional place, Califia, from a Spanish novel |
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Colorado |
Named for the Colorado River, means "ruddy" |
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Connecticut |
Native American, means "at the long estuary" |
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Delaware |
Named for the governor of Virginia, Lord De La Warr |
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Florida |
Spanish for "feast of flowers" |
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Georgia |
Named for King George II. |
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Hawaii |
From "Havaiki," the Polynesian homeland. |
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Idaho |
Shoshonean for "good day." |
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Illinois |
Named by the French after the Iliniouek. Means "man." |
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Indiana |
Named after "Indians." Who'd of thunk it? |
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Iowa |
Native American word for "beautiful land." |
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Kansas |
Named after the Kansa tribe, means "people of the south wind." |
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Kentucky |
From the Iroquois "kenta-ke," or "meadowland." |
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Louisiana |
Named for King Louis XIV. |
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Maine |
Signifies a principal place |
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Maryland |
Named after King Charles I's wife, Henrietta Maria. |
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Massachusetts |
Named for the tribe and village by the same name, means "big hill people." |
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Michigan |
From "michiguma," or "big water." |
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Minnesota |
Sioux, means "cloudy water." |
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Mississippi |
From Algonquin "miss," or "big" and "sipi," or "river." |
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Missouri |
Named for the tribe of that name, means "town of the large canoes." |
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Montana |
Spanish for mountain. |
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Nebraska |
Native American, means "flat water." |
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Nevada |
Spanish for "snowy." |
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New Hampshire |
Named after Hampshire, England. |
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New Jersey |
Named for the British Isle of Jersey |
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New Mexico |
Named after (you guessed it!) Mexico. |
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New York |
Named to honor York, England |
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North Carolina |
Named after the Latin "Carolus," or Charles. Honors King Charles I. |
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North Dakota |
Sioux. Dakota means "allies." |
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Ohio |
Iroquois, "fine river." |
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Oklahoma |
From Choctaw words okla and homa, put together it means "red people." |
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Oregon |
Eight possible meanings. Most likely is that it's Native American for "western river." |
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Pennsylvania |
Named for William Penn. Suffix is Latin for "forest." |
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Rhode Island |
Either for the island of Rhodes or the Dutch roode eyland, or red island. |
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South Carolina |
See North Carolina |
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South Dakota |
See North Dakota |
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Tennessee |
Cherokee, meaning unknown. |
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Texas |
From the Native American "tehias," or friends. |
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Utah |
Named after the Ute tribe, means "people of the mountains." |
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Vermont |
French for "gren mountains." |
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Virginia |
Originally Wingina, changed by Queen Elizabeth I to honor herself |
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Washington |
Named after (guess who!) George Washington. |
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West Virgnia |
See Virginia |
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Wisconsin |
Chippewa, means "grassy place" |
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Wyoming |
From the Delaware "meche-weami-ing" or "at the big flats" |
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