Meaning of state names

[FarmerChick]

I thought this was 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 Esplandián (by Garcia Ordóñez 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"

[worldtalker]

Never knew that!!

[spartacus53]

You had a few few wrong, but I'll only comment on these for now

1- TENNESSEE is of Cherokee origin. Its meaning is unknown - False

Although it was inhabited by the Cherokee until the the mid 1700's a group of settler's cam upon a group of 10 Cherokee youth playing a game we know today as tennis. When one settler turned to the other and asked what they were doing he replied, They're playing "ten-of -us", see... The "of' was soon dropped and the name stuck


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

Again, close, but no apple Early settler's moving west were lost and happened upon a small farm owned by the Johnson family.. Confused on where they were and what direction they were actually headed, they yelled up to Mr Johnson, an older man, hard of hearing, and asked them if they knew of the name of their present location. Mr Johnson, replied "Wait here, I'm not really sure, I'll get get my wife and
"I'll Ask her." The 3 settler's only hearing his last 3 words and mishearing "I'll ask her", tipped their hats and moved on.., The rest my friends is history

[fossis]

Thanks for sharing.

Fossis............

[FarmerChick]

[packerbacker]

I-DA-HO is a no-brainer.

[RGINN]

Cool, you got Oklahoma right. okla=people; homa (or homma, houma, var. other sp.)=red. All the hispanics I know, and believe me I know a lot and Spanish is all I hear in my home unless I talk to myself, say Colorado means colored. Not just red, but many colors. Good info. I still like the story about how the llama got its name. 'Como se llama?' 'llama?'

[allen]

great information !!