List Of U.S. State Name Etymologies
The fifty U.S. states have taken their names from a wide variety of languages. The names of 24 states derive from indigenous languages of the Americas and one from Hawaiian: eight come from Algonquian languages, seven from Siouan languages (one of those by way of Illinois, an Algonquian language), three from Iroquoian languages, one from a Uto-Aztecan language, and five from other Native American languages.
Twenty-two other state names derive from European languages: seven come from Latin (mostly from Latinate forms of English personal names), five come from English, five come from Spanish (and one more from an Indigenous language by way of Spanish), and four come from French (one of these by way of English). The etymologies of six states are disputed or unclear: Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Oregon, and Rhode Island (in the table below, those states have one row for each potential source language or meaning).
Of the fifty states, eleven are named in honor of an individual. Of those eleven, seven are named in honor of kings and queens: the two Carolinas, the two Virginias, Maryland, Louisiana and Georgia. Only one is named after a president of the United States.
Read more about List Of U.S. State Name Etymologies: State Names
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list and/or state:
“Do your children view themselves as successes or failures? Are they being encouraged to be inquisitive or passive? Are they afraid to challenge authority and to question assumptions? Do they feel comfortable adapting to change? Are they easily discouraged if they cannot arrive at a solution to a problem? The answers to those questions will give you a better appraisal of their education than any list of courses, grades, or test scores.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)
“Feminism is an entire world view or gestalt, not just a laundry list of women’s issues.”
—Charlotte Bunch (b. 1944)
“Tell [the next Miss America] she is taking on a great responsibility. A responsibility to herself, to her people, to the Miss American Pageant, the people of Atlantic City, her state and her nation. Tell her the country and the world will judge America by her.”
—Colleen Kay Hutchins (b. c. 1932)