The Names Of The States
Alabama--Indian; meaning Here we rest.
Arkansas--Kansas, the Indian name for smoky water, with the French
prefix arc, bow or bend in the principal river.
California--Caliente Fornala, Spanish for hot furnace, in allusion to
the climate.
Colorado--Spanish; meaning colored, from the red color of the Colorado
river.
Connecticut--Indian; meaning long rive
.
Delaware--Named in honor of Lord De La Ware.
Florida--Named by Ponce de Leon, who discovered it in 1512, on Easter
Day, the Spanish Pascua de Flores, or Feast of Flowers.
Georgia--In honor of George II. of England.
Illinois--From the Indian illini, men, and the French suffix ois,
together signifying tribe of men.
Indiana--Indian land. Iowa--Indian; meaning beautiful land.'
Kansas--Indian; meaning smoky water.
Kentucky--Indian for at the head of the river, or the dark and bloody
ground.
Louisiana--In honor of Louis XIV. of France.
Maine--From the province of Maine, in France.
Maryland--In honor of Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles I. of England.
Massachusetts--The place of the great hills (the blue hills southwest of
Boston).
Michigan--The Indian name for a fish weir. The lake was so called from
the fancied resemblance of the lake to a fish trap.
Minnesota--Indian; meaning sky-tinted water.
Mississippi--Indian; meaning great father of waters. Missouri--Indian;
meaning muddy.
Nebraska--Indian; meaning water valley.
Nevada--Spanish; meaning snow-covered, alluding to the mountains.
New Hampshire--From Hampshire county, England.
New Jersey--In honor of Sir George Carteret, one of the original
grantees, who had previously been governor of Jersey Island.
New York--In honor of the Duke of York.
North and South Carolina--Originally called Carolina, in honor of
Charles IX. of France.
Ohio--Indian; meaning beautiful river.
Oregon--From the Spanish oregano, wild marjoram, which grows
abundantly on the coast.
Pennsylvania--Latin; meaning Penn's woody land.
Rhode Island--From a fancied resemblance to the island of Rhodes in the
Mediterranean.
Tennessee--Indian; meaning river with the great bend.
Texas--Origin of this name is unknown.
Vermont--French; meaning green mountain.
Virginia--In honor of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen.
Wisconsin--Indian; meaning gathering of the waters, or wild rushing
channel.