The origin of every US state's name

Okay, where do we go now? Hello or! Ohio is actually another disputed territory, but it may very well come from an Iriqueño word meaning "great river." Therefore, Ohio River means great river. Kentucky is one of those where we know it comes from a Native American language, but we don't know which one. It has been variously said to mean "land of tomorrow", "at the head of the river", and "among the meadows". Pioneer George Rogers Clark claimed he was the last of them. Next, Tennessee's

name

is a little simpler. It comes from the Cherokee

name

for a town along what is now the Little Tennessee River.

However, it is not known exactly what the word meant. Maybe "bend in the river" or maybe just "meeting place." The waters of the Little Tennessee River eventually reach the Mississippi, the river that gives its name to the

state

. The river's English name comes from the Ojibwe word Misi-ziibi which means... Well, guess. Yes, great river. No one has ever had any doubt that the Mississippi is huge. And Connecticut is also named after a river. It is believed to come from an Algonquian term meaning "place of the long-tide river." By the way, that silent C in the middle of Connecticut is strange.

It might as well have been put there by English speakers who combined the word with the word connect. You'd be surprised how often this kind of thing happens. And by God, I think we have done it. These are all

state

s that are named (or at least believed to be named) after Native American language terms. That was a lot. But there are two other states you should move on to quickly. First, Alaska. The first reference to Alaska in English is on this map, where it is written as Alaschka. This is probably because this map was first translated from Russian to German and then from German to English.

The puzzling thing here, of course, is that it has Alaska as an island even though the word itself comes from a Russian version of the Aleutian word for "continent." Or more specifically it means “the object toward which the action of the sea is directed.” Today, the state of Alaska also includes the Aleutian Islands. Next, let's look at Hawaii. Another state that uses the name it had long before Europeans appeared. Hawaii comes from the Hawaiian language, of course. And in Hawaiian,   Hawai'i just refers to the place. It doesn't have a second meaning or anything like that. So, that's nice and easy.

Except that other versions of the word appear in other closely related languages ​​and dialects, and in them, it usually means "homeland." For example, for the Maori of New Zealand, Hawaiki may be a spiritual, ancestral, or physical homeland. So it's possible that Hawaii once meant homeland. However, there is another theory, and that is that the islands are named after a legendary navigator who is said to have discovered them. Both theories seem plausible to me. Well, we're doing well here guys. Only a few more are missing. Let's go back to the contiguous United States and wipe out the rest.

Most of those that remain receive their names from European languages, from the languages ​​of the settlers. Colorado comes from Spanish and means "red color." They gave the name to the river because of the red rocky silt it contains. Although it looks quite blue to me. Anyway, the state is named after the river. Montana comes simply from the Spanish word Montaña, which means mountain because there are many mountains, at least in the west of the state. And I'm sorry to do this to you, but ever since someone pointed out that Montana seems to be whispering sweet nothings in Idaho's ear, I can't stop watching it.

Nevada is short for the name the Spanish gave to the mountain range they saw when they reached the west coast, the Sierra Nevada. It means snowy mountains. The Nevada part is snowy. The strange thing, of course, is that the Sierra Nevada is mostly located in California. So where does the name California come from? Well, Spanish explorers named the area after a mythical land they had read about in a 16th century novel. California was an island of Amazonian women, ruled by a queen named Califre. At the time, Spain was heavily influenced by Arab culture, having spent centuries under the rule of the Umayyad Muslims.

Therefore, it is believed that the author of the book took inspiration for the queen's name from the Arabic word khalif, which means successor of the prophet Muhammad. The words California and Caliphate are related. One last one in Spanish to do and that is Florida. The sunshine state should really be the blooming state. Florida is from Spanish for flowery or flowery. It is believed to be named after the Spanish Easter holiday, “Pascua florida.” Either the festival was happening around the time the Spanish explorers got there, or they saw a bunch of flowers there and thought it would be nice to name it.

Oh. Indiana doesn't require much decoding. It means "land of the Indians" and was chosen by the English, who named the territory in honor of the people who

origin

ally occupied it. Maine, however, is a little more complicated. It could have received its name from the fact that English sailors called it main, as on the mainland, and unlike the islands on which they fished. It could also be named after another place. We have seen that the Europeans had the habit of doing that. Maybe somewhere in England with mayne in the name, or even Mayenne in France. Let's stay in New England and go to Vermont.

Now this one, I just don't get it. The story goes that this comes from French and means green mountain: vert mont. But that seems strange to me, because the French word for green mountain is actually mont vert. There is a theory that Vermont was nicknamed “Green Mountain” first in English and then translated (rather clumsily) into French to give it that extra touch of Gallic flavor. That would at least explain the dubious order of the words. Well, I count 48 states so far. There are only two left and I'm grouping them into their own little jar labeled simply... "I don't know." Oregon's

origin

s are a mystery.

Maybe it's named after a plant. Perhaps it comes from a name that is quite insulting to the locals. Maybe it's from the Spanish "softly falling waters." Nobody knows for sure. All we know is that the Columbia River used to be called the Oregon River and that the state is named after that. And Rhode Island's roots are also a mystery, although there are a couple of interesting theories. One is that it comes from this Dutch description of "a small reddish island," referring to Aquidneck Island. Another is that it is simply named after the Greek island of Rhodes because Europeans thought one of the islands looked a bit like Rhodes.

Either way, it seems that at least the spelling of Rhode Island is inspired by the beautiful Mediterranean island. Well, that's all. One video, 50 state names explained as promised. If we've made it this far together, you might want to show your appreciation by hitting subscribe and watching this video below. You can also show your support on Patreon and subscribe to my free newsletter with lots of fun words and language information. Totally free. Totally free. Enjoy. See you next time.