Alabama -From the Choctaw 'alba ayamule', which means “I open the thicket.” That is, “I am the one who works the land, harvests the food.”Alaska -Russian version of Aleutian (Eskimo) word, alakshak, for"peninsula," "great lands," or "land that is not an island."Arizona -Spanish version of Pima Indian word for "little spring place," orAztec arizuma, meaning "silver-bearing."Arkansas -French variant of Quapaw, a Siouan people meaning "downstream people."or, "Land of the south wind people."California -Bestowed by the Spanish conquistadors (possibly by Cortez).It was the name of an imaginary island, an earthly paradise, in "LasSerges de Esplandian," a Spanish romance written by Montalvo in 1510. BajaCalifornia(Lower California, in Mexico) was first visited by Spanish in 1533.The present U.S. state was called Alta (Upper) California.Colorado -Spanish, red land or red earth.Connecticut -From Mohican and other Algonquin words meaning "long riverplace."Delaware -Named for Lord De La Warr, early governor of Virginia;first applied to river, then to Indian tribe (Lenni-Lenape), and the state.District of Columbia -For Columbus, 1791.Florida -Named by Ponce de Leon on Pascua Florida, "Flowery Easter," onEaster Sunday, 1513.Georgia -For King George II of England by James Oglethorpe, colonialadministrator, 1732.Hawaii -Possibly derived from native word for homeland, Hawaiki or Owhyhee.Idaho -A coined name with an invented Indian meaning: "gem of themountains;" originally suggested for the Pike's Peak mining territory(Colorado), then applied to the new mining territory of the PacificNorthwest. Another theory suggests Idaho may be a Kiowa Apache term forthe Comanche.Illinois -French for Illini or land of Illini, Algonquin word meaning menor warriors.Indiana -Means "land of the Indians."Iowa -Indian word variously translated as "one who puts to sleep"or "beautiful land."Kansas -Sioux word for "south wind people."Kentucky -Indian word variously translated as "dark and bloody ground,""meadow land" and "land of tomorrow."Louisiana -Part of territory called Louisiana by Sieur de La Salle forFrench King Louis XIV.Maine -From Maine, ancient French province. Also: descriptive, referring tothe mainland as distinct from the many coastal islands.Maryland -For Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I of England.Massachusetts -From Indian tribe named after "large hill place" identifiedby Capt. John Smith as being near Milton, Mass.Michigan -From Chippewa words mici gama meaning "great water," after thelake of the same name.Minnesota -From Dakota Sioux word meaning "cloudy water" or "sky-tintedwater" of the Minnesota River.Mississippi -Probably Chippewa; mici zibi, "great river" or "gathering-inof all the waters." Also: Algonquin word, "Messipi."Missouri -An Algonquin Indian term meaning "river of the big canoes."Montana -Latin or Spanish for "mountainous."Nebraska -From Omaha or Otos Indian word meaning "broad water" or "flatriver," describing the Platte River.Nevada -Spanish, meaning snow-clad.New Hampshire -Named 1629 by Capt. John Mason of Plymouth Councilfor his home county in England.New Jersey -The Duke of York, 1664, gave a patent to John Berkeley and SirGeorge Carteret to be called Nova Caesaria, or New Jersey, after England'sIsle of Jersey.New Mexico -Spaniards in Mexico applied term to land north and west of RioGrande in the 16th century.New York -For Duke of York and Albany who received patent to New Netherlandfrom his brother Charles II and sent an expedition to capture it, 1664.North Carolina -In 1619 Charles I gave a large patent to Sir Robert Heathto be called Province of Carolana, from Carolus, Latin name for Charles. Anew patent was granted by Charles II to Earl of Clarendon and others.Divided into North and South Carolina, 1710.North Dakota -Dakota is Sioux for friend or ally.Ohio -Iroquois word for "fine or good river."Oklahoma -Choctaw coined word meaning red man, proposed by Rev. AllenWright, Choctaw-speaking Indian, said: Okla humma is red people.Oregon -Origin unknown. One theory holds that the name may have beenderived from that of the Wisconsin River shown on a 1715 French map as"Ouaricon-sint."Pennsylvania -William Penn, the Quaker, who was made full proprietor byKing Charles II in 1681, suggested Sylvania, or woodland, for his tract.The king's government owed Penn's father, Admiral William Penn, A316,000,and the land was granted as partial settlement. Charles II added the Pennto Sylvania, against the desires of the modest proprietor, in honor of theadmiral.Puerto Rico -Spanish for Rich Port. (Yes...I know this is not a "state."Rhode Island -Exact origin is unknown. One theory notes that Giovanni deVerrazano recorded an island about the size of Rhodes in the Mediterraneanin 1524, but others believe the state was named Roode Eylandt by AdriaenBlock, Dutch explorer, because of its red clay.South Carolina -See North Carolina.South Dakota -See North Dakota.Tennessee -Tanasi was the name of Cherokee villages on the Little TennesseeRiver. From 1784 to 1788 this was the State of Franklin, or Frankland.Texas -Variant of word used by Caddo and other Indians meaning friends orallies, and applied to them by the Spanish in eastern Texas. Also writtentexias, tejas, teysas.Utah -From a Navajo word meaning upper, or higher up, as applied to aShoshone tribe called Ute. Spanish form is Yutta, English Uta or Utah.Proposed name Deseret, "land of honeybees," from Book of Mormon, wasrejected by Congress.Vermont -From French words vert (green) and mont (mountain). The GreenMountains were said to have been named by Samuel de Champlain. Whenthe state was formed, 1777, Dr. Thomas Young suggested combining vert andmont into Vermont.Virginia -Named by Sir Walter Raleigh, who fitted out the expedition of1584, in honor of Queen Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen of England.Washington -Named after George Washington. When the bill creatingtheTerritory of Columbia was introduced in the 32d Congress, the name waschanged to Washington because of the existence of the District ofColumbia.West Virginia -So named when western counties of Virginia refused to secedefrom the United States, 1863.Wisconsin -An Indian name, spelled Ouisconsin and Mesconsing by earlychroniclers. Believed to mean "grassy place" in Chippewa. Congress made itWisconsin.Wyoming -The word was taken from Wyoming Valley, Pa., which was the site ofan Indian massacre and became widely known by Campbell's poem, "Gertrude ofWyoming." In Algonquin it means "large prairie place."