American States With Spanish Names

You tin can practically glean the history of America in the names of all 50 states.

The story of the United States begins in the East and the Southward and is reflected in the origin of the names of the states. In the East and Southward, many states owe their monikers to our forebears from England, France, and Spain. These states include New York, Vermont, and Florida.

Another influence from the earliest time in our history is Native American culture, apparent in several land names. It is besides apparent in many urban center names. There are a lot of obscure places with strange names that people have a hard time with – similar these 50 town names most people will struggle to pronounce.

Native American place names figure prominently equally we move w, in states such as Arkansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota. About one-half of America'southward states owe their names to Native American origin. Names with Spanish origins can be institute in the West, including Colorado, New United mexican states and California. Hawaii and Alaska's names are derived from words describing the lands in the language of the native people who inhabited those areas earlier the arrival of Europeans.

To compile a listing of how the states got their names, 24/seven Tempo reviewed data from land websites and online resources.

Alabama

• Joined U.s.a.: Dec. 14, 1819 (22nd state to join)

• Uppercase: Montgomery

• Population: 4,888,949

The genesis of the Alabama proper noun is believed to have come from a fusion of ii Choctaw words, Alba and Amo. Alba means "vegetation," while Amo refers to "gatherer." The proper name "vegetation gatherers" would fit the Alabama Indians who cleared the country for farming.

Alaska

• Joined United States: January. 3, 1959 (49th state to join)

• Majuscule: Juneau

• Population: 738,068

The proper name "Alaska" comes from the Aleut word "Alyeska" which means "bully land." The Aleuts are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands and western Alaska.

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Arizona

• Joined United States: Feb. fourteen, 1912 (48th state to join)

• Capital: Phoenix

• Population: 7,123,898

It is not clear how Arizona got its name. Historian James H. McClintock believes the name was derived from a Native American place name that sounded similar Aleh-zon or Ali-Shonak, which meant "small spring" or "place of the modest spring," co-ordinate to the Southern Arizona Guide.

Arkansas

• Joined United States: June xv, 1836 (25th state to join)

• Majuscule: Little Stone

• Population: 3,020,327

The give-and-take "Arkansas" came from the Quapaw Native Americans. The Quapaws were known every bit the "people who live downstream," or Ugakhopag. "The Native Americans who spoke Algonquian and lived in the Ohio Valley called the Quapaws Arkansas, which means "southward current of air."

California

• Joined Us: Sept. 9, 1850 (31st land to join)

• Uppercase: Sacramento

• Population: 39,776,830

Credit the Spanish conquistadors for naming California. The name of the nation'due south largest state comes from Califia, a legendary queen of the island paradise described in a Spanish romance novel from the early 16th century.

Colorado

• Joined U.s.: Aug. 1, 1876 (38th land to join)

• Capital: Denver

• Population: v,818,049

Some other land whose name owes it origins to the Spanish is Colorado. The country's proper name ways "colored ruby" or "color rojo" in Spanish. It was used for the Colorado River considering of the abundance of red sandstone soil in the region.

Connecticut

• Joined United States: January. 9, 1788 (fifth country to join)

• Majuscule: Hartford

• Population: 3,588,683

The Dutch were the first Europeans to attain Connecticut in 1614. But in that location were already Native Americans in what would become the Nutmeg State. The name "Connecticut" is derived from the Algonquian word "quinnehtukqut" that ways "abreast the long tidal river."

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Delaware

• Joined Us: Dec. seven, 1787 (1st land to join)

• Upper-case letter: Dover

• Population: 971,180

Delaware, the outset state to ratify the Constitution, owes its proper noun to explorer Samuel Argall, who named the Delaware River and Bay for Virginia Gov. Thomas West, Lord De La Warr. The land takes its name from the river and bay.

Florida

• Joined Usa: March 3, 1845 (27th land to join)

• Upper-case letter: Tallahassee

• Population: 21,312,211

Famed Castilian explorer Ponce de Leon may not have found the fountain of youth, but he is credited with naming Florida, equally the outset European to attain it. The region was named by de Leon in 1513 and it comes from the Castilian word "florido," which means "total of flowers."

Georgia

• Joined U.s.: January. 2, 1788 (quaternary state to join)

• Uppercase: Atlanta

• Population: 10,545,138

Georgia, founded by James Oglethorpe, was named for Male monarch George Ii of England, who granted the colony its charter in 1732. The –ia suffix means "state of" and comes from the Greek linguistic communication.

Hawaii

• Joined U.s.: Aug. 21, 1959 (50th state to join)

• Capital letter: Honolulu

• Population: 1,426,393

In that location are several theories of how America'due south youngest country got its proper noun. One theory maintains that "Hawai'i" is derived from the word "owhyhee," which means homeland in native Hawaiian. Some other theory postulates that the name comes from a combination of the words "Hawa" and "two" and means a small or new homeland. Nonetheless another belief is that the name originates from the Polynesian Hawaii Loa, who discovered the islands, according to an ancient local fable.

Idaho

• Joined Us: July 3, 1890 (43rd land to bring together)

• Capital: Boise

• Population: 1,753,860

Idaho, a state made famous in a B-52s vocal, may sound like a Native American proper noun, but the discussion is made upwardly. "Idaho" was created by mining lobbyist George M. Willing, who insisted information technology was a Native American Shoshone expression meaning "gem of the mountains" for the area effectually Pike's Peak. By the time it was discovered the name was phoney, it was already beingness used.

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Illinois

• Joined United States: Dec. 3, 1818 (21st state to join)

• Majuscule: Springfield

• Population: 12,768,320

The Prairie State gets its official name from Native Americans. Illinois comes from "Illiniwek," which is what the Illini people were called. The name means "best people." Illinois is the spelling we use for the indigenous people the French explorers encountered in the region in the late 17th century.

Indiana

• Joined Usa: Dec. 11, 1816 (19th state to join)

• Capital: Indianapolis

• Population: half-dozen,782,564

The name "Indiana" means "Land of the Indians" or "Country of Indians." Later the French lost the French and Indian State of war in 1763, the English language took over the territory that would include latter-twenty-four hours Indiana. The new owners of the land sought a new name for the territory, and in recognition of the people who originally occupied it, named it Indiana.

Iowa

• Joined United States: Dec. 28, 1846 (29th country to join)

• Capital: Des Moines

• Population: 3,160,553

The story behind Iowa's name is a bit complicated. I version claims the name comes from the Iowa river, which was named for the native American Iowas (or Ioways), who were a Sioux tribe. 1 frontiersman wrote in 1868 that Native Americans encamped by a river were pleased with the location and said in their native tongue "'Iowa, Iowa, Iowa," pregnant "beautiful." Members of the Ioway people have a different version of the name. One is the French spelling of Ayuhwa, meaning "sleepy ones."

Kansas

• Joined United states of america: January. 29, 1861 (34th land to bring together)

• Capital letter: Topeka

• Population: 2,918,515

Kansas gets its proper name from the Native American Kaws or Kansa people, also a Sioux tribe. They derived the name from the Sioux word for "southwind." The Kansa people are also referred to as "people of the due south wind."

Kentucky

• Joined United states of america: June i, 1792 (15th state to join)

• Capital: Frankfort

• Population: 4,472,265

There are several different theories regarding the proper noun "Kentucky," though it has a Native American origin. Kentucky comes from the Iroquois give-and-take "ken-tah-ten," which means "land of tomorrow." The other possible meanings for "Kentucky" that derive from the Iroquois language are: "meadow," "prairie," and "the river of blood."

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Louisiana

• Joined U.s.: April thirty, 1812 (18th country to join)

• Uppercase: Baton Rouge

• Population: 4,682,509

There is no disputing the origin of Louisiana'southward proper name. The home of Cajun cooking and jazz music was named in honor of King Louis XIV of France, the Sun King, past explorer René-Robert Cavelier in the mid-1600s.

Maine

• Joined U.s.a.: March 15, 1820 (23rd state to join)

• Capital: Augusta

• Population: one,341,582

Maine's name might have originated from Royal Navy mariners Ferdinando Gorges and John Stonemason, who received a charter for what would become Maine and used the name to differentiate the mainland from the islands around information technology.

Maryland

• Joined United States: April 28, 1788 (seventh land to bring together)

• Uppercase: Annapolis

• Population: 6,079,602

The state of Maryland, which as a colony, was founded as a haven for Catholics persecuted in England, was named to honor Queen Henrietta Maria, the Catholic married woman of England'due south King Charles I.

Massachusetts

• Joined United States: Feb. six, 1788 (6th country to join)

• Capital letter: Boston

• Population: vi,895,917

The name "Massachusetts" is derived from the language of the Algonquian nation and translates as "at or about the great loma." The hill refers to the Blue Hills southwest of Boston.

Michigan

• Joined Us: Jan. 26, 1837 (26th state to join)

• Uppercase: Lansing

• Population: x,390,149

One account maintain the Michigan proper noun is based on a Native American Chippewa word, "meicigama," meaning "corking water." Another version of the name claims the state gets its proper noun from Lake Michigan and that Michigan is a French conversion of the Ojibwa word misshikama, which means "big lake," "large lake," or "large water."

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Minnesota

• Joined Us: May 11, 1858 (32nd state to bring together)

• Uppercase: St. Paul

• Population: 5,628,162

Equally nosotros motion w, many of the state names are derived from Native American identify names or linguistic communication. Minnesota is one of them. The proper name "Minnesota" comes from the Dakota Sioux give-and-take "Mnisota," the Native American name for the Minnesota River, which ways "cloudy h2o" or "sky-tinted water."

Mississippi

• Joined United States: Dec. ten, 1817 (20th state to join)

• Upper-case letter: Jackson

• Population: 2,982,785

The proper noun "Mississippi" comes from the discussion "Messipi" - the French version for either the Ojibwe or Algonquin name for the river, "Misi-ziibi," meaning "great river."

Missouri

• Joined United states: Aug. 10, 1821 (24th state to join)

• Capital letter: Jefferson City

• Population: 6,135,888

The proper noun Missouri originates from the Native American Sioux of the state called the Missouris. Missouri means "boondocks of the large canoe." Other meanings for "Missouri" include "those who accept dugout canoes," "wooden canoe people," or "he of the big canoe."

Montana

• Joined United states: Nov. 8, 1889 (41st state to join)

• Capital: Helena

• Population: ane,062,330

The proper name "Montana" is based on the Spanish discussion for mountain, montaña, though it is non known who first used the name for the territory. The name "Montana" was proposed in 1864 when the area was separated from the Nebraska Territory.

Nebraska

• Joined Us: March i, 1867 (37th state to join)

• Majuscule: Lincoln

• Population: 1,932,549

The Cornhusker State's name is based on an Otoe Indian give-and-take "Nebrathka," meaning "flat water," which refers to the Platte River, a symbol of Nebraska.

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Nevada

• Joined U.s.: October. 31, 1864 (36th land to bring together)

• Capital: Carson City

• Population: 3,056,824

The Spanish influence is evident in Nevada, whose name is derived from the Spanish phrase "Sierra Nevada," meaning snow-covered mount range. "Nevada" is Castilian for "covered in snowfall" or "snowfall-capped."

New Hampshire

• Joined United States: June 21, 1788 (9th land to join)

• Uppercase: Agree

• Population: 1,350,575

New Hampshire was named by Captain John Mason later on Hampshire, England, where Mason had lived as a child. Stonemason received a land grant for what would go New Hampshire in 1629.

New Jersey

• Joined U.s.: December. eighteen, 1787 (tertiary land to join)

• Majuscule: Trenton

• Population: 9,032,872

New Jersey, the tertiary state to join the Union, was named for the island of Bailiwick of jersey in the English language Aqueduct in honor of Sir George Carteret, one of the two men to whom the land that would become New Jersey was originally given. The city of Carteret in cardinal New Bailiwick of jersey is named afterwards Sir George Carteret.

New Mexico

• Joined Usa: Jan. half-dozen, 1912 (47th state to join)

• Capital: Santa Fe

• Population: two,090,708

The origin of the earth "Mexico" is from the Aztec word meaning "place of Mexitli," which is an Aztec god. Other possible origins include a combination of metztli ("moon"), xictli ("centre") and the suffix -co ("place") and means "place at the centre of the moon." The Spanish named the lands north of the Rio Grande "Nuevo Mexico," or New United mexican states. The name was anglicized later the area was turned over to the U.S. past Mexico after the Mexican-American War ended in 1848.

New York

• Joined The states: July 26, 1788 (11th state to join)

• Majuscule: Albany

• Population: nineteen,862,512

The Empire State was named after the Duke of York and Albany, the brother of Male monarch Charles II, in 1664. There had been a settlement called York in England since before the Romans invaded England. The word York comes from the Latin word for urban center.

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North Carolina

• Joined United States: Nov. 21, 1789 (12th land to join)

• Capital: Raleigh

• Population: 10,390,149

No mystery as to how the Tar Heel State got its proper name. Carolina, derived from the Latin word for Charles (Carolus), was named by Male monarch Charles 2 of England to accolade his father, Rex Charles I in the 17th century. Carolina would eventually be divided into two colonies, N and South Carolina, in 1712.

North Dakota

• Joined Us: Nov. two, 1889 (39th state to bring together)

• Uppercase: Bismarck

• Population: 755,238

Both Due north and South Dakota get their name from the Sioux give-and-take for "friend" or "marry," though at that place is no definitive detail for this origin.

Ohio

• Joined United States: March i, 1803 (17th state to join)

• Capital: Columbus

• Population: eleven,694,664

There are several Native American proper name possibilities for Ohio. 1 suggests that the name "Ohio" originates from the Iroquois word for "good river." Other origins claim "Ohio" might have come from the Wyandot people'south word meaning "large/dandy" or "the keen 1" or it was derived from the Seneca discussion "ohi-yo'" pregnant "large creek."

Oklahoma

• Joined United states: Nov. 16, 1907 (46th state to bring together)

• Capital: Oklahoma City

• Population: 3,940,521

The Sooner State's name comes from the Choctaw people'southward words "okla humma," which roughly ways "red people" or "ruby persons."

Oregon

• Joined United States: Feb. fourteen, 1859 (33rd state to bring together)

• Majuscule: Salem

• Population: 4,199,563

The origin of the state proper noun is upwardly for argue with a number of possible origins. The name "Oregon" might have been derived from a 1715 French map that references the Wisconsin River equally "Ouaricon-sint." Another possibility is that the name "Oregon" stems from an English army officer'due south reference in the late 18th century to "the River called past the Indians Ouragon." Nonetheless another possibility is that the name comes from the French word "ouragan," significant "hurricane," because French explorers chosen the Columbia River "Le Fleuve aux Ouragans," or "Hurricane River," considering of the strong winds gusting out of the Columbia Gorge.

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Pennsylvania

• Joined United States: December. 12, 1787 (2nd state to join)

• Capital: Harrisburg

• Population: 12,823,989

If you retrieve your high schoolhouse Latin, then information technology's easy to deconstruct the name "Pennsylvania, pregnant "Penn's woods" or "Penn'southward land." The land was named after William Penn, who was granted the country past King Charles II of England in 1681. The "sylvania" suffix is derived from the Latin discussion for forest, which is sylva.

Rhode Island

• Joined United States: May 29, 1790 (13th state to join)

• Capital: Providence

• Population: ane,061,712

The origin of Rhode Island'southward proper noun harks back to the Old World. The first mention of Rhode Isle in writing was by Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano in the early 16th century. He referred to an island near the mouth of Narragansett Bay that he compared to the Isle of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. Still, others connect the name to 17th century Dutch explorer Adriaen Block, who called information technology "Roodt Eylandt," pregnant "ruby-red island" considering of its red clay.

South Carolina

• Joined Us: May 23, 1788 (eighth state to join)

• Capital: Columbia

• Population: five,088,916

Carolina, derived from the Latin word for Charles (Carolus), was named by Rex Charles 2 of England to honor his father, Rex Charles I in the 17th century. Carolina would eventually be divided into two colonies, North and South Carolina, in 1712.

South Dakota

• Joined United states: Nov. 2, 1889 (40th state to join)

• Capital: Pierre

• Population: 877,790

Both North and South Dakota become their name from the Sioux word for "friend" or "ally," though there is no definitive proof for this origin.

Tennessee

• Joined United States: June 1, 1796 (16th state to join)

• Capital: Nashville

• Population: 6,782,564

The name "Tennessee" may have come from Creek and Cherokee words, but it is uncertain where the Volunteer State got its name. Spanish explorer Juan Pardo showtime recorded the name in 1567 as he and his soldiers passed through a Cherokee village called "Tanasqui."

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Texas

• Joined Usa: December. 29, 1845 (28th country to join)

• Capital: Austin

• Population: 28,704,330

"Texas" comes from the Native American Caddo word "teyshas," which means "friends" or "allies." Some Native American people like the Caddo or the Hasinais used the word as a greeting. In time, the discussion came to refer to the area north of the Rio Grande and east of New Mexico.

Utah

• Joined United States: Jan. 4, 1896 (45th state to join)

• Upper-case letter: Common salt Lake Urban center

• Population: 3,159,345

Utah owes its origin to an Apache Indian word, "yuttahih," that ways "people of the mountains" or "they who are to a higher place." In the Native American people's language, the word "ute" means "land of the dominicus."

Vermont

• Joined United States: March 4, 1791 (14th country to bring together)

• Capital: Montpelier

• Population: 623,960

French explorer Samuel de Champlain chosen the stunning Green Mountains of Vermont "Verd Mont," which is French for "green mountain."

Virginia

• Joined United States: June 25, 1788 (10th state to join)

• Majuscule: Richmond

• Population: eight,525,660

The state of Virginia was named after England'southward Queen Elizabeth I, who was also known as "The Virgin Queen." The lands in North America claimed by England in the 1600s were called "Virginia." Queen Elizabeth I granted Walter Raleigh the charter to create a colony.

Washington

• Joined United States: Nov. 11, 1889 (42nd state to join)

• Majuscule: Olympia

• Population: 7,530,552

The state of Washington was named in laurels of George Washington and is the simply state named later on the the nation's first president, or whatever U.S. president.

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Westward Virginia

• Joined U.s.: June xx, 1863 (35th state to join)

• Uppercase: Charleston

• Population: 1,803,077

West Virginia dissever from Virginia when the 39 western counties of Virginia refused to secede from the Union during the Ceremonious War. West Virginia came into beingness in 1863. For Virginia'southward proper noun origin please await upward Virginia on our listing.

Wisconsin

• Joined The states: May 29, 1848 (30th state to join)

• Upper-case letter: Madison

• Population: 5,818,049

The Wisconsin Historical Lodge says Wisconsin was originally called "Meskonsing" and is the English language rendering of a French version of a Miami Indian proper name for the Wisconsin River that runs through the center of the state. The gild said that in the Miami people'southward language information technology meant, "this stream meanders through something red," a reference to the cherry-red sandstone bluffs of the Wisconsin Dells.

Wyoming

• Joined United States: July 10, 1890 (44th state to join)

• Upper-case letter: Cheyenne

• Population: 573,720

The name "Wyoming" is derived from the Delaware people'due south word "mecheweami-ing," significant "at the big plains." Another possible origin for Wyoming's name is that it is an Algonquin word meaning "large prairie place."

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