List of state and territory name etymologies of the United States

Map showing the source languages/language families of state names

The fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia, the five inhabited U.S. territories, and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands 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. Of those that come from Native American languages, eight come from Algonquian languages, seven from Siouan languages (one of those via Miami-Illinois, which is an Algonquian language), three from Iroquoian languages, two from Muskogean languages, one from a Caddoan language, one from an Eskimo-Aleut language, one from a Uto-Aztecan language, and one from either an Athabaskan language or a Uto-Aztecan language.

Twenty other state names derive from European languages: seven come from Latin (mostly from Latinized forms of English personal names, one of those coming from Welsh), five from English, five from Spanish, and three from French (one of those via English). The source language/language family of the remaining five states is disputed or unclear: Arizona, Idaho, Maine, Oregon, and Rhode Island.

Of the fifty states, eleven are named after an individual person. Six of those are named in honor of European monarchs: the two Carolinas, the two Virginias, Georgia, and Louisiana. In addition, Maryland is named after Queen Henrietta Maria, queen consort of King Charles I of England, and New York after the then-Duke of York, who later became King James II of England. Over the years, several attempts have been made to name a state after one of the Founding Fathers or other great statesmen of U.S. history: the State of Franklin, the State of Jefferson (three separate attempts), the State of Lincoln (two separate attempts), and the State of Washington; in the end, only Washington materialized (Washington Territory was carved out of the Oregon Territory and renamed Washington in order to avoid confusion with the District of Columbia, which contains the city of Washington).<ref name="Longview History">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Cowlitz Timeline">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Several of the states that derive their names from names used for Native peoples have retained the plural ending in "s": Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, and Texas. One common naming pattern has been as follows:

Native tribal group → River → Territory → State{{#if:|

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State names

State name	Date first attested in original language	Language of origin	Word(s) in original language	Meaning and notes
Template:Flag	April 19, 1692	Choctaw/Alabama	alba amo/Albaamaha	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> or 'plant-cutters', from alba, '(medicinal) plants', and amo, 'to clear'. The modern Choctaw name for the tribe is Albaamu.<ref>Bright (2004:29)</ref>
Template:Flag	December 2, 1666	Aleut via Russian	alaxsxaq via Аляска (Alyaska)	'Mainland' (literally 'the object towards which the action of the sea is directed').<ref>Ransom, J. Ellis. 1940. Derivation of the Word ‘Alaska’. American Anthropologist n.s., 42: pp. 550–551</ref>
Template:Flag	February 1, 1883	Basque	aritz ona	'The good oak'.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
		Oʼodham via Spanish	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 'Having a little spring'.<ref name="Bright 2004:47">Bright (2004:47)</ref>
Template:Flag	July 20, 1796	Kansa, Quapaw via Miami-Illinois and French	akakaze via Arcansas	Borrowed from a French spelling of a Miami-Illinois rendering of the tribal name kką:ze (see Kansas, below), which the Miami and Illinois used to refer to the Quapaw.<ref name="Bright 2004:47"/><ref name="Rankin">Rankin, Robert. 2005. "Quapaw". In Native Languages of the Southeastern United States, eds. Heather K. Hardy and Janine Scancarelli. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, pg. 492</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>To appear. "Arkansas" in the Oxford English Dictionary</ref>
Template:Flag	May 22, 1850	Spanish	california	Probably named for the fictional Island of California ruled by Queen Calafia in the 16th-century novel Las sergas de Esplandián by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:See also
Template:Flag File:Map of USA CO.svg	1743	Spanish	colorado	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> originally referring to the Colorado River.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA CT.svg	April 15, 1696	Eastern Algonquian, Mohegan-Pequot	quinnitukqut	From some Eastern Algonquian language of southern New England (perhaps Mahican), meaning 'at the long tidal river', after the Connecticut River.<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref><ref name="Campbell">Campbell, Lyle. 1997. American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pg. 11</ref> The name reflects Proto-Eastern-Algonquian *kwən-, 'long'; *-əhtəkw, 'tidal river'; and *-ənk, the locative suffix).<ref>Afable, Patricia O. and Madison S. Beeler (1996). "Place Names", in "Languages", ed. Ives Goddard. Vol. 17 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 193</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA DE.svg	January 31, 1680	French via English	de la Warr	After the Delaware River, which was named for Lord de la Warr (originally probably Norman French de la guerre or de la werre, 'of the war').<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref> Lord de la Warr was the first Governor-General of the Colony of Virginia.<ref>Guyton, Kathy (2009). U.S. State Names: The Stories of How Our States Were Named Nederland, Colorado: Mountain Storm Press. p. 90.</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA FL.svg	April 2, 1513	Spanish	(pascua) florida	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> (to distinguish it from Christmastide, which was also called Pascua), in honor of its discovery by the Spanish during the Easter season.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Template:Flagicon Georgia File:Map of USA GA.svg	October 3, 1674	Latin via English (ultimately from Greek)	Georgius	The feminine Latin form of "George", named after King George II of Great Britain.<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was also a reference to Saint George, who is also the supposed namesake of the Eurasian country also called Georgia, whose name was derived from the Greek word georgos, meaning 'husbandman' or 'farmer', from ge 'earth' + ergon 'work'.<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA HI.svg	December 29, 1879	Hawaiian	Hawaiʻi	Either from Hawaiki, legendary homeland of the Polynesians<ref>Crowley, Terry. 1992. An Introduction to Historical Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pg. 289</ref> (Hawaiki is believed to mean 'place of the gods'),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> or named for Hawaiʻiloa, legendary discoverer of the Hawaiian Islands.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA ID.svg	June 6, 1864	Germanic	Idaho	Probably made up by George M. "Doc" Willing as a practical joke;<ref name="Ellis">Template:Cite journal</ref> originally claimed to have been derived from a word in a Native American language that meant 'Gem of the Mountains'.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> The name was initially proposed for the Territory of Colorado until its origins were discovered. Years later it fell into common usage, and was proposed for the Territory of Idaho instead.<ref name="Guyton, Kathy 2009 pp. 127-136">Guyton, Kathy (2009) U.S. State Names: The Stories of How Our States Were Named (Nederland, Colorado: Mountain Storm Press) pp. 127–136.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
		Plains Apache	ídaahę́	Possibly from the Plains Apache word for 'enemy' (ídaahę́), which was used to refer to the Comanches.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA IL.svg	March 24, 1793	Algonquian, Miami-Illinois via French	ilenweewa	The state is named for the French adaptation of an Algonquian language (perhaps Miami-Illinois) word apparently meaning 'speaks normally' (cf. Miami-Illinois ilenweewa,<ref name="kryss">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ojibwe <ilinoüek>,<ref name="Boneeightone">Bright (2004:181)</ref> Proto-Algonquian *elen-, 'ordinary', and -we·, 'to speak'),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> referring to the Illiniwek (Illinois).<ref name="Boneeightone" />
Template:Flag File:Map of USA IN.svg	December 2, 1794	Latin (ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian)	indiāna	'Land of the Indians'.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The names "Indians" and "India" come, via Latin, Greek, Old Persian and Sanskrit, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sindhu-, which originally referred to the Indus River.<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA IA.svg	August 31, 1818	Dakota, Chiwere via French	ayúxba/ayuxwe via Aiouez	Via French Aiouez, and named after the Iowa tribe. This demonym has no further known etymology,<ref>2001. "Plains", ed. Raymond J. DeMallie. Vol. 13 of "Handbook of North American Indians", ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 445</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> though some give it the meaning 'sleepy ones'.<ref>Bright (2004:185)</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA KS.svg	May 12, 1832	Kansa via French	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || Named after the Kansas River,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>The Encyclopedia of Kansas (1994) Template:ISBN</ref> which in turn was named after the Kaw or Kansas tribe.<ref name="Rankin" /> The name seems to be connected to the idea of "wind".<ref> Connelley, William E. 1918. Indians Template:Webarchive . A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, ch. 10, vol. 1 </ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA KY.svg	April 28, 1728	Iroquoian	(see Meaning and notes)	Originally referring to the Kentucky River. While some sources say the etymology is uncertain,<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref> most agree on a meaning of '(on) the meadow' or '(on) the prairie'<ref name="Mithun">Mithun, Marianne. 1999. Languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pg. 312</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> (cf. Mohawk kenhtà:ke, Seneca gëdá’geh (phonemic {{#invoke:IPA|main}}), 'at the field').<ref>Bright (2004:213)</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA LA.svg	July 18, 1787	French (ultimately from Frankish)	Louisiane	After King Louis XIV of France.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The name Louis itself comes from Frankish hluda, 'heard of, famous' (cf. loud) + wiga, 'war'.<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA ME.svg	October 13, 1729	English	main	A common historical etymology is that the name refers to the mainland, as opposed to the coastal islands.<ref>Or maybe it was created by similar abbreviation MAssachusetts In (the) North-East, when Maine's land was part of Massachusetts (until 1820).</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
		French	Maine	After the French province of Maine.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
		English	(Broad)mayne	A more recent proposal is that the state was named after the English village of Broadmayne, which was the family estate of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the colony's founder.<ref name="Guyton, Kathy 2009 pp. 127-136"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA MD.svg	January 18, 1691	English (ultimately from Hebrew)	Mary	After Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The name Mary originally meant 'bitterness' or 'rebelliousness' in Hebrew, and could also have come from the Egyptian word for 'beloved' or 'love'.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA MA.svg	June 4, 1665	Eastern Algonquian, Massachusett	muhsachuweesut	Plural of muswachusut, meaning 'near the great little-mountain' or 'at the great hill', which is usually identified as Great Blue Hill on the border of Milton and Canton, Massachusetts<ref name="Camp">Salwen, Bert, 1978. Indians of Southern New England and Long Island: Early Period. In "Northeast", ed. Bruce G. Trigger. Vol. 15 of "Handbook of North American Indians", ed. William C. Sturtevant, pp. 160–176. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution</ref> (cf. the Narragansett name Massachusêuck).<ref name="Camp" />
Template:Flag File:Map of USA MI.svg	October 28, 1811	Ojibwe via French	ᒥᔑᑲᒥ (mishigami)	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> (in Old Algonquin, *meshi-gami).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA MN.svg	April 21, 1821	Dakota	mní sóta	'Cloudy water', referring to the Minnesota River.<ref name="Campbell" /><ref>Template:OEtymD</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA MS.svg	March 9, 1800	Ojibwe via French	ᒥᓯᓰᐱ (misi-ziibi)	'Great river', after the Mississippi River.<ref name="FL"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA MO.svg	September 7, 1805	Miami-Illinois via French	wimihsoorita	'Dugout canoe'. The Missouri tribe was noteworthy among the Illinois for their dugout canoes, and so was referred to as the wimihsoorita, 'one who has a wood boat [dugout canoe]'.<ref>McCafferty, Michael. 2004. Correction: Etymology of Missouri. American Speech, 79.1:32</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of U.S. - MT.svg	November 1, 1860	Spanish	montaña	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA NE.svg	June 22, 1847	Chiwere via French	ñįbraske	'Flattened water', after the Platte River, which used to be known as the Nebraska River. Due to the flatness of the plains, flooding of the river would inundate the region with a flat expanse of water.<ref name="Sioux">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA NV.svg	February 9, 1845	Spanish	nevada	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> after the Sierra Nevada ('snow-covered mountains').
Template:Flag File:Map of USA NH.svg	August 27, 1692	English (ultimately from Old English)	Hampshire	After the county of Hampshire in England,<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> whose name is derived from the original name for its largest city, Southampton, that being Hamtun, which is an Old English word that roughly translates to 'Village-Town'.
Template:Flag File:Map of USA NJ.svg	April 2, 1669	English (ultimately from Old Norse)	Jersey	After Jersey,<ref name=encarta>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> the largest of the British Channel Islands and the birthplace of one of the colony's two co-founders, Sir George Carteret.<ref name=encarta/> The Latin name Caesarea was also applied to the colony of New Jersey as Nova Caesarea, because the Roman name of the island was thought to have been Caesarea.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> The name "Jersey" most likely comes from the Norse name Geirrsey, meaning 'Geirr's Island'.<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA NM.svg	November 1, 1859	Nahuatl via Spanish	Mēxihco via Nuevo México	From Spanish Nuevo México.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The name Mexico comes from Nahuatl Mēxihca ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}), which referred to the Aztec people who founded the city of Tenochtitlan.<ref>Campbell, Lyle. 1997. American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pg. 378</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its literal meaning is unknown, though many possibilities have been proposed, such as that the name comes from the god Metztli.<ref>Guyton, Kathy (2009) U.S. State Names: The Stories of How Our States Were Named (Nederland, Colorado: Mountain Storm Press) p. 312.</ref>
Template:Flagicon New York File:Map of USA NY.svg	October 15, 1680	English	York	After the Duke of York (later King James II of England). Named by King Charles II of England, James II's brother.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The name "York" is derived from its Latin name Eboracum (via Old English Eoforwic and then Old Norse Jórvík), apparently borrowed from Brythonic Celtic *eborakon, which probably meant 'Yew-Tree Estate'.<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref> Template:See also
Template:Flag File:Map of USA NC.svg	June 30, 1686	Latin via English (ultimately from Frankish)	Carolus via Carolana	After King Charles I of England and his son, King Charles II of England.<ref name=EncartaNC>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The name Charles itself is derived from Frankish karl, 'man, husband'.<ref name="OEtymDCharles">Template:OEtymD</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA ND.svg	November 2, 1867	Sioux/Dakota	dakhóta	'Ally' or 'friend',<ref name="Sioux" /> after the Dakota tribe.<ref name="Encarta 2006">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA OH.svg	April 19, 1785	Seneca via French	ohi:yo’<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref>	'Large creek',<ref name="Mithun" /> originally the name of both the Ohio River and Allegheny River.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Often incorrectly translated as 'beautiful river',<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> due to a French mistranslation.<ref name="kryss" />
Template:Flag File:Map of USA OK.svg	September 5, 1842	Choctaw	okla + homa	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA OR.svg	1765	Unknown	Disputed	Disputed meaning. First named by Major Robert Rogers in a petition to King George III.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Further
Template:Flag File:Map of USA PA.svg	March 8, 1650	Welsh and Latin	Penn + silvania	'Penn's woods', after Admiral William Penn, the father of its founder William Penn.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Pennsylvania is the only state that shares part of its name with its founder.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The name "Penn" comes from the Welsh word for 'head'.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA RI.svg	February 3, 1680	Dutch	roodt eylandt	'Red island', referring to Aquidneck Island.<ref name="RI">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The Modern Dutch form of the phrase is 'rood eiland'.
		Greek	Ρόδος (Ródos)	For a resemblance to the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea.<ref name="RI" />
Template:Flag File:Map of USA SC.svg	November 12, 1687	Latin via English (ultimately from Frankish)	Carolus via Carolana	After King Charles I of England and his son, King Charles II of England.<ref name=EncartaNC/> The name Charles itself is derived from Frankish karl, 'man, husband'.<ref name="OEtymDCharles"/>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA SD.svg	November 2, 1867	Sioux/Dakota	dakhóta	'Ally' or 'friend',<ref name="Sioux" /> after the Dakota tribe.<ref name="Encarta 2006"/>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA TN.svg	May 24, 1747	Cherokee	ᏔᎾᏏ (tanasi)	Tanasi (in Cherokee: ᏔᎾᏏ) was the name of a Cherokee village;<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> the meaning is unknown.<ref>Mooney, James. 1900(1995). Myths of the Cherokee, pg. 534</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA TX.svg	June 30, 1827	Caddo via Spanish	táyshaʔ via Tejas	'Friend',<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref> used by the Caddo to refer the larger Caddo nation (in opposition to enemy tribes). The name was borrowed into Spanish as texa, plural texas, and was used to refer to the Nabedache people (and later to the Caddo Nation in general). When the Spanish decided to convert the Nabedache to Catholicism, they constructed La Misión de San Francisco de los Texas, which later came to be used in naming the Viceroyalty of New Spain’s province.<ref>Bright (2004:491)</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA UT.svg	December 20, 1877	Apache via Spanish	yúdah via yuta	From the Spanish designation for the Ute people, yuta, in turn perhaps a borrowing from Western Apache yúdah, meaning 'high',<ref>1986. "Great Basin", ed. Warren L. d'Azevedo. Vol. 11 of Handbook of North American Indians. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. Cited in: Bright (2004:534)</ref> sometimes incorrectly translated as 'people of the mountains'.<ref name="Utah Quick Facts">Utah Quick Facts Template:Webarchive at Utah.gov</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
		Ute via Spanish	noochee via yuta	From the Ute's self-designation {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, plural {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, as suggested by J. P. Harrington,<ref>Harrington, John P. 1911. The Origin of the Names Ute and Paiute. American Anthropologist, n.s., 13: pp. 173–174</ref><ref>Opler, Marvin K. 1943. The Origins of Comanche and Ute. American Anthropologist, n.s., 45: pp. 155–158</ref> though this etymology is disputed.<ref>1986. Warren L. d'Azevedo, ed., "Great Basin". Vol. 11 of William C. Sturtevant, ed., Handbook of North American Indians. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. pp. 364–5</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA VT.svg	September 27, 1721	French	vert + mont	'Green mount' or 'green mountain'; vert in French means 'green', and mont means 'mount' or 'mountain'. However, in French, 'green mountain' would actually be written mont vert.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Template:Flag File:Map of USA VA.svg	1584	Latin	Virginia	'Country of the Virgin', after Elizabeth I of England, who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Template:Flagicon Washington File:Map of USA WA.svg	February 22, 1872	English	Washington	After George Washington,<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> whose surname was in turn derived from the town of Washington in historic County Durham, England.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> The etymology of the town's name is disputed, but agreed to be ultimately Old English.
Template:Flag File:Map of USA WV.svg	September 1, 1831	Latin	Virginia	The western, transmontane counties of Virginia, which separated from Virginia during the American Civil War. See Virginia, above.
Template:Flag File:Map of USA WI.svg	February 5, 1822	Miami-Illinois via French	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> via Ouisconsin(k) || Originally spelled Mescousing by the French, and later corrupted to Ouisconsin.<ref name="Wis">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> It likely derives from a Miami-Illinois word Meskonsing, meaning 'it lies red' or 'river running through a red place'.<ref name="Wis" /><ref>McCafferty, Michael. 2003. On Wisconsin: The Derivation and Referent of an Old Puzzle in American Placenames. Onoma 38: 39–56</ref> It may also come from the Ojibwe term miskwasiniing, 'red-stone place'.<ref name="FL" />
Template:Flag File:Map of USA WY.svg	August 14, 1877	Munsee/Delaware	xwé:wamənk	'At the big river flat'; the name was transplanted westward from the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania.<ref>Bright (2004:576)</ref>

Territory and federal district names

Territory or federal district name	Year first attested in original language	Language of origin	Word(s) in original language	Meaning and notes
Template:Flag File:Aq-map.png	1911<ref name="AS">https://radewagen.house.gov/about/our-district Radewagen.house.gov. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref>Template:Refn (July 17)	English and Samoan	American + Sāmoa	The CIA World Factbook says "The name Samoa is composed of two parts, 'sa', meaning sacred, and 'moa', meaning center, so the name can mean Holy Center; alternately, it can mean 'place of the sacred moa bird' of Polynesian mythology."<ref name="CIA_AS">The World Factbook CIA World Factbook. American Samoa. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref> "American" is ultimately derived from Amerigo Vespucci.<ref>https://www.etymonline.com/word/america Etymonline.com. America. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref> The name "American Samoa" first started being used by the U.S. Navy around 1904,<ref name="NOAA_AS"/> and "American Samoa" was made official in 1911.<ref name="CIA_AS"/>
Template:Flag File:DC Geographic Location.svg	1738	Neo-Latin	Columbia	Named for Columbia, the national personification of the United States, which is itself named for Christopher Columbus.
Template:Flag File:GuamMapSmall.png	1898<ref name="GU">The World Factbook CIA World Factbook. Guam. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref>Template:Refn (December 10)	Chamorro	Guåhan	'What we have', from Guåhån in Chamorro language.<ref>https://www.etymonline.com/word/Guam Etymoline.com. Guam. Retrieved 30 January 2018.</ref> The name "Guam" was first used in the Treaty of Paris (1898).<ref name="GU"/>
Template:Flag File:Northern Mariana Islands map.gif	1667<ref name="MP">The World Factbook CIA World Factbook. Northern Mariana Islands. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref>Template:Refn	Spanish	Islas Marianas	Mariana Islands chain named by Spain for Mariana of Austria.<ref>[1] A Mariana Islands History Story. Retrieved 30 January 2018.</ref><ref name="MP"/>
Template:Flag File:Rico (1).png	1493<ref name="PR"/>	Spanish	puerto rico	"Rich port".<ref>http://www.definitions.net/definition/puerto%20rico Puerto Rico. Definitions.net. Retrieved 30 January 2018.</ref> The CIA World Factbook says "Christopher Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista (Saint John the Baptist) and the capital city and main port Ciudad de Puerto Rico (Rich Port City); over time, however, the names were shortened and transposed and the island came to be called Puerto Rico and its capital San Juan."<ref name="PR">The World Factbook CIA World Factbook. Puerto Rico. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref>
Template:Flag File:Virgin Islands-CIA WFB Map.png	1493<ref name="VI"/>	Spanish	Islas Vírgenes	Named by Christopher Columbus for Saint Ursula and her 11,000 virgins.<ref>http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/history/ Virgin Islands History. Vinow.com. Retrieved 30 January 2018</ref><ref name="VI">The World Factbook CIA World Factbook. U.S. Virgin Islands. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref> The name "Virgin Islands of the United States" (U.S. Virgin Islands) was adopted in 1917 when the islands were purchased by the U.S. from Denmark.<ref>https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwi/107293.htm U.S. Department of State (Archive, 2001–2009). Purchase of the United States Virgin Islands, 1917. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref>Template:Refn
Template:Flagicon United States Minor Outlying Islands File:United States Minor Outlying Islands.png	Various	Various	Various	The name "United States Minor Outlying Islands" started to be used in 1986.<ref>http://www.statoids.com/w3166his.html Statoids.com. ISO 3166-1 Change History. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref> Previously, some of the islands were included in a group called "United States Miscellaneous Pacific Islands". Baker Island was named for Michael Baker in 1832.<ref>The World Factbook CIA World Factbook. Baker Island. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref> Howland Island was named after a whaling vessel in 1842.<ref>The World Factbook CIA World Factbook - Howland Island. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref> Jarvis Island was named after three people named "Jarvis" in 1821 (when they discovered the island).<ref>The World Factbook CIA World Factbook. Jarvis Island. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref> Johnston Atoll was named for Captain Charles Johnston in 1807.<ref>The World Factbook CIA World Factbook. Johnston Atoll. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref> Kingman Reef was named for Captain W. E. Kingman in 1853.<ref>The World Factbook CIA World Factbook. Kingman Reef. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref> Midway Atoll was named in the 19th century for its location being approximately halfway between North America and Asia.<ref>The World Factbook CIA World Factbook. Midway Atoll. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref> The CIA World Factbook says this about Navassa Island: "The flat island was named 'Navaza' by some of Christopher Columbus' sailors in 1504; the name derives from the Spanish term "nava" meaning 'flat land, plain, or field'".<ref>The World Factbook CIA World Factbook. Navassa Island. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref> Palmyra Atoll was named in 1802 when the USS Palmyra shipwrecked there.<ref>The World Factbook CIA World Factbook. Palmyra Atoll. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref> Wake Island was named after Samuel Wake, a British captain, in 1796. A different captain, William Wake, discovered the island in 1792.<ref>The World Factbook CIA World Factbook. Wake Island. Retrieved August 29, 2019.</ref>

See also

• List of Canadian provincial and territorial name etymologies
• List of places in the United States named after royalty
• Lists of U.S. county name etymologies
• Toponymy

Bibliography

• Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
• Guyton, Kathy (2009). U.S. State Names: The Stories of How Our States Were Named Nederland, Colorado: Mountain Storm Press.