Origins of the state names, nicely charted here. The post title refers to Delaware and Wisconsin, my original and current home states.
There are some great state names and some not-so-great ones. I plan to list the state names from best to worst. I'm not quite ready. I seek your input. But I have developed some principles:
1. I strongly approve of the use of words from Indian languages. I suspect all the best names will fit this category: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas...
2. The names of Spanish derivation are all good: California, Colorado, Florida, Montana, and Nevada. Except for California, it's pretty easy to see what they refer to. Vermont works the same way with French. (It means green mountain.) This is an okay approach to naming.
3. I celebrate the 4-letter names: Iowa, Utah, and Ohio. All 3 are also from the Indian language and therefore belong at or near the top of the list. There are also 2 great 5-letter names: Idaho and Texas. And then there's Maine.
4. Anything with "New" that looks back to the old country is pathetic.
5. Points off for including a compass point. "Dakota" is a great name, but one of the Dakotas should have consulted the Sioux dictionary for another suitable — siouxtable — word. Don't the both of you be grabbing at the same word.
6. Naming the state after an American President, done exactly once, was not a very good idea, because it's unAmerican to adulate Presidents and because we already had the national capital named after that President, so it created unnecessary confusion and required us to say "D.C." all the time, which isn't amusing at all.
7. I deplore references to English or French royalty, even when these are processed away from the original name — like Virginia and Carolina — and not embarrassingly plain — like Louisiana, Maryland, and Georgia.
8. References to other English celebrities is stupid but that stupidity may be canceled out by the contribution the character actually made in America or by the coolness of the resulting word. There are only 2 names in this category, and I think I've just given both of them a pass.
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Pennsylvania is a great name. Penn's values of tolerance for different faiths, as well as his historical support for freedom of thought and speech are the most significant foundations of American society.
Texas derives from an Indian word meaning friend. Anagrams of Texas are at sex and taxes. It is now legal to have anal sex in Texas and we have no state income tax.
Why do you love "Indian" state names? There were many languages from tribal nations living here on the North American continent in the 1490's when Columbus and his westward sailing fleets returned and told the European Monarchs they had claimed India for them. But why favor those indigenous river/tribal area names over the settler's names recalling the countries they left behind?
I agree that my home state's name is great. All Hail the Great William Penn. The state would be better, however, if William Penn's hat remained the highest object in the Philadelphia skyline.
It seems silly to have a state named Red, though. I'm from Denver, Red. And who wants to be from Yellow, Texas?
And while I agree that now, New Whatever is a silly state name, as a marketing tool in the 17th Century, it probably was necessary (Doesn't really explain away New Mexico, however). Wouldn't it be easier to embark on a potentially deadly and definitely hazardous-to-your-health ship voyage if you had an idea in your mind's eye to where you were going?
Come on, Feel the Illinoise!
How many early settlers met women who said: "I da ho."
Re #6: ok, you're uninvited! :-(
Mystery or controversy over the precise origin or meaning of the name is a good thing, too.
Kentucky wins.
If you take the word Kentucky, and use it as a question, as in: Kentucky? Well, that just sounds dirty to me.
New Mexico is "new" relative to "Old" Mexico only in the sense that....? Well in no sense really. Maybe we should have said New Ohio, instead of Indiana. Anyway it was just part of New Spain, and the Spaniards were far too interested in looking for gold and converting the Indians to think about how silly the names would be 400 years later
AllenS,
Another argument in Kentucky's favor! Thanks.
Wasn't Maryland, a Catholic colony, named after Heavenly royalty, and thus exempt from your Anglo-Franco limitation?
Yeah, I know what you mean, rocket. I'm hoping to do some quality Kentuckying this weekend.
I thought California was pretty obvious: the Land of the Caliph. I was told (in California grade school, back in the 70's) that in the early times of colonizing Mexico the spanish thought that they must be on land connected to Asia, and the Middle East was somewhere up there. IS this explanation discredited, or is the chart innacurate?
Pennsylvania: "Penn's Woods." A great name.
But Indian names? Isn't this disrespectful to the Native Americans. Simply a fraud and a pittance, a token of prejudice, subjugation and exploitation?
That's what they said about sports teams. Marquette Golden Eagles indeed.
Let's rename Wisconsin "Golden Eagle." (Marquette can become the "Fledglings" of something if it confuses people.)
Althouse can teach at University of Golden Eagle Law School.
“…it's unAmerican to adulate Presidents…”
The current resident of the White House is not only adulated, he is idolized. All criticism- legitimate or not- of him is Un-American, un-patriotic, despicable, and disgusting; and that is just the politicians talking.
So, I guess Illinois, Kansas, or Hawaii will be changed to the state of Obama in eight years.
Rhode Island is a idiotic name. The state isn't an island and the islands in Narragansett bay (Aquidneck is the big one) don't look Mediterranean.
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, the full name, is even worse, a misbegotten mash-up of 17th-century geographic make-believe and turgid bureaucratic legalese.
But we do have a great flag. And tons of great place names (Aquidneck and Conanicut to start with).
Henry, for contributing coffee milk, quahogs, and salt-and-vinegar fries, and diner culture, all name-related sins are forgiven.
Woohoo! A list where my home state of Arkansas is near the top!
Texas!
Go check the origin of Maryland. Are you sure?
At least youy guys don't have to wake up to headlines that read "Russians Invade Georgia". They need to get themselves another name.
Wasn't Texas taken from tejas, the tiles that the inhabitants used to cover their homes?.....The Indian names sound more evocative if you don't know their meaning. Ohio has warm open vowels that embrace the speaker; big creek is a land of unaffordable flood insurance....To be fair to the original settlers, shouldn't some states have Celtic or Germanic names?
If Maryland is named after Henrietta Maria, why isn't it called Henriettaland? The 'Maria' in her name almost assuredly is the BVM. Henrietta maintained her Catholic faith.
Without looking, I'm guessing Pennsylvania and Virginia are the two states you refer to in your final paragraph.
I think Texas is probably the best name. Attractive written out. Punchy. Easy to pronounce. Easy to spell.
Montana could challenge it though. I may like Montana better. Not as versatile if you were designing print advertising but has a better sound, I think. Less ssss.
Favorite Indian-related names: Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Iowa. Of course, I'm probably specially attached to the first two names simply from living in those states in during childhood.
I like the name Wyoming with its surprisingly prominent Y.
Description of an origin from the link that made me laugh: "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed." Okay then.
Anne's rules could be narrowed down to just two:
* Any white, Northern European-based state name is pathetic.
* Any non-white, non-Northern European name is great. (For example, Indian names - even if named after Chiefs - are great, but if named after a European leader, that's pathetic.)
In other words, we should pretend that the meaningful part of our heritage is Indian and Mexican and not English or French.
I thought Pennsylvania was named for an important pencil factory.
Henry, you live in Rhode Island? What street?
Oregon should qualify high on the list on its own merits, but then lose ground for lending itself so well to mispronunciation.
Maybe the same could be said for Hawaii...loses most of its sheen when mangled "Ha-why" by most mainlanders.
Me? I like the Big Tit mountains.
I lost this argument before by din of bullying but I nonetheless hold Colorado, the colorful state, is so called not because colorado means "red" in Spanish, which it does, but so does "rojo", but rather because it's past perfect "colored" in Spanish which aligns with it's descriptor.
Besides, spoken I always hear rojo for red and never ever colorado. Except a few times, and each time I thought, "how odd, they used colorado for red instead of rojo they must be from some other place, one that prefers four syllable words over two syllable words."
But then people counter in Texas they see on menus chili verde and chili colorado which impressed in their minds that word officially for red in Spanish and my answer to that is FINE! Those menus could be referring the the state as in Texas chili and I'm not arguing for or accepting evidence from menus, you goof, I making up my own mind as to the derivation of a State name which was influenced by a car drive through the state which totally blew my mind all to pieces. Until then I thought its coloration rather bland and not particularly red, nor its mountains particularly dramatic when view from a distance, but now having driven through the state, each bend revealing another artist's palette and displaying a unique color scheme, I came to view each turn as a brand new glorious painting and looked forward with excitement to the next bend when the painting would change, and there were no drugs involved, I don't think. Lo, my eyes were opened and I could now see how it would be so named Colorful or Colored in Spanish, Red doesn't do justice. And I don't care what you or what Colorado History text books referencing iron-rich soil say. Besides, Louisiana is more red, so is Georgia.
Actually, it's a little known fact that "Wisconsin" is derived from a Winnebago Indian phrase meaning "why are you asking me that stupid question, you ugly, ignorant white man"? This phrase was uttered nearly every time that some explorer or fur trader or, alas, settler asked what they call this particular place.
It's true.
Not Winnebago. Ho-Chunk.
You can buy into the lie that the name "Maryland" was derived from the middle name of some obscure English royal, or you can put two and two together in considering the fact that Maryland was a colony founded by Catholics for Catholics in an empire that was decidedly hostile to such "Papists." Added to this is the fact that the founding capital of the Maryland Colony was St. Mary's City.
AND -- although it would appear that Virginia was named in honor of Queen Elizabeth and her born-again virginity, but even then it bears remembering that the anti-Catholic Queen Elizabeth stole the whole virginity idea from the very Catholic original Virgin.
While New Jersey falls into category # 4, some credit is due to the only 2-name state which is largely known and referred to with just one of it's names - 'Jersey'. I dare say it doesn't work so well for York or Hampshire or Carolina or Dakota or Island or Mexico (yeeeeek!)
That said - the better side of the Delaware River is definitely the Penns Woods side. I've been in Bucks County, PA for 10+ years, and lots of folks lovingly refer to it as 'Pennsyltucky', which is also very cool.
De la Warr - of the War - cool!
I think we have enough "indigenous, noble 1st people's names" thank you kindly...
For one reason they aren't indigenous and we know from DNA studies they weren't "1st peoples". And weren't exactly as noble or careful stewards of Mother Earth as boomer hippies once idealized them as.
The other is the demands to rename things to "honor Indians" sometimes involves replacing a perfectly good existing name with some awful-sounding tortured construct a Ward Churchill wannabe activist cobbled together.
"Lets replace Mt. Rainier with the more authentic "Mt. Invikoshoonash"
==============
But if you think America is cobbled with some lame state names, think of Canada.
Newfoundland was found 1000 years ago. I don't know or care who the original Edward is of "Prince Edwards Islands" but he is dead and he never owned them anyways. Manitoba sounds like a disease.
Canada "gifts" the world with it's 2nd "Northwest Territories". The other is in Pakistan. One no one wants to live there, the other, only terrorists and illiterate Muslim fanatics want to live in.
Saskatchewan sounds like a mighty tundra beast. "I went to Canada, and saw a huge herd of Saskatchewans trampling Canadians, who were too polite to object."
Who was "Otto"? , and why did he get a whole Province named after him?
Nunavut, created in 1999 by the ever-PC Canadians means either a corrosion product found on ship's hulla, or "meaning "our land" in Inuktitut". Maybe we can take a hint from the wiser, more liberal Canadians. What is Spanish for "our land" in case we have to rename the American Southwest?
Yukon is named after the UConn Huskies of Connecticut, a state that consists of little more than houses for rich people and angry ghetto blacks. And their basketball teams. Of which the females do better. Pussies.
Quebec is named for one stretch of river where it narrows around Quebec City, something the rest of Canada would be happy of Quebec was shrunk down to in terrirrial size. Quebec is also taken to mean, (in France) - that land of riff-raff of French origin culturally 100 years behind real French culture and learning. Which delights the French, because it is one thing to sneer at strangers, but a delicate frisson of true pleasure to sneer at your backwards cousins. "Patooie!" "Zey would not serve serve zis excrable soup even in Quebec!"
Alberta was named after the obscure 4th child of Queen Victoria, which is an improvement from it being part of "Rupert's Land" - as Rupert of the Rhine was a German and a pirate, who escaped beheading for being on the wrong side in the English Civil War. But later won enough favor from the new Parliament with military service and bribes to get them to both reward him and get rid of him to the remote Hudson's Bay watershed wilderness....
Nowadays, Alberta is with BC, the only part of Canada worth invading and taking away from them. (The two remaining Canadian tanks have broken motors and patrol Quebec on beds of logging trucks to suppress the Froggie Independence Movement.)
And last, and least, British Columbia.
What country names a beautiful resource rich province after Columbia when they have no cartels and can't grow cocain, just great pot? Then says it is British-owned? If so, we should call the Brits and see what sort of money it would take for them to issue a 2nd Balfour Declaration which would allow smarter and harder-working American Settlers to go there in droves while "fully respecting the rights of the natives". If history is any guide, within 30 years, it will be renamed "America's Columbia" and help compensate us for the loss of the SW to the hispanics.
"Without looking, I'm guessing Pennsylvania and Virginia are the two states you refer to in your final paragraph."
She doesn't like Virginia since it refers to Elizabeth I who was white and European therefore not authentic.
"although it would appear that Virginia was named in honor of Queen Elizabeth and her born-again virginity, but even then it bears remembering that the anti-Catholic Queen Elizabeth stole the whole virginity idea from the very Catholic original Virgin."
Nonsense. Virginia was assuredly not named after the idol of the Catholicks! Elizabeth send Ralegh to America in 1584 which is around when the area was called "Virginia", the area being basically the entirety of the east coast from Maine down to where South Carolina is today. To try to claim Virginia for the followers of the Bishop of Rome must be some fiendish popish plot!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona
There is some disagreement over the proper etymology of the name "Arizona." Possible origins supported by historians are the Basque phrase aritz ona, "good oak,"[12][13] and the O'odham phrase alĭ ṣonak, "small spring".[14] The Basque etymology is the one preferred by Arizona state historian Marshall Trimble, among other specialists. The name Arizonac was initially applied to the silver mining camp, and later (shortened to Arizona) to the entire territory.
Extending the list to 57 states (and beyond), I recently learned that the names "San Juan" and "Puerto Rico" were mistakenly interchanged in the past. "San Juan" once referred the entire island, and "Puerto Rico" was the name for the port city and capital.
Flexo said...
...the anti-Catholic Queen Elizabeth stole the whole virginity idea from the very Catholic original Virgin.Mary mother of Jesus was a Catholic? Joseph must have been shocked. Not as much as when he learned she was pregnant, but even so.
Also, the French word for war is "guerre," not "war" or "ware". If the name really translated to "of the war", it would be Delaguerre.
This site says the Delaware River, and subsequently the state, were named after an English governor of Virginia, name of Lord De La Warr.
My vague recollection is that De La Warr was an anglicized version of the original name De La Guerre.
Extending to city names, we've got one in Minnesota that really puzzles me. Who the heck is the Cloud in St. Cloud?
"Extending to city names, we've got one in Minnesota that really puzzles me. Who the heck is the Cloud in St. Cloud?"
Saint Clodoald, actually. The place where he was buried was renamed Sanctus Clodoaldus which after a dozen centuries got Gallicized and transformed into Saint-Cloud, a suburb of Paris and mostly known (to me, anyway) as a famous porcelain-producing town in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Peter--
It's named after the city of Saint-Cloud, France (near Paris), which was named for the 6th-century French monk Clodoald.
The French are always using way too many vowels.
Palladian types way too fast.
My little town of Star Prairie was originally called Jewelltown. It's obvious why we had to change it.
Thanks, Palladian and AllenS. I've been asking the question on and off since moving to Minnesota a decade ago, but you are the first to give me a good answer. Most just shrug.
Another way to judge state names: how to name the residents.
Texas looks good through this filter. Their residents are Texans. Crisp.
Delaware fails badly. I grew up a state away, but I'm not sure what to call them. Delarawians?
New Yorkers have it over New Jerseyites.
Pennsylvanians, Minnesotans, Alaskans, and Californians (among others) have it easy.
Florida residents have to stress a different syllable, but Floridians is not too bad.
Are the residents of New Mexico really called New Mexicans?
The residents of Illinois? I give up.
I was always intrigued when driving from Georgia westward into Alabama that the Place Names are 90% English while in Georgia, and then going into Alabama turn into 90% Choctaw/Creek tribal words. We learned later that while the English settlers were stopped in mid-Georgia around Macon by hostile tribes for 80 years , that white Men traders moved over into the Choctaw/Creek tribal lands now called Alabama to Trade with the tribes. They took no women along since they could not protect them, and ended up marrying into the tribes and raised mixed breed offspring. Later (around 1820),after those tribes ceded Alabama lands to General Jackson, who had defeated them at Horseshoe Bend, there were already tribal names for everything in common use by these mixed breed descendants whose had parents spoke both languages. So no one renamed everything.
What did Delaware, boys,
What did Delaware?
(...)
I ask you now as a personal friend,
What did Delaware?
She wore her New Jersey, boys,
She wore her New Jersey
(...)
What did Idaho, boys,
What did Idaho?
(...)
I ask you now as a personal friend,
What did Idaho?
She hoed her Maryland, boys,
She hoed her Maryland
etc.
Hahaha Ida hoed her Maryland. Maybe some young urban entrepreneur can redo this as hip-hop...
I wonder, do people from Mexico that live in Chihuahua get teased a lot?
My wife contantly teases me about my Sonoran.
Idaho!
Who da pimp?
...sorry...
Also, take it from a born and bred "Spudahoan" who has the roots to prove such, the capital of that fine state is pronounced "boy-see" not "boy-zee."
"it's unAmerican to adulate Presidents"
said the professor from Madison.
If you'll recall, Ms. Althouse, Washington was originally only one of several cities in the District of Columbia (i.e., Georgetown). D.C referred to the territory, not the city until relatively recently when the entire district was combined into one city.
Another way to judge state names: how to name the residents.Massachusetts and Connecticut don't do well here at all. They gave up and went to state nicknames for their forms.
Plus without Washington, it is arguable that the country wouldn't exist, I think the least we can do is name one state after him and not leave that hellhole in DC as his legacy.
Are the residents of New Mexico really called New Mexicans?Yes, but only to the extent they call us anything but "the place where Californians come to screw up the culture, cuisine and politics".
My native state is Oregon (pronounced Or-ee-gun). It is Indian for something, though nobody is really sure what. Anyway, I vote the Beaver State as #1.
The worst state name has to be Oklahoma. It sounds like something from a bad musical.
Rhode Island, Delaware and Wyoming shouldn't be states. Sorry.
I think you've got it in for the 13 originals - you accuse them of not being very original: New York, New Jersey, etc. Personally, I rather like New Mexico.
My wife contantly teases me...I originally misread this as "tases" and thought, "Wow. Harsh."
New Mexico loses. Period.
Tennessee, in it's first incarnation, was named Franklin - an American celebrity and non-president. Do we get extra points for the change? Tennessee also has the best songs.
Anyone else remember that 15 or 20 years ago Rand McNally published a US atlas that omitted one of the Dakotas? I couldn't find an on-line reference, but I distinctly remember the mocking.
Lord Baltimore, who named Maryland, had to thank the monarch who granted his charter. Would it have been politic to name the state Henrietta, who, after all was named after her father, a French King? Of course, he could have grabbed Carolina first.
Idaho.
A lobbyist made up the name, claimed it was of Indian origin, and attempted to sell it to the idiots in Congress.
Suprisingly, he failed. And Colorado got its present name instead.
But the name struck a chord in the minds of many Congressmen, and when they got another chance to name an area two years down the road, they dusted off the name, and bestowed it upon us.
I originally misread this as "tases" and thought, "Wow. Harsh."A few more nights of my snoring, and it might escalate to that.
The problem I have with the four letter names is that I rarely do a large crossword puzzle where one of them doesn't show up. "Ohio" is probably the state most frequently listed in crossword puzzles.
John Lynch:
I'd rank West Virginia, North Carolina and South Dakota last. Because West Virginia is in the east, North Carolina is in the south and South Dakota is in the north.
Another state that has more letters but shows up frequently in crossword puzzles is Hawaii.
What about the capitols? If nothing else that would qualify as a tiebreaker.
My favorite are how the capital of Maine was named for a Roman emporer, the capital of Maryland for a queen. North Carolina for a whoremonger, North Dakota for a warmonger (nice symmetry there), Mississippi, Wisconsin, Missouri and Nebraska were all named for Presidents. Rhode Island's capital and California's are both related to religion, and Minnesota and New Mexico go even a bit farther and name a religious figure. South Carolina and Ohio both have capitols named for the same person. Indianapolis and Oklahoma City-- well, figure that one out! Illinois and Oregon both have capitols named from towns in Massachusetts.
Alaska's capitol is named after a drunken miner of French extraction. Can any state top THAT?
Eli, the capitals also tilt in favor of Texas. Austin. Two syllables. Named after a pivotal figure in the state's history.
The name is more "tinny" than "woody," however.
Hey, nice job, Ann. An enjoyable read and I have to say I agree on probably all points.
Why so negative about Louisiana?
The state is named after Louis XIV and like the Bourbon monarch it is sensual, hedonistic, extravagant and corrupt. The name fits perfectly.
Interesting thing about what the citizens of a state are called. Michigan is unique in that the residents have two different names - males are Michiganders and females are Michigeese.
I'm a Vodalundah.
Considering the racial contempt and fear the settlers had for the Indians (and Mexicans), it's amazing how many native (and Spanish) names were commemorated as States or even survived. My county, its river, and several nearby villages (Osceola, Ossipee, Saxapahaw) have Indian names, though the county seat is named for the governor at the time.
Alexandria and Arlington were also part of DC until 1846--so why did R. E. Lee identify so strongly with Virginia, that he'd left as a toddler? Backlash?
Ralph:
Prior to the Civil War, residents of the district still identified strongly with the states the district had been created out of (Maryland and Virginia.)
In fact, as you note, Arlington and Alexandria have been returned to Virginia (an action known as retrocession.)
A number of proposals to return the Maryland portion of the district (or at least those portions outside the immediate vicinity of the capitol mall/white house/official building portion) have come up as a less controversial way of addressing the district's lack of representation in Congress than proposals for D.C. statehood. The political effect of retrocession would be marginal in that while the city of Washington would likely dominate a congressional district, the adjoining districts in Maryland are already Democratic (and Maryland has elected only Democrats to the Senate and only voted Democratic for President for some time now) and any marginal advantages that such a move gave Democrats in electing one member of Congress would be balanced by the fact that it would erase three Democratic electoral votes in the Presidential race (and also eliminating the possibility of a 269-269 electoral vote tie) and changing the number needed to win to 268.
Granted I personally continue to feel that if the residents of the district want to become a state (and they already outnumber the residents of the state of Wyoming) there is no good reason not to allow it, but given the political explosiveness of the issue (bluntly put Republicans don't want two more Democrats in the Senate) retrocession might be the best realistic way to address what is still a fundamental inequity-- taxation without representation.
Atlanta is a PR re-naming carefully selected when a small village council decided they could never grow to be as famous as Charleston with a dumb name like Marthasville. They were right. Most of these early Atlanta immigrants, settling around the newly built centrally located railroad lines intesection, came to buy and sell goods coming thru on the railroads, not to grow anything. After the surrender at appomattox, all southern re-construction was based upon Yankee investors bringing dollars into the south, since ALL the confederate money supply was then illegal. Fortunately,Atlanta was well located to attract a huge share of such northern "investors" coming into the new colonies of the South. Since that time Atlanta has become a hybrid mixture of old southern culture with a Wall Street type of business-first culture. Gone With the Wind was such a highly popular book and movie because it was the retelling of true stories from those times.
Wisconsin is one of the worst State names. Probably the least cool looking and sounding of the Indian named States. Louisiana is cool because it's the only state that begins with the letter L.
Arkansas is bad cause it includes another state's whole name, Kansas.
Louisiana is cool because it's the only state that begins with the letter L.Yes, that makes it easier to fill in online addresses, and navigate popup menus.
Better yet, it fits nicely into lyrics, with 5 or 4 syllables as needed.
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