Language of Origin for the Names of US States.

Posted by SnooMacarons8038

21 Comments

  1. OStO_Cartography on

    Vermont is not French for ‘green mountain’, thats ‘Mont Vert/Montvert’.

    Vermont means ‘Worm Mountain’ in French.

  2. The State of Maine recognized its name coming from French language, and more specifically from the province of Maine, France.

  3. Washington should be orange. The family were originally low ranking aristocrats, and from the town of Washington in England.

  4. spain and france are who named areas in western north america

    and those from US asked spanish and french what they used to call these areas, like spanish called southwest arid zone that translated into aridzona or arizona

    texas was tejas that means shingles in spanish

  5. indians / mexicans didnt name anywhere in US

    and actually spain and france are who named those like navajo that have spanish name and spelling

  6. Why is Indiana considered “made up” but California, which is generally considered to be a name taken from a fantasy island in a novel, isn’t?

  7. LogisticalNightmare on

    Nebraska means “flat water” but just on the first page of Google it says it was named by three different Indian tribes. (Omaha, Sioux, Oto)

  8. I always thought Arizona is spanish based too. “Árido” means desert or related to deserts and “zona” means zone or area. It still makes sense to me 😅

  9. SchizoidRainbow on

    Technically George Washington was an Englishman. I understand that they’re naming the territory after the George Washington who was decidedly not an Englishman by his own choice, but it’s still an English name, the past doesn’t vanish that fast.

    Washington State should be orange

  10. Maine is definitely a French name, it comes from the old French province with the same name.

    More debatable, but many Midwestern names, although of Native origin, went through French as well: Illinois (land inhabited by the Illini people in French), Wisconsin (Meskowsin -> Ouisonsin -> Wisconsin), Michigan and Mississippi.

  11. Idaho should be shaded like Indiana. A congressman said it was an Indigenous word for Gem of the Mountain but really he just completely made it up.

  12. Missouri is an English version of a French pronunciation of a Native American word that means “people in canoes”.

    Not arguing anything, just a fun fact