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.. Stories of the UNITED STATES of America ...
I'd wager that most people aren't aware that over half the states that make up the union we call the United States are actually Native American words for the land or the people that White settlers simply adopted as they spread across the West. Here are all 26 states as well as the meaning of their names according to the
Nevada Dept. of Tourism and Cultural Affairs and various state websites.
1. Alabama
5. Hawaii
7. Illinois
1. Alabama
Named after the Alibamu tribe of Indians who were members of the Creek Confederacy. Literally, it means clears the thicket.
2. AlaskaFrom the word Alakshak which means peninsula.
3. ArizonaThis one's uncertain but may derive from a word meaning small springs.
4. ConnecticutFrom the expression quinnitukg-ut which means at the long tidal river.
From the words Havaiki or Hawaiki, which was the legendary name of the original Polynesian homeland.
6. IdahoDerived from one of three sources and meaning one of three things:
- Comanche Idahi
- Shoshone ee-dah-how which means something like Good Morning
- Salmon River Tribe of Indians Ida means salmon and ho means tribe so we might be saying Salmon eaters.
7. Illinois
From ilhiniwek or lliniwek. Illini meant man and iwek makes the word plural, so, literally, men.
8. IowaNamed after the Ioway Indians.
9. KansasNamed after the Kansa Indians.
10. KentuckyMeans one of three things: meadow lands, cane and turkey lands, or dark and bloody ground.
11. MassachusettsAn Indian word meaning ?bout the big hill.
12. MichiganFrom the Chippewa Indian word Michigama meaning large lake.
13. MinnesotaFrom the Dakota Indian word Minisota meaning white water.
14. Mississippi
From the Choctaw word meaning Great water or Father of Waters.
15. MissouriTown of the large canoes.
16. NebraskaFrom the Oto Indian word meaning flat water.
17. New MexicoNamed after Mexico, of course. Means place of the Mexica. One source says that it's derived from the name Mertili who was an Aztec god.
18. OhioFrom the Iroquois word meaning beautiful.
19. OklahomaFrom the Chocraw word meaning red people.
20 and 21. South and North DakotaThis used to all simply be called the Dakota Territory. The Indian word Dahkota means friends or allies.
22. TennesseeFrom the Cherokee Tanasi which was a village. The word means one of three things: meeting place, winding river, or river of the great bend.
23. TexasA Caddo Indian word meaning allies.
24. UtahDerived from the Ute Indian word Yuta meaning people who live high in the mountains.
25. WisconsinFrom the word Wishkonsing meaning place of the beaver.
26. Wyoming
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