Up next in 10
From Alabama to Wyoming, we're covering the origin of each state name in the United States. From Native American phrases to royal tributes, there's a unique story to each one.
Don't miss a video! Subscribe NOW: https://www.youtube.com/@MentalFloss?sub_confirmation=1
About Mental Floss:
Mental Floss is where curious people come for trivia-tastic information. Mental Floss produces lists of fun facts, debunks common misconceptions, and tells untold stories from history, science, culture and more.
Website: http://www.mentalfloss.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mental_floss
Facebook: https://facebook.com/mentalflossmagazine
Discord: https://discord.io/mentalfloss
Copyright Notice: This video and YouTube channel contain dialog, music, and images that are property of Mental Floss. You are authorized to share the video link and channel, and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to this YouTube Channel is provided.
2025 Mental Floss
How Each U.S. State Got Its Name | Mental Floss
https://www.youtube.com/@MentalFloss
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
In the novel La Sergas de Esplandien, author Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo describes an earthbound
0:05
Eden full of priceless treasures and beautiful shoreline. Its residents were said to be exclusively
0:11
black women warriors who rode a mystical lion-eagle hybrid known as the Griffin. In the novel, if a
0:17
man somehow stumbled upon this society, he would become food for the creatures. This is extremely
0:22
metal, right? Like something Zack Snyder would film someday. De Montalvo named this paradise
0:27
California. And since La Sergas de Esplandion was published around 1510, that was likely the first
0:33
time anyone had ever heard or seen the word. I'm Erin McCarthy, Editor-in-Chief of Mental Floss
0:38
and I promise we'll circle back to California in a bit, but since my brain demands organization
0:44
this episode of The List Show will tackle the origins of all 50 state names in alphabetical
0:48
order. A note on pronunciations. We did our best to honor the correct pronunciations for all of
0:54
these words, but there weren't resources to confirm all of them. So in some cases
0:58
we're making an educated guess. With that out of the way, let's get started
1:08
There are several possible explanations for the origin of the word Alabama, but virtually all of
1:13
them can be traced back to a Native American tribe known as the Alabama. The Alabama River
1:17
was named after them, and so was the state. Though some initially believed the word meant
1:21
here we rest, that's never been confirmed. It's more likely the tribe was named by the neighboring
1:26
Choctaw. One Choctaw scholar has indicated Alabama means thicket clearers, with alba meaning
1:31
vegetation and amo meaning to collect or gather. The largest state's name likely comes from the
1:37
Aleut word alakshak, meaning the mainland. The Aleuts, or more properly the Unangas or Unangan
1:44
are still in the state, by the way, along with many other native cultures. According to the
1:48
Bureau of Indian Affairs, there are 229 federally recognized tribes in Alaska
1:53
and indigenous people make up over 15% of the state's population. Headed to the Grand Canyon for a visit, you almost had to say you were visiting Pimeria
2:01
or Gadsonia, both names that were under consideration for the territory now known
2:05
as Arizona. The name may derive from the Otham language phrase Alshon, or place of little spring
2:11
but other historians have noted it could have been inspired by the Basque for a good oak tree
2:16
Weirdly, you can also check out the London Bridge while you're there. Because in the 1960s, London
2:21
decided to auction off their bridge, and it made its way to Lake Havasu City. Sort of. According to
2:26
Arizona Highways, it's the original skin with a new skeleton, because all of the load-bearing bits
2:31
are new. We know Arkansas is pronounced Arkansas, but that wasn't always universally agreed upon
2:37
One senator preferred Arkansas in the 1800s until a resolution was passed. Either way
2:43
it was a Native American tribe known as the Quapaw who inspired the phrase. So why isn't it called
2:48
the state of Quapaw? Indigenous people in the Ohio Valley called the Quapaw Arkansas
2:53
which was seemingly their name for anybody from that branch of the Siouxan family
2:57
And then indigenous people from the Ohio Valley region were guides for early French explorers and
3:02
settlers and handed off the name, who then handed off the name to English speakers. And you'd better
3:08
get it right, as it's technically against the law to say our Kansas once you cross state lines
3:13
You'll recall from the intro that California was a fictional rather than factual land of
3:17
plenty in a novel circa the 16th century. So was it named after Lasargas de Esplandian
3:23
Historians aren't quite certain. It's possible Spanish explorers knew of the book, which was something of a bestseller
3:28
in its day. But it's also possible the name was derived from the Latin words Cali da Fornax, meaning
3:33
hot furnace, or Cali Forno, a Native American phrase meaning high hill or native land
3:38
But it's probably worth pointing out that the name would have been given to what is now the Baja California Peninsula. As the Spanish ventured further north, the region
3:46
of California spread. Colorado is kind of an easy state name to puzzle out. It's Spanish for colored red
3:53
which was considered relevant because it was once thought a reddish tint could be seen from water coming down from the mountains. Congress chose the name in 1861 when it was
4:01
made a territory, and the name remained when it became a state in 1876
4:06
Connecticut is a nickname-heavy state. People have referred to it as the Nutmeg State, the Constitution State, and the Land of Steady Habits
4:15
But its actual name comes from the Mohegan word Quinnitucket, or Upon the Long Tidal River
4:20
Delaware is home to a few firsts, including the first state to ratify the Constitution
4:25
and the first to sell peaches commercially, both equally important. It's also the first state on the list named after a person
4:32
When explorer Samuel Argold wanted a name for the bay and its associated river flowing
4:36
through the state, he chose to name it after Virginia Governor Thomas West, who carried
4:40
the title Lord or Baron de Loire. That was likely taken from the Old French meaning of
4:46
the war or warrior. In the 1800s, singer and lyricist Flo Rida discovered the Sunshine State. Just kidding
4:53
While that would be amazing, Florida was instead named by Juan Ponce de Leon, who arrived in
4:57
the area in 1513 while probably not searching for the famed Fountain of Youth, as detailed
5:02
in our video of Misconceptions about Florida. de Leon named it La Florida, which means flowery in Spanish. He chose the name both because
5:10
it had good woodlands and because he cited it around Pasqua, Florida, or Easter time
5:15
Georgia is a tip of the cap to George II of England, who granted a charter in 1732 as
5:20
a means of sending debtors to a North American colony to try and become financially whole
5:25
again. So why isn't it the state of George? Because the I-A suffix means state of. The
5:30
of Georgia, meanwhile, gets its name from a Persian word, maybe meaning wolf, that in
5:35
medieval Western Europe maybe got conflated with St. George. Hawaii may have the coolest state name, but it's also among the most puzzling to fully
5:43
identify. Some believe it was named for the Polynesian man Hawaii Loa, who was said to
5:47
have discovered the Hawaiian Islands. Others think it's from a compound of Hava, or homeland
5:52
and I'i meaning small. But most scholars today look at Proto-Polynesian languages and suggest
5:57
it derives from something meaning traditional homeland, because similar-looking words pop up in other Polynesian languages
6:04
Idaho, the land of spuds, has one of the most contested names of all the states
6:09
A little over a decade after the then territory was named, a newspaper report emerged that
6:14
the author eccentric friend George Willing came up with it Supposedly he was advocating for the area in Congress when the naming question came up At that precise moment a young girl named Ida ran in and Willing proclaimed Ida ho come and see me He realized Idaho was perfect and suggested it
6:31
claiming the word meant gem of the mountains, which it doesn't. You'd think that story was
6:36
so obviously true that we should move on, except weeks later, an Idaho newspaper said that nobody
6:42
in the territory had ever heard of Willing. But the story doesn't end there. The moniker
6:46
was actually an early contender for the official name of colorado complete with the gem explanation
6:51
willing wasn't the official delegate then either but according to historian earl h ellis he went to
6:57
washington dc and pretended he was since this fact is already getting along i'm going to be skipping
7:02
some of the more colorful figures of the west but according to ellis around the time idaho was being
7:07
thrown around as a name for colorado it became trendy in that part of the world with one girl
7:12
even being named Nettie Idaho Jackson. Nettie's aunt fell in love with the name, and said aunt's
7:17
husband just so happened to be a prominent politician who would go on to become the first
7:22
governor of the Idaho Territory. According to their son, when the name question came up for
7:27
this new territory, the suggestions were Lafayette, Montana, and Idaho. At the mention of Idaho
7:34
Nettie's aunt expressed a desire for that name in honor of her niece, and everyone accepted her wish
7:39
Long story short, the best guess is Idaho is named after a failed alternate for Colorado
7:44
and influenced by Nettie Idaho Jackson, who was named after a failed alternate for Colorado
7:49
Where that name came from is anyone's guess, but the only real explanation ever given is the
7:54
clearly fictitious Ida, Ho. Illinois is home to the late filmmaker John Hughes, and where many of
8:01
his movies are set—something Hughes favored to avoid his movies becoming too generic Hollywood
8:06
But this isn't about movies, it's about state names, dammit. Illinois may have come from the
8:10
word Irinwiwa, which means speaking in an ordinary way. The R later changed to an L
8:16
and then the word probably got borrowed into an Ojibwe dialect that dropped the
8:20
wa. To French ears, Ilinwi sounded like Illinois, and that pronunciation is what stuck
8:26
Indiana is probably the most overt reference to Native Americans in a state name. It means
8:31
land of the Indians. It's also the land of Colonel Sanders. The KFC founder was born in Henryville
8:36
before starting his chicken empire, but I think the Independent Film Channel would have had a
8:40
problem if he had named it Indiana Fried Chicken, so we have KFC. Iowa, aka the Hawkeye State, was
8:47
named for the Iowa tribe. Iowa could come from the word Iowa, or sleepy, which is what the Dakota
8:52
called the Iowa Nation, but the Iowa actually refer to themselves as the Bacojay, which means
8:58
ashy snow. If you think Arkansas and Kansas have some connective tissue, you're correct
9:03
Remember that the Quapa inspired Arkansas. According to the linguist William Bright
9:08
the starting A in Arkansas is an Algonquian prefix for ethnic groups, and essentially the
9:13
Kansaw part is a name for that particular branch of the Siouxan family regardless of tribal
9:18
affiliation. The word itself probably came from one of these Siouxan languages, which is why there's
9:23
a closely related tribe to the Quapaw called the Kansa, hence Kansas. Kentucky is one of the four
9:30
commonwealths in the 50 states, and its moniker is among the most mysterious of state names
9:35
It's possible it comes from the Wyandotte word Kantaten or Land of Tomorrow, but that's
9:39
unconfirmed, and some believe the word actually means meadow, prairie, or even river of blood
9:45
That last one is probably not great, especially if you're looking to attract tourists
9:48
It's time to invoke Louisiana, which might mean it's time to attempt a Nolens accent
9:55
Just kidding. I don't want you to turn this video off. Louisiana was claimed back in 1682
10:01
In honor of King Louis XIV, it was named La Louisiane, or the Land of Louis
10:06
Now it's really the land of milk. That's the state's official drink
10:10
The name of Stephen King's favorite haunt, Maine, comes from either French or English
10:14
If English, it's possible it refers to the mainland, or a village on England's coast
10:18
with the same name. But in 2001, when the state legislature declared a Franco-American day in the state, they proclaimed
10:25
it was named after a French province. Maryland is another one of the few states with a clear connection to a singular person
10:31
It was named for Henrietta Maria, the queen and wife of Charles I, who signed a 1632 charter
10:36
establishing it as a colony. Henrietta land just doesn't quite hit the same
10:41
Massachusetts is another commonwealth, and its name is derived from the Massachusetts
10:45
tribe. It means on or about the Great Hill. A slightly more intriguing name story can
10:50
be found in one of the state's central lakes. The lake commonly known as Lake Webster has
10:54
many alternate names, including this one, which is the longest name of any geographical
11:00
feature in the U.S., and I will not even try to say it. Loosely translated, it means
11:04
staying within fishing boundaries. Michigan comes from Mishigama or Mishigama, the Ojibwe
11:10
tribe word for Great Lake or Large Lake. It's long been a state of industry, from Detroit's
11:15
car plans to the cereal companies of Battle Creek. Thank you, Michigan, for Grape Nuts
11:21
Minnesota originated with the Dakota, who named the Minnesota River after many their
11:25
word for water. The second part is harder. If it's soda, like most people pronounce it
11:31
it would be sky tinted or clear, with the idea being the river is so clear and calm
11:35
it reflects the sky or maybe has a blue from sediments. If it's Shouta, that would be cloudy
11:41
probably referencing mists coming off the river. One other name related tidbit from the state is
11:46
that actress Winona Ryder is named after the town of Winona. Another water-inspired state name
11:51
Mississippi comes from something like the Ojibwe word Mesipi, or Big River. Fitting
11:57
Missouri is the name of a Siouan-speaking tribe that comes from another tribe's name for them
12:01
Ui Mesurita. Some thought that meant muddy water, while others argued that it meant something closer
12:06
to large canoes, with the M-I-S-S meaning big, like in Mississippi. That's probably not quite
12:12
right either, though. And it probably actually means dugout canoe, or more literally, log canoe
12:18
When Congress was in the process of establishing Montana as its own official territory in 1864
12:23
Ohio Representative James Ashley claimed the name was a Spanish word, meaning mountainous
12:28
A couple weeks later though, Michigan Senator Jacob Howard said the name came from Latin
12:33
Montana is Latin for mountainous. And the closest Spanish word to Montana is montaña
12:38
meaning mountain But it not clear who originally coined the name and which language inspired them All that said Spanish itself comes from Latin so either way Montana has Latin roots
12:49
Nebraska is said to derive from one of two Siouxan names for the Platte River
12:54
the Omaha, Nebraska, or the Oto, Nebraska. Both mean waterflat, a nod to how smoothly parts of the river flow through the region
13:02
Nevada is Spanish for snowy or snow-clad. That might seem like a joke to anyone only familiar with the state's desert expanses
13:09
but Nevada is also home to various mountains, and those mountains are home to snow
13:14
The name was specifically inspired by the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada, which runs
13:18
along Nevada's western border with California. Though that range is mostly confined to California
13:23
a little piece, known as the Carson Range, does dip into the Silver State
13:27
In 1623, Captain John Mason secured a land grant in the New World and sent groups of
13:32
people across the pond to settle it. Mason was from Hampshire, England, so you can probably
13:36
guess where this is going. The region became New Hampshire, but Mason himself never saw it. He died
13:43
in 1635 before ever making the trip. There's a small town in New Hampshire named after him
13:48
but the more notable namesake may be Mason the Moose on the Loose, the mascot for a grade school
13:53
curriculum on New Hampshire history. Mason wears glasses and loves eating birch bark. Naturally
13:58
his favorite book is If You Give a Moose a Muffin. Here's a free idea for a sequel
14:02
if you give an Englishman a land grant. Actually, never mind. Too much death and destruction for a
14:07
kid's book. New Jersey is named after Jersey, one of the Channel Islands. Jersey was the birthplace
14:13
of George Carteret, who also served as the island's lieutenant governor and eventually got the rights
14:18
to half of what's now New Jersey. Historians are split on how Old Jersey got its name. Some say
14:24
it's from Caesarea, the Roman word for the island, or a neighboring one. But it may be Viking in
14:29
origin. A is Old Norse for island, so Jersey could mean something like Geyers Island
14:35
16th century Spanish explorers dubbed the region that includes New Mexico, Nuevo Mexico. That's
14:40
weird because it's probably the only 16th century place that has new attached to an indigenous name
14:46
which references the Valley of Mexico, basically modern Mexico City. There are a few competing
14:51
theories for why. One idea is that the Spanish hoped this new territory would be as rich as the
14:56
land they had recently conquered. Or maybe it's a word that spades and wattle guides
15:00
use that have been translated as new, but could also mean something more like original
15:04
In that case, it would be a reference to the Aztec migration story. Then the Spanish might
15:09
have heard about this story and set out to find new riches
15:13
Brace yourselves. This next fact may come as a shock. New York City and New York State
15:18
were named after the same thing. Okay, what might actually surprise you is that the moniker was only indirectly inspired
15:23
by York, England. When England wrested control of New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664, King
15:29
Charles II gave it to his brother James, Duke of York, the future King James II. In honor
15:34
of the Duke, New Amsterdam became New York, the city. The surrounding area, formerly New
15:39
Netherland, became New York, the state. The Carolinas have multiple Kings Charles in their history. 16th century French settlers
15:47
originally christened the region Caroline after France's King Charles IX. Then when
15:52
When England's King Charles I issued a land grant to the area in 1629, he called it Carolina
15:57
after himself. The plan was to colonize Carolina and put it on hold while England dealt with civil war
16:03
but Charles I's son, King Charles II, succeeded in the task in 1663
16:08
According to some sources, the final iteration of the name, Carolina, is a tribute to Charles
16:12
II, but others suggest that he more or less just kept the title his father had given it
16:17
Carolina was formally split into North and South Carolina in 1712. More than 175 years later, in 1889, the Dakota Territory was formally split into North and
16:27
South Dakota. The reasons why I could fill their own video, so let's just chalk it up to irreconcilable differences
16:33
Neither state really wanted to change its name, in part because people associated Dakota
16:37
with high-quality products, like California raisins or Florida orange juice, as University
16:41
of North Dakota history professor Kimberly Porter told TIME. So they settled on North and South Dakota
16:47
The word itself, borrowed from the Dakota people of the region, means friendly or allied
16:52
Ironic for a divorced couple. Ohio the state was named after the Ohio River, which got its moniker from the Seneca Nation's
16:59
name for it, Ohio, derived from a term meaning good river. And you know what
17:04
It is a good river. It supplies drinking water to roughly 5 million people
17:08
Thanks, Ohio River! Chocta chief Kiliajote, also known as Alan Wright, coined the term Oklahoma in 1866
17:15
It's a fusion of two Choctaw words, okla meaning people, and homa or humma meaning red
17:22
So in literal terms, Oklahoma means red people. But the Choctaw Nation Historic Preservation Department offered up an alternative interpretation
17:30
in a 2023 issue of the Choctaw newspaper Biskinnic. Traditionally, humma was a kind of war title given to Choctaw people who didn't retreat
17:37
In this context, Oklahoma translates to people who do not retreat. Oregon's origin is kind of a mystery
17:44
The earliest known reference to the word is from a 1765 funding proposal written by Robert
17:48
Rogers, an American-born British Army officer, to King George III. Rogers wanted money for an expedition to locate the Northwest Passage, hopefully by following
17:56
a river that Native Americans called Auregon, according to Rogers. But it's not clear where Rogers heard the term or even what river it originally referred to
18:06
One theory is that it comes from the Aliguanquian word Wauregon for the Ohio River
18:11
is that it hails from ooligan, a Chinookwawa term for candlefish that could have gotten
18:15
co-opted for one of their habitats, too. British Columbia's Fraser River. Whatever the case
18:20
Rogers eventually enlisted one Jonathan Carver for the Northwest Passage expedition, and Carver mentioned the Oregon, or River of the West, in his published journals from the trip
18:29
So, Carver gets credit for popularizing Oregon among English speakers, but we're still pretty
18:34
much in the dark about the etymological Oregon Trail before that. But um��
18:38
Oh, and if you want a detailed history of the actual video game Oregon Trail, check out our episode of Throwback, All About It
18:45
You might have assumed that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was named after its founder, William Penn, but it was actually named for his father, also William Penn
18:53
Penn Sr had fronted the king a bunch of money to restore the Navy in the aftermath of England Civil War and Charles repaid it after Penn death by granting his son land in the New World Sylvania comes from the Latin word for woods so Pennsylvania means Penn Woods Rhode Island the state which isn an island plays host to Rhode Island the island which is
19:13
although locals generally call it Aquidneck island. Aquidneck is thought to have come
19:17
from a Narragansett word, meaning on the island. The island was named Rhode Island before the state
19:23
christened by English minister Roger Williams and his cohorts when they established a colony
19:27
there in the 1630s, but where they got the name remains a subject of debate
19:32
One theory points to the explorer Giovanni de Verrazano, who visited the region back in
19:36
1524. While there he noted a small island that was similar in size
19:41
to the Greek island of Rhodes. The other theory involves the namesake of Block Island itself
19:47
Adrien Block, a Dutch explorer who investigated the region in 1614. It's often said that
19:52
Bloch named Block Island or Aquidneck Island Root Island, Dutch for Red Island, after its
19:58
red clay or red cliffs. But what really happened is more convoluted, because we don't have
20:02
any written account from Bloch himself. What we do have is a 1625 breakdown of the region
20:07
by Dutch geographer Johannes de Lotte, who presumably did have access to Bloch's journals
20:13
In it, de Lotte mentions this phrase, meaning a reddish island. Sure, it's possible the
20:18
phrase got anglicized to Rhode Island, but it's also possible that Williams and friends took
20:23
Verrazzano's nod to Rhodes and ran with it. Either way, Block didn't name any part of the region
20:28
Rhode Island, nor did Verrazzano name it Rhode Island. All these Rhodes lead to nowhere
20:34
Tennessee was named after a Cherokee village, Tenasi, though nobody's quite sure what the
20:38
word itself meant. Here's a bonus Tennessee name origin. Playwright Tennessee Williams was born
20:43
Thomas Lanier Williams III. People nicknamed him Tennessee and college because of his strong
20:48
southern accent. He did briefly live there, but he spent most of his early life in Mississippi
20:53
and Missouri. Missouri Williams doesn't sound quite right. The Dakotas aren't the only states
20:59
with a friendly etymology. Texas derives from Teysha, a word used by the Hassanai for friends
21:04
or allies. Spanish settlers Hispanicized it to Tejas, and then English speakers Anglicized it
21:10
to Texas. And now you also know why the Lone Star State's motto is friendship
21:15
Utah is also likely an anglicized Spanish term. Utah, which is what Spanish settlers called the
21:20
Ute people who lived in the Great Basin. It's possible that Utah itself came from an Apache
21:25
word that referred to people living high up, but not everyone agrees with that origin story
21:30
Another theory is that Utah meant meat eaters. Vermont comes from the French for Green Mountain
21:35
though it doesn't seem to have been used by the region's 17th century French settlers. The earliest known reference to Vermont is from a 1777 broadside by Thomas Young
21:44
an American revolutionary who may have coined the term as a nod to the Patriot Militia
21:48
the Green Mountain Boys. It's often pointed out that Vermont is pretty shoddy French
21:53
as the common construction would be Montagne-Verte. But in the naming of things
21:57
there's precedent for both Mont, archaic French for mountain, and for the adjective
22:02
coming before the noun. Think Beaumont and Belmont. There are also plenty of examples
22:07
of their getting shortened to their. I mean, if you're making up a word, why follow spelling and
22:12
grammar rules anyway? England's most famous bachelorette lent her name to the Commonwealth
22:17
of Virginia, Queen Elizabeth I, aka the Virgin Queen. It might seem weird that 16th century
22:23
explorers singled out the virgin of it all instead of going with, like, Elizaland. But Elizabeth
22:28
Singleton was sort of a selling point for her reign. She was presented as a Virgin Mary-esque
22:33
figure who was married to the game. The game being ruling England. The word Virginia also
22:38
offered a convenient metaphor for what colonizers considered virginal lands theirs for the taking
22:43
Look, I said it was a convenient metaphor, not that it was apt or inoffensive. Originally
22:47
the term Virginia covered a hefty chunk of the eastern seaboard, but the border shrank as that
22:52
land got parceled out to various settlers. West Virginia didn't become a thing until the Civil
22:57
War when, after years of feeling ignored, Virginia's western counties opposed Virginia's
23:02
secession from the Union. They decided to form their own state, which was admitted to
23:06
the Union on June 20th, 1863. Other names were considered including Kanawha, after the
23:12
region's Kanawha River, and Allegheny, after the Allegheny River. But many residents still
23:17
strongly identified as Virginians, so legislators just went with West Virginia. Washington, D.C
23:23
traces its history back to the 1790s. The District of Columbia, back then the territory of Columbia
23:29
was named after a popular poetic term for, and female personification of, the United States
23:35
Columbia, who was named after Christopher Columbus. And Washington, the city itself
23:39
was named in honor of then-President George Washington. Fast forward to the 1850s. Out West
23:45
Oregon Territory inhabitants who lived north of the Columbus River broke off and formed their
23:49
own territory, mostly so they'd have better political representation that would cater to
23:53
their specific needs. The proposed name for this new bloc was the Columbia Territory
23:58
after the Columbia River. But Congress said, sorry, no, we already have a territory of Columbia
24:03
that will just confuse everyone. So they named it Washington instead. And nobody has ever confused
24:08
Washington D.C. for Washington State. Ha ha ha. Over the last few centuries, people have put forth
24:14
so many different theories about the origin of the word Wisconsin that it's hard to pin down
24:18
the truth. But here's the version that the Wisconsin Historical Society supports. It comes
24:23
from a word the Miami people used for what's now the Wisconsin River. It meant something like
24:27
this stream meanders through something red, with that something red likely being the red
24:33
sandstone formations located in modern-day Wisconsin Dells. 17th century French missionary Jacques Marquette first wrote the term as mescousin. That eventually got anglicized to Wisconsin
24:43
Probably for the best. There are already too many states that start with M as it is
24:48
The word Wyoming is definitely of Native American origin, though the details are up for debate
24:53
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, it's from this Munsee Delaware word, meaning
24:58
at the big river flat. But it's also been suggested to have come from this Delaware word
25:03
which referred to large plains. Colonists adopted the term Wyoming for Pennsylvania's
25:07
Wyoming Valley during the 18th century, and then a Pennsylvania-born Ohio congressman proposed it
25:12
it for what became Wyoming Territory in the 1860s. Wyoming, the state, has rivers and plains too
25:18
so it's not a total non sequitur. And that covers all 50 states. Thanks for joining us on this road
25:24
trip across the country. Make sure to subscribe to Mental Floss for even more videos just like this
25:28
and I'll see you next time
education