Every State With a Native American Name

Alabama was named after the Albaamaha tribe, who were part of the Creek Confederacy. The word appears to be a combination of two Choctaw words, alba (“plants”) and amo (“to cut or gather”), and it’s theorized that the Choctaws described their neighbors — who were known to practice agriculture — as albaamo (“plant gatherers”) and the name stuck.

Natives of the Aleutian Islands, the Unangan, called the landmass to their east alaxsxaq, which means “place the sea crashes against.”

Although theories exist attributing the state’s name to a Basque word, another prevailing theory attributes the name to a Spanish corruption of the Tohono O’odham word alishonag, which means “having a little spring.”

Acansa was a Quapaw town in what is now Arkansas. The word means “southern place,” but it also became the name that settlers in the area used to refer to the Quapaw.

Connecticut comes from the Mohegan name for the Connecticut River, quinnitukqut, which means “beside the long tidal river.”

Numerous stories add mystery to the name “Idaho,” but a plausible origin is in the Apache word idaahe (“enemy”), which the Kiowas called the Comanches as they moved into Colorado.

The Illini tribe called themselves “illiniwek,” which translates to “best people.”

Iowa is named after the Ioway tribe, who is native to the area. Ioway is an alternate spelling of ayuhwa, which means “sleepy ones.” Modern Ioway call themselves Baxoje, meaning “ashy heads,” and attribute the term ayuhwa to the Dakota Sioux, who called the Baxoje sleepy as a joke.

Kansas is named after the Kansa tribe, who may have called themselves “people of the south wind.” Kansa is a shortened version literally meaning “south.”

Kentake is an Iroquois word meaning “meadow land.” Some other Iroquois words that the state may have gotten its name from (no consensus exists) translate to “land of tomorrow” and “river of blood.”

Massachusetts is named after the Massachusett tribe. Their name is a Wampanoag word that translates to “by the range of hills” and refers to the Blue Hills outside of Boston.

Michigan comes from the Ojibwe name for Lake Michigan, misshikama, which translates to “great lake.”

Minnesota is derived from the Dakota Sioux name for the Minnesota River, mnisota, which means “cloudy water.”

Named after the Mississippi River, Mississippi is a derivation of the Ojibwe name for the river, misiziibi, which means “great river.” The Ojibwe weren’t native to what is now Mississippi but rather to the area around the river’s headwaters in what is now Minnesota.

Missouri is named after the Missouri people, a southern Siouan tribe. Their name is derived from the Algonquin word ouemessourita, which means “wooden canoe people.”

Nebraska is derived from the archaic Otoe word ñí brásge (“flat water”), which refers to the Platte River.

This state is named after Mexico, a derivation of the Nahuatl word mexihco, whose origins may translate to “place where the god of war lives” or “place at the center of the moon.”

North Dakota is named after the Dakota Sioux. Dakota translates to “the allies.”

The Seneca word for the Ohio River, ohiyo, translates to “it is beautiful.”

A combination of the two Choctaw words ukla (“person”) and humá (“red”), the name was originally used by Choctaw Nation chief Allen Wright to refer to the “red nation” during treaty negotiations.

South Dakota is named after the Dakota Sioux. Dakota translates to “the allies.”

Tennessee is derived from the Cherokee word tanasi, which was a town in the area. Although the word tanasi has no direct Cherokee meaning, it may have been shortened from a longer word or named after a Cherokee person of unknown identity.

Texas is derived from the Caddo word taysha, which means “friends” or “allies.”

Utah is a derivation of Ute, a tribe native to the area. The Ute tribal name may have come from the Apache word yudah, meaning “they who are higher up.” The Utes refer to themselves as Noochee, meaning “the people.”

The Algonquin name for the Wisconsin River is meskousing, which may have been adapted from the Miami word meskonsing, meaning “it lies red,” referring to the red sandstone along the river around Wisconsin Dells. The name was corrupted over the years into its current form, Wisconsin.

Wyoming comes from the Lenape word mecheweami-ing, which means “on the big plains.” But the Lenape lived in Pennsylvania and used the term to refer to their home valley. It seems white settlers appropriated the name when they came west.