Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ALBUQUERQUE (Settlement) English (American)Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest city, sits in the high desert. Its modern Downtown core contrasts with Old Town Albuquerque, dating to the city’s 1706 founding as a Spanish colony.
ANN ARBOR (Settlement) English (American)The name of a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, the county seat of Washtenaw County located in the south of the state....
[more] ARIZONA (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, originally as the name of a breakaway Confederate region of southern New Mexico, organized roughly along modern lines as a U.S. territory in 1863. From Spanish
Arizonac, probably from a local name among the O'odham (Piman) people meaning "having a little spring"...
[more] ARKANSAS (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, from the French pronunciation of the Quapaw people who lived on the Arkansas River.
COLORADO (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, named after the Colorado river, from Spanish
colo + "colored"
rado "reddish", "ruddy".
CONNECTICUT (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, from the name of the Connecticut river, from Algonquian
quinnitukqut "at the long tidal river," from
kwen "long" +
ehtekw "tidal river" +
enk "place".
DETROIT (Political Subdivision) English (American)From the French word, meaning “strait.” The full name of the city’s phrase is “le détroit du Lac Érie,” meaning “the strait of Lake Erie.”
HAWAII (Island) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, of uncertain origin. Theories from Proto-Polynesian
hawaiki which possibly means place of the gods" or from Proto-Polynesian
sawaiki "homeland", or possibly named for Hawaiʻiloa, legendary discoverer of the Hawaiian islands.
IDAHO (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, of uncertain origin, possibly from Shoshone term
ee-da-how, meaning "gem of the mountains" or "the sun comes from the mountains".
ILLINOIS (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, from the modern French spelling of the Algonquian people who called themselves
Inoca or
Ilinouek.
IOWA (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, possibly from Dakota
ayuxba "sleepy ones".
KANSAS (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, named after Kanas river, from French variant of
Kansa, native name of the Siouan people who lived there.
KENTUCKY (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, originally the name of a river, which possibly derived from the Iroquoian word
wyandot, meaning
meadow.
MAINE (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, possibly from French
Maine, a region in France (named for the river that runs through it, which has a name of Gaulish origin).
MARYLAND (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, named after Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England.
MASSACHUSETTS (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, named for the Algonquian native people who lived around the bay, from Algonquian
massachusett "at the large hill," in reference to Great Blue Hill, southwest of Boston.
MICHIGAN (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, originally applied to Lake Michigan, perhaps from Old Ojibwa (Algonquian)
meshi-gami "big lake".
MINNESOTA (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, originally the name of a river, from Dakota (Siouan)
mnisota, literally "cloudy water", "milky water", from
mni "river, stream" +
sota "slightly clouded".
MISSISSIPPI (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, originally the name of a river, from Ojibwe misi-ziibi "Great river".
NEBRASKA (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, from Otoe
Ñí Brásge meaning "flat water".
NEVADA (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, from Spanish
Sierra Nevada "snow-covered mountains".
NORTH DAKOTA (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, also the name of indigenous people of the Great Plains, from the Dakota word
dakhóta "friend".
OHIO (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, originally used of the river, from Seneca
ohi:yo "good river".
OKLAHOMA (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, from Choctaw
okla "people" "tribe" "nation" +
homma "red".
OREGON (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, from the name of a large river in the west of North America, possibly from Algonquin
wauregan "beautiful".
REEDLEY (Settlement) English (American)A city in Fresno County, California. Named for Thomas Law Reed, a veteran of the Union Army in the Civil War who donated most of his land to the city.
SOUTH DAKOTA (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, also the name of indigenous people of the Great Plains, from the Dakota word
dakhóta "friend".
TENNESSEE (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, from Cherokee
tanasi, the name of a Cherokee village. The meaning is unknown.
TEXAS (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, from Spanish
Texas,
Tejas, originally an ethnic name, from Caddo
taysha "friends, allies" written as a plural.
UTAH (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, from Spanish
yuta, name of the indigenous Uto-Aztecan people of the Great Basin perhaps from Western Apache (Athabaskan)
yudah "high" (in reference to living in the mountains).
VERMONT (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, literally "green mountain" from French
verde "green" +
mont "mountain".
VIRGINIA (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, "country of the Virgin", after Elizabeth I of England, who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married.
WISCONSIN (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, from French
Ouisconsin, likely from the Miami word
Meskonsing "it lies red".
WYOMING (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, from Algonquian
chwewamink "at the big river flat," from
xw "big" +
e:wam "river flat" +
enk "place".