What Meanings of All 50 State Names

http://www.likecool.com ^ | January 7, 2014 | Ben

[NKP_Vet]

Here is all 50 state names meaning and how the name originated: Alabama: From the Choctaw word albah amo meaning "thicket-clearers" or "plant-cutters." Alaska: From the Aleut word alaxsxaq, from Russian Аляска, meaning "the object toward which the action of the sea is directed." Arizona: From the O'odham (a Uto-Aztecan language) word ali sona-g via Spanish Arizonac meaning "good oaks." Arkansas: From a French pronunciation of an Algonquin name for the Quapaw people: akansa. This word, meaning either "downriver people" or “people of the south wind," comes from the Algonquin prefix -a plus the Siouan word kká:ze for a group of tribes including the Quapaw. California: In his popular novel "Las sergas de Esplandián" published in 1510, writer Garci Ordóñez de Montalvo named an imaginary realm California. Spanish explorers of the New World could have mistaken Baja California as the mythical place. Where Montalvo learned the name and its meaning remain a mystery. Colorado: Named for the Rio Colorado (Colorado River), which in Spanish means "ruddy" or "reddish."

[NKP_Vet]

Both Carolinas were named for King Charles II. The proper form of Charles in Latin is Carolus, and the division into north and south originated in 1710. In latin, Carolus is a strong form of the pronoun "he" and translates in many related languages as a "free or strong" man.

I am Carolus - The Free and Strong

[Jack Hydrazine]

That means most or all of those names are racist and need to be changed!

[Mercat]

Only dispute I would have is that Arkansas is pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable. At least here in Kansas. It’s certainly pronounced that way when speaking of the river.

[Fiji Hill]

Only dispute I would have is that Arkansas is pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable. At least here in Kansas. It’s certainly pronounced that way when speaking of the river.

I understand that beyond the borders of the Bear State, the river is pronounced "Are Kansas."

[Mercat]

Yup

[kabar]

Oklahoma: From a Choctaw word, meaning "red people," which breaks down as okla "nation, people" + homma "red."

Given the kerfuffle over the Redskins name (including the US Trademark office deeming it offensive,) how long will it be until Oklahoma is required to change its name?

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

BFL

[Gay State Conservative]

I know what "Massachusetts" means:

Home of various illegal alien relatives of Osama Obama.

[dirtboy]

I always thought Colorado was Spanish for “Land without Guardrails.”

[okie01]

Oklahoma: From a Choctaw word, meaning "red people," which breaks down as okla "nation, people" + homma "red."

Hmmmmmmmmm. My understanding was that it came the Ponca term: Land of bad water where red man get sick and die.

Of course, the Ponca reservation was just south of Ponca City -- located on the Salt Fork of the Arkansas.

[blueunicorn6]

Massachusetts was named after some Indians? It will have to be renamed. What’s the Algonquin word for “arrogant jackass”? Ahhhh.....here it is in the translator. “Arrogant jackass” is “lizzywarren”. Well, that’s already taken.

[Dilbert San Diego]

And then just wait till the ACLU types get involved, with separation of church and state. Many places, such as St. Paul, St. Louis, San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, etc. will have to change their names.

[GreyFriar]

Note Ponca city ping for post 10

[LachlanMinnesota]

This is wrong. Minnesota means land of many socialists, unable to drown in 10,000 lakes.

[Shery]

In Arkansas, it is placed on the first syllable.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Montana is the snowiest staye, and Nevada the most mountainous.

Yet montana means mountainous and Nevada means snowy.

[zot]

Thanks for the Ponca City ping. The Ponca tribe still lives there, but the Osage tribe has all the oil wells.

[discostu]

We’re Americans honey, our names don’t mean $%^&.

[Mercat]

Yah... but that’s Arkansas.

[okie01]

Only dispute I would have is that Arkansas is pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable. At least here in Kansas. It’s certainly pronounced that way when speaking of the river.

I understand that beyond the borders of the Bear State, the river is pronounced "Are Kansas."

The river is the proof.

Above Tulsa, OK, the river is pronounced "Are Kansas". Below Tulsa, it is "Are-Kan-Saw".

The dividing line is roughly the 51st Street Bridge...