US Official State Names

Nicknames and Resident's Name

Access profiles of each of the 50 US states official State Names. Includes details on the origin of the state name. Access the meaning of the state's names, nicknames, and residents names, as well as postal codes.

Quick Facts on State Names

• Georgia can refer to either a US state or to an independent country in the Caucasus.
• New York can refer to any one of three geographical levels: a state, a city in that state, or a county.
• Hawaii can refer to as the State of Hawaii, or the Island of Hawaii.
• Washington is a state, a city corresponding to the District of Columbia (and thus not part of any state), and a number of cities and counties in various states.
• The state of Washington is the only state named after a US President.
• The official name of Rhode Island is "the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations."
• In many jurisdictions outside of the United States, the capital city shares part or all of its name with the larger political unit of which it is the capital. However, only two US states have state capitals named for the state: Oklahoma, with its capital Oklahoma City, and Indiana, with its capital Indianapolis (polis meaning "city" in Greek). Iowa City was the first state capital of Iowa, but the capital was later moved to Des Moines.
• Maine is the only state with a monosyllabic name. California, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina each have 5 syllables.
• Q is the only letter not to appear in the name of a state. J and Z each appear in the name of exactly one state (respectively, New Jersey and Arizona).
• Two state names can be typed with one hand on a QWERTY keyboard Texas (left) and Ohio (right).
• Arkansas is the only state in which the pronunciation of the name is specified by law.
• South Dakota is the only state in which the names of the state and the capital do not share any letters. (The capital is Pierre).
• Four states have the same initial letter as their capital: Delaware (Dover), Hawaii (Honolulu), Indiana (Indianapolis) and Oklahoma (Oklahoma City).
• Four state capitals are named after presidents: Jackson, Mississippi (Andrew Jackson); Jefferson City, Missouri (Thomas Jefferson); Madison, Wisconsin (James Madison); and Lincoln, Nebraska (Abraham Lincoln). In addition, the capital of the United States (Washington, DC) was named after George Washington. (One other country has a capital names after a US President, Liberia, whose capital is Monrovia, after James Monroe.)