Massachusetts State Names

Massachusetts Nicknames and Resident's Name

Northeast

• Bay State

• Old Colony

• Old Bay State

• Pilgrim State

• Puritan State

• Baked Bean State

• The Spirit of America

Bay State

Massachusetts Bay.

Old Colony

Plymouth colony.

Old Bay State

Massachusetts Bay.

Pilgrim State

First colonists.

Puritan State

First colonists.

Baked Bean State

Puritan practice of serving baked beans on Sunday.

The Spirit of America

License plates

Origin of Massachusetts State Name

Massachusetts takes its name from the Massachusetts tribe of Native Americans, who lived in the Great Blue Hill region, south of Boston. The Indian term supposedly means "at or about the Great Hill," an apparent reference to the tallest of the Blue Hills, a recreation area south
of the town of Milton.

There are, however, a number of interpretations of the exact meaning of the word. The Jesuit missionary Father Rasles thought that it came from the word Messatossec, "Great-Hills-Mouth": "mess" (mass) meaning "great"; "atsco" (as chu or wad chu) meaning "hill"; and sec (sac or saco) meaning "mouth". The Reverend John Cotton used another variation: "mos" and "wetuset", meaning "Indian arrowhead", descriptive of the Native Americans hill home. Another explanation is that the word comes from "massa" meaning "great" and "wachusett", "mountain-place"

Massachusetts Postal Code

MA

Massachusetts Resident's Name

Bay Staters