Wyoming State Names

Wyoming Name Etymology and State Nicknames

Rocky Mountains

• Equality State

• Cowboy State

• Big Wyoming

• Park State

Origin of Wyoming State Name

The musical name, "Wyoming," was used by J.M. Ashley of Ohio, who, as early as 1865, introduced a bill to Congress to provide a "temporary government for the territory of Wyoming." It was to be formed from portions of the Dakota, Utah and Idaho territories. The bill was referred to a committee where it rested until 1868. During debate on the bill in the US Senate in 1868, other possible names were suggested, such as Cheyenne, Shoshoni, Arapaho, Sioux, Platte, Big Horn, Yellowstone, Sweetwater and Lincoln. "Wyoming" was already commonly used and remained the popular choice.

The name Wyoming was adopted from two Delaware Indian words, MECHEWEAMI-ING. To the Indians it meant "at the big plains," or "on the great plain," certainly appropriate for Wyoming.

From the Delaware Indian word, meaning "mountains and valleys alternating"; the same as the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania

Legh Freeman, publisher of The Frontier Index in Kearny, Nebraska, claimed that it was he who first suggested Wyoming as the name for this portion of the Dakota Territory. Wyoming comes from the Dakota "mscheweamiing" meaning "at the big flats" or "large plains."

Nicknames

Equality State

Wyoming women were the first in the nation to vote, serve on juries and hold public office.

Cowboy State

Logo depicting cowboy on bucking bronco.

Big Wyoming

Park State

Slogans

Like No Place on Earth

Wyoming Postal Code

WY

Wyoming Resident's Name

Wyomingite