The reflection of American history in the personal names of the states

Alabama
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
Some people think that the word “Alabama” comes from the Choctaw alba (meaning "plants" or "weeds") and amo (meaning "to cut", "to trim", or "to gather").

Alaska
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
The name "Alaska" was introduced in the Russian colonial period. It is the Russian for the word «Alashak» (an Aleut-language idiom, which figuratively refers to the mainland).

Arkansas
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
is a state in the South Central region of the United States, home to more than three million people as of 2018. Its name is from the Osage language, a Dhegiha Siouan language, and referred to their relatives, the Quapaw people. The state's diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the densely forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River and the Arkansas Delta.

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
Connecticut
The word comes from the Indian word "Quinnehtukqut," which means, roughly, "beside the long tidal river."

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
Delaware
The state of Delaware is named after the Delaware River. The Delaware River, in turn, is named after Sir Thomas West, Lord de la Warr

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
Georgia
Georgia is another one named for a King—King George II of Great Britain, of course.

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
Hawaii
Named for Hawaiʻiloa, legendary discoverer of the Hawaiian Islands. According to the legend, Hawaiʻiloa was an expert fisherman and navigator. While out with a crew of men, they accidentally stumbled upon the island of Hawaii which was named in Hawaiʻiloa's honor. Hawaiʻiloa returned to his homeland to bring his family back with him to Hawaii. The legend contains reference to his children: Maui (eldest son), Kauaʻi (son), and Oʻahu (daughter) who settled on the islands that bear their names.

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
Kansas
Named after the Kansas River, which in turn was named after the Kaw or Kansas tribe. The name seems to be connected to the idea of "wind".

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
Louisiana
After King Louis XIV of France. The name Louis came itself from Frankish hluda "heard of, famous“.

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
Maryland
Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, received a charter from Charles I of England for this new colony. But there was a catch: the colony must be named after Charles' wife, Queen Henrietta Mary (she went by Queen Mary)

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
"Snow-covered", after the Sierra Nevada (Spanish for"snow-covered mountains").
Nevada

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
New Hampshire
After the county of Hampshire in England whose name is derived from the original name for its largest city, Southampton, that being Hamtun, which is an Old English word that roughly translates to "Village-Town".

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
New Jersey
New Jersey got its name from an island in the English Channel, named, appropriately, Jersey.

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
New York
It was originally called New Netherland when the Dutch founded it—it was when the British took over in 1664 that it received its current name. But why? To honor King Charles II's brother, the Duke of York and Albany

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
Rhode Island
"Red island", referring to Aquidneck Island. The Modern Dutch form of the phrase is "rood eland".

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
South and North Carolina
"Red island", referring to Aquidneck Island. The Modern Dutch form of the phrase is "rood eland".

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
Tennessee
"Red island", referring to Aquidneck Island. The Modern Dutch form of the phrase is "rood eland".

from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
from a Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearers” or “plant-pickers”
Choctaw word meaning “thicket-clearer” or “plant-pickers”
Washington
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and also known as D.C. or just Washington, is the capital city of the United States. It is located on the Potomac River bordering Maryland and Virginia, with Congress holding its first session there in 1800. The city was named for George Washington, the first president of the United States and a Founding Father and the federal district is named after Columbia.