| This page provides state information (name origins
and nicknames) for the states listed alphabetically from Maine to North Dakota. Please use
the alphabetical list of each state's names below to find your state. |
Go to States A - L
Go to States O - W
M
MAINE - (ME)
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Residents
are called: |
Mainers (also
Maineiacs - a word for those who visit Maine, fall in love with it, and decide to stay) |
Name origin(s): |
Most likely means 'the
main' - the mainland in comparison to the islands nearby. |
State Nickname(s): |
The Pine Tree State |
MARYLAND - (MD)
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Residents
are called: |
Marylanders |
Name origin(s): |
Named for Henrietta
Maria, queen of Charles I of England. |
State Nickname(s): |
Old Line State
Free State |
About the nickname: |
(Old Line) I have
found 2 possible stories:
1) this name comes from the Colonial Days when Maryland refused to alter its boundaries to
please Lord Baltimore and William Penn.
2) The name was given by George Washington in association with its regular line troops,
the Maryland Line, who served in may Revolutionary War battles. |
MASSACHUSETTS - (MA)
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Residents
are called: |
Bay Staters |
Name origin(s): |
Algonquin words
meaning "great mountain place" |
State Nickname(s): |
The Bay State
The Old Colony State |
MICHIGAN - (MI)
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Residents
are called: |
Michiganian,
Michigander, Michiganite |
Name origin(s): |
Algonquin words
meaning "great water" |
State Nickname(s): |
Great Lakes State
The Wolverine State |
MINNESOTA - (MN)
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Residents
are called: |
Minnesotan |
Name origin(s): |
Dakotah word for
"sky-blue water"
or Siouan word for "water-cloudy" |
State Nickname(s): |
North Star State
Gopher State
Bread and Butter State |
MISSISSIPPI - (MS)
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Residents
are called: |
Mississippians |
Name origin(s): |
Algonquin for
"father of waters"
or possibly based upon Chippewa Indian words meaning "big river" |
State Nickname(s): |
Magnolia State
Bayou State |
MISSOURI - (MO)
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Residents
are called: |
Missourians |
Name origin(s): |
From a Missouri Indian
tribe, the name could mean "place of the large canoes" or "big and
muddy" |
State Nickname(s): |
The Show Me State |
MONTANA - (MT)
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Residents
are called: |
Montanans |
Name origin(s): |
Spanish word meaning
"mountainous" |
State Nickname(s): |
The Treasure State
The Mountain State |
N
NEBRASKA - (NE)
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Residents
are called: |
Nebraskans (sometimes:
Cornhusker) |
Name origin(s): |
Oto or Omaha for
"flat water" |
State Nickname(s): |
The Cornhusker State |
NEVADA - (NV)
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Residents
are called: |
Nevadans |
Name origin(s): |
Spanish for
"snow-capped" |
State Nickname(s): |
The Silver State
The Sagebrush State
The Battle Born State |
NEW HAMPSHIRE - (NH)
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Residents
are called: |
New Hampshirites
(sometimes: New Hampshiremen/women) |
Name origin(s): |
Named for the English
country of Hampshire |
State Nickname(s): |
The Granite State |
NEW JERSEY - (NJ)
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Residents
are called: |
New Jerseyite, New
Jerseyan |
Name origin(s): |
Named for the Channel
Isle of Jersey |
State Nickname(s): |
Garden State |
About the nickname: |
The principal speaker
on "Jersey Day" (in 1876) was Hon. Abraham Browning, of Camden. ... In his
address Mr. Browning compared New Jersey to an immense barrel, filled with good things to
eat and open at both ends, with Pennsylvanians grabbing from one end and New Yorkers from
the other. He called New Jersey the Garden State, and the name has clung to it ever since.
(From: Heston, Alfred M.
"Jersey Waggon Jaunts" Camden, Atlantic County (N.J.) Historical Society, 1926
Vol. 2, p. 310)
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NEW MEXICO - (NM)
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Residents
are called: |
New Mexicans |
Name origin(s): |
From the country of
Mexico |
State Nickname(s): |
The Land of
Enchantment |
NEW YORK - (NY)
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Residents
are called: |
New Yorkers |
Name origin(s): |
For the English Duke
of York |
State Nickname(s): |
The Empire State
The Excelsior State |
NORTH CAROLINA - (NC)
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Residents
are called: |
North Carolinians |
Name origin(s): |
Named to honor
England's King Charles I
(In Latin, Charles = Carolus) |
State Nickname(s): |
The Tar Heel State
Old North State |
About the nickname: |
(Tar Heel) The origin
of this nickname goes back to the Civil War. A letter written in August of 1864 described
a battle scene outside of Petersburg. Some of the North Carolina troops were involved in
the fight and were holding their ground against superior odds. As a result of watching
their resolve, General Robert E. Lee was heard to say "There they stand as if they
have tar on their heels." |
NORTH DAKOTA - (ND)
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Residents
are called: |
North Dakotans |
Name origin(s): |
From the name of the
Dakotah tribe.
It's a Sioux Indian word meaning "allies/friends" |
State Nickname(s): |
The Sioux State
The Flickertail State
The Peace Garden State |
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