States A-L | States M and N | States O-W 

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This page provides state information (name origins and nicknames) for the states listed alphabetically from Ohio to Wyoming. Please use the alphabetical list of each state's names below to find your state.
 

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O

OHIO - (OH)
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Residents are called: Ohioans (sometimes: Buckeyes)

Name origin(s):

 Iroquoian for "great river"

State Nickname(s):

 Buckeye State
Yellowhammer State


OKLAHOMA - (OK)
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Residents are called: Oklahomans (not popular: Oklahomians, Sooners)

Name origin(s):

 Choctaw words for "red people"

State Nickname(s):

 The Sooner State

About the nickname:

 Th origin of this nickname comes from the settlers who "jumped the gun" when the Indian Territory was opened to white settlement in 1889. They snuck in before the official opening date and were labeled 'sooners.'


OREGON - (OR)
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Residents are called: Oregonians

Name origin(s):

 Origin unknown.
Could possibly have come from a misprint on a French map in the 1700's.

State Nickname(s):

 The Beaver State

P

PENNSYLVANIA - (PA)
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Residents are called: Pennsylvanians

Name origin(s):

 Named for its founder, William Penn.
Means "Penn's Woods"

State Nickname(s):

 Keystone State

About the Nickname:

 At the time when the nation consisted of only 13 states, there was a popular woodcut which depicted the nation as an arch with Pennsylvania as the keystone.

R

RHODE ISLAND - (RI)
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Residents are called: Rhode Islanders

Name origin(s):

 From the Greek Island, Rhodes.

State Nickname(s):

 Little Rhody
The Ocean State

S

SOUTH CAROLINA - (SC)
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Residents are called: South Carolinians

Name origin(s):

 Named to honor England's King Charles I
(In Latin, Charles = Carolus)

State Nickname(s):

 The Palmetto State

SOUTH DAKOTA - (SD)
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Residents are called: South Dakotans

Name origin(s):

 From the name of the Dakotah tribe.
It's a Sioux Indian word meaning "allies/friends"

State Nickname(s):

 The Coyote State

T

TENNESSEE - (TN)
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Residents are called: Tennesseans (less popular: Tennesseeans)

Name origin(s):

 Named after Cherokee villages - Tanasi. Meaning unknown.

State Nickname(s):

 The Volunteer State
The Big Bend State

About the nickname:

 The phrase"Volunteer State" comes from the 30,000 Tennesseans who volunteered to fight in the Mexican War in 1846-47, when only 3000 had been sought.



TEXAS - (TX)
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Residents are called: Texans

Name origin(s):

 Native American word, teyas, meaning "friends"

State Nickname(s):

 Lone Star State

U

UTAH - (UT)
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Residents are called: Utahns

Name origin(s):

 Named for the Ute tribe, said to mean "people of the mountains"

State Nickname(s):

 The Beehive State
The Morman State

V

VERMONT - (VT)
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Residents are called: Vermonters

Name origin(s):

 French words: vert mont - means 'green mountain'

State Nickname(s):

 The Green Mountain State



VIRGINIA - (VA)
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Residents are called: Virginians

Name origin(s):

 The name honors Elizabeth I, called the Virgin Queen

State Nickname(s):

 Old Dominion
The Mother of Presidents

W

WASHINGTON - (WA)
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Residents are called: Washingtonians

Name origin(s):

 Honors 1st President: George Washington

State Nickname(s):

 The Evergreen State
The Chinook State



WEST VIRGINIA - (WV)
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Residents are called: West Virginians

Name origin(s):

 Honors Elizabeth I, known as the Virgin Queen

State Nickname(s):

 The Mountain State



WISCONSIN - (WI)
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Residents are called: Wisconsinite

Name origin(s):

 Possibly from the word Cheppewa Indian
word - Ouisconsin - meaning "grassy place"

State Nickname(s):

 The Badger State



WYOMING - (WY)
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Residents are called: Wyomingite

Name origin(s):

 Based upon the Algonquin or Delaware Indian word meaning "large prairie place"

State Nickname(s):

 Equality State
Cowboy State