If you are visiting the United State, sometimes you may wonder how the states got their names.
Some of the most interesting names came from the American Indian languages. For example, Illinois was named for the Indians who used to live in that part of the country. In their language, Illinois means “brave men”. Connecticut, the name of another state, means “at the long river mouth” in the language of the Indians who used to live there.
Twenty-five of the states have Indian names, but other names were taken from different languages. Georgia and Pennsylvania are the names of two states, and they were taken from the Latin language. Florida and Colorado were named by Spanish people, and states like New Hampshire and New Jersey were named for places in England.
The two newest states have names which did not come from any of those languages. Hawaii got its name from a word in the Hawaiian language which means Homeland. Alaska was named by the Russians from whom Alaska was bought in 1867.
