U.S. States Named After Native American Tribes or Languages

Over half of U.S. state names derive from Indigenous languages. Here's a categorized list:

Directly From Tribal Names

• Alabama – Alabama (Alibamu) tribe
• Alaska – Aleut "Alyeska" (great land)
• Arizona – O'odham "Ali ṣonak" (small spring) or Basque "aritz ona" (good oak) – debated
• Arkansas – Quapaw "Akansa" (downstream people) via French
• Connecticut – Mohegan "Quinnitukqut" (long tidal river)
• Dakota (North/South) – Dakota (Lakota) people ("allies")
• Illinois – Illinois Confederation "Inoka" (men/people)
• Iowa – Ioway (Baxoje) tribe
• Kansas – Kansa (Kaw) tribe
• Kentucky – Iroquoian "Ken-tah-ten" (meadow/land of tomorrow)
• Massachusetts – Massachusett tribe ("at the great hill")
• Michigan – Ojibwe "Mishigami" (great water/lake)
• Minnesota – Dakota "Mni Sota" (cloudy/milky water)
• Mississippi – Ojibwe "Misi-ziibi" (great river)
• Missouri – Missouria tribe ("dugout canoe people")
• Nebraska – Otoe "Ní Brásge" (flat water = Platte River)
• Ohio – Iroquoian "Ohiyo" (great river)
• Oklahoma – Choctaw "Okla Humma" (red people)
• Oregon – Uncertain; possibly Algonquian "Wauregan" (beautiful) or Spanish "orégano"
• Tennessee – Cherokee "Tanasi" (village name)
• Texas – Caddo "Tejas" (friends/allies)
• Utah – Ute tribe ("people of the mountains")
• Wisconsin – Miami "Meskonsing" (river running through red place)
• Wyoming – Lenape "Maughwauwama" (large plains) via Pennsylvania valley name

From Tribal/Geographic Terms (Not Direct Tribe Names)

• Delaware – Named for Thomas West, Lord De La Warr (English); but Lenape called "Delaware" by Europeans.
• Georgia – Named for King George II (not Creek tribe).
• Idaho – Invented word ("Gem of the Mountains"); not Shoshone.
• Maryland – Named for Queen Henrietta Maria.
• New Mexico – Named for Mexico (Aztec "Mexihco").

Note: Etymologies sometimes debated; this reflects scholarly consensus.