Why Alaska Is Called Alaska: From Aleut "Alaxsxaq" to American State

Etymology

Alaska derives from the Aleut (Unangan) word Alaxsxaq (also Alaxsix̂), meaning "great land," "mainland," or "object toward which the sea breaks."

Historical Journey

1. 1730s–40s: Russian explorers (Bering, Chirikov, Gvozdev) hear the term from Aleut hunters in the Aleutian Islands and Alaska Peninsula.
2. 1741: "Alaska" appears on Russian charts for the peninsula.
3. 1799: Russian-American Company chartered; "Russian America" administered from Novo-Arkhangelsk (Sitka).
4. 1867: U.S. purchases territory for $7.2M; Senator Charles Sumner popularises "Alaska" over "Russian America" during treaty debates.
5. 1959: Admitted as 49th state; name unchanged.

Aleut Legacy

The Unangan people inhabited the archipelago for 8,000+ years before contact. Their word named a continent-scale territory—one of the few U.S. state names from an Indigenous language still spoken today.