Map of the United States showing the state nicknames as hogs. Lithograph by Mackwitz, St. Louis, 1884.

The following is a table of U.S. state, federal district and territory nicknames, including officially adopted nicknames and other traditional nicknames for the 50 U.S. states, the U.S. federal district, as well as five U.S. territories.

State, federal district, and territory nicknames

Official state, federal district, and territory nicknames are highlighted in bold. A state nickname is not to be confused with an official state motto.

State,
federal district,
or territory
Nickname(s)
 Alabama[1][lower-alpha 1]
 Alaska
 American Samoa
  • Motu o Fiafiaga (a Samoan phrase; in English, it is "Islands of Paradise")[9] (used on American Samoa license plates)[10]
  • Football Island[s][11]
  • Moana
 Arizona
 Arkansas
 California
 Colorado
 Connecticut
 Delaware
  • Chemical Capital of the World[30] (due to one time being the corporate headquarters for several international chemical companies.)
  • Corporate Capital (due to the state's business-friendly incorporation laws)[30]
  • Diamond State (Thomas Jefferson is supposed to have referred to Delaware as being like a diamond small in size but great in value)[31]
  • Blue Hen State or Blue Hen Chicken State[32]
  • The First State[30][33] (Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution; used on license plates)
  • Peach State[30] (no longer used; see Georgia)
  • Small Wonder[30]
  • The super duper old state
 District of Columbia[lower-alpha 1]
  • Nation's Capital[34]
  • DMV (nickname for the broader metropolitan area of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia)[34]
  • Inside the Beltway
  • Chocolate City[35]
  • A hive of scum and villainy
 Florida
 Georgia
  • Peach State[38] (used on license plates)
  • Cracker State — Along with Florida, Georgia had been called "The Cracker State" in earlier times, perhaps a derogatory term that referred to immigrants, called "crackers", from the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina.[39] See also Atlanta Crackers: Origin of the name
  • Empire State of the South — Georgia is the largest Southern state in land area east of the Mississippi and was the leading industrial state of the Old South.[40]
  • Goober State — Refers to peanuts, the official state crop.[41]
  • State of Adventure
  • The 28-3 state
 Guam
  • Tano y Chamorro (Land of the Chamorro)[42] (used on Guam license plates)[43][44]
  • Hub of the Pacific[42]
  • Gateway to Micronesia[42]
  • The state with the worst RDR2 chapter of all time
 Hawaii
 Idaho
 Illinois[53]
 Indiana
  • Hoosier State (Used at various times on license plates)[55]
    (Hoosier is also the official demonym of a resident of Indiana)
  • Crossroads of America (Also used at various times on license plates and used on highway welcome signs)
 Iowa
 Kansas
 Kentucky
 Louisiana
 Maine
 Maryland
 Massachusetts
 Michigan
 Minnesota
 Mississippi
 Missouri
 Montana
 Nebraska
 Nevada
 New Hampshire
 New Jersey
 New Mexico
  • Land of Enchantment[78] (used on license plates)
  • Land of Sunshine (predates "Land of Enchantment"; this earlier nickname highlighted the large percentage of sunshine received statewide)[79]
 New York
 North Carolina
 North Dakota
 Northern Mariana Islands[lower-alpha 1]
 Ohio
 Oklahoma
 Oregon
 Pennsylvania
 Puerto Rico
  • Isla del Encanto ("Island of Enchantment") (used on license plates)
  • Borinquen (name given by indigenous people, the Tainos)[92]
 Rhode Island
 South Carolina
 South Dakota
 Tennessee
 Texas
 U.S. Virgin Islands[lower-alpha 1]
 Utah
 Vermont
 Virginia
 Washington[lower-alpha 1]
 West Virginia
 Wisconsin[107][lower-alpha 1]
 Wyoming
  • Cowboy State
  • Equality State
  • Forever West (on highway welcome signs)

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 No official nickname.
  2. Though this phrase is used on license plates, it is unclear if it is the official nickname of the Northern Mariana Islands.

References

  1. "Emblems Index". State of Alabama. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  2. 1 2 Group, Sinclair Broadcast (July 18, 2014). "Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama: New signs going up on interstate highways". WBMA. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
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  4. 1 2 3 "Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors". Alabama Department of Archives & History. April 20, 2006. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2007. Alabama does not have an official nickname.
  5. "Heart of Dixie". Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors. Alabama Department of Archives & History. June 29, 2004. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2007.
  6. "Nicknames: America's 50 States (First of Four Parts)". Voice of America. VOA Special English program. January 6, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
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  8. Alaska Division of Economic Development (December 21, 2010). "Alaska Division of Economic Development". Alaska Division of Economic Development. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  9. Terrell, Connie (September 30, 2016). "Honor, Respect, Devotion to Duty: Coast Guard Auxiliarists Mike and Paula McDonald.". U.S. Coast Guard. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
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  30. 1 2 3 4 5 Introduction to Delaware, 50 States, retrieved April 24, 2009.
  31. "Jewel among the states (Quotation)". Monticello.ORG. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Barry Popik, Smoky City, barrypopik.com website, March 27, 2005
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  34. 1 2 Farhi, Paul. (July 30, 2010). After initial obscurity, 'The DMV' nickname for Washington area picks up speed. Washington Post. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
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  41. "Land & Resources: Peanuts". The New Georgia Encyclopedia. University of Georgia Press. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2008.
  42. 1 2 3 https://www.visittheusa.com/state/guam Guam (Visittheusa.com). Retrieved November 24, 2017.
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  44. http://www.andersen.af.mil/News/Articles/Article/754311/driven-by-island-heritage-guam-native-serves-country-community-family/ Driven by island heritage, Guam native serves country, community, family. Arielle Vasquez. May 8, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  45. "Hawaii Revised Statutes § 5-7". Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
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  48. 808 State Frequently Asked Questions: Where did 808 State get their name from? Archived August 18, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, 808 State Official Website.
  49. 808 State Update, Talk Radio Hawaii
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  51. 1 2 Introduction to Idaho, 50 States.
  52. "SuperPages: Idaho History". Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
  53. "Illinois". Illinois State Symbols & Emblems. Retrieved April 29, 2007.
  54. 1 2 3 4 Introduction to Illinois, 50 States, retrieved April 24, 2009.
  55. The unofficial sobriquet of the State of Indiana has given rise to the humorous constructions Hoosierana (the land of Hoosiers; see uses in Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame Archived September 12, 2005, at the Wayback Machine and by sports journalist Frank DeFord) and Hoosierstan (the place of Hoosiers).
  56. 1 2 3 4 Introduction to Kentucky, 50 States.
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  71. In Montana, a Popular Expression Is Taken Off the Endangered List New York Times, August 17, 2008; Retrieved February 28, 2011
  72. 1 2 3 4 5 Nancy Capace, Encyclopedia of Nebraska. Somerset Publishers, Inc., January 1, 1999, p2-3
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  75. 1 2 3 4 "New Hampshire Almanac >Fast New Hampshire Facts". State of New Hampshire official website. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
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  90. Writer John Francon Williams included a mention of Oregon as being the ‘Beaver State’ in 1892 in his book:The Advanced Class-Book of Modern Geography: Physical, Political, Commercial, by William Hughes and John Francon Williams, publ., London, George Philip & Son (1892) page 629: ‘OREGON, the ‘Beaver State,’ extends north of California to the Columbia River, which divides it from Washington.’
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  92. Elsa María Calderón. "98.03.04: The Taínos of Puerto Rico: Rediscovering Borinquen". Yale.edu. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  93. 1 2 "Archives". Los Angeles Times. May 15, 1986.
  94. "Iodine". South Carolina Encyclopedia. April 14, 2007. Archived from the original on May 19, 2006. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
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  104. "Old Dominion – Encyclopedia Virginia".
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  106. Johnston, Ross B. (1926). West Virginia "the Switzerland of America" : a brief guide for tourists to some of its many scenic and historic places. Charleston, W. Va.: West Virginia Dept. of Agriculture. OCLC 9814800.
  107. 1 2 "Wisconsin State Symbols Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine" in Wisconsin Blue Book 2005-2006, p. 966. Wisconsin has no Official nickname.
  108. Dornfeld, Margaret; Hantula, Richard (2010). Wisconsin: It's my state!. Marshall Cavendish. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-60870-062-2.
  109. Urdang, Laurence (1988). Names and Nicknames of Places and Things. Penguin Group USA. p. 8. ISBN 9780452009073. "America's Dairyland" A nickname of Wisconsin
  110. Kane, Joseph Nathan; Alexander, Gerard L. (1979). Nicknames and sobriquets of U.S. cities, States, and counties. Scarecrow Press. p. 412. ISBN 9780810812550. Wisconsin - America's Dairyland, The Badger State ... The Copper State ...
  111. Herman, Jennifer L. (2008). Wisconsin Encyclopedia, American Guide. North American Book Dist LLC. p. 10. ISBN 9781878592613. Nicknames Wisconsin is generally known as The Badger State, The Dairy State, or America's Dairyland, although in the past it has been nicknamed The Copper State.
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