The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1894-04-14
NAMES OF STATES
Asout Half Ars indebted to the Ian guas
of tho Indians.

NAMES OF STATES
About Half Ars indebted to the Ian guags
of tho 1ndinns.
OF the forty-four states OF our union
twenty-one are named wholly or in
part from Indian languages Some Of
these titlcs nre descriptive, others ex-
press sentiment or fancy, and oc-
casionally the 'pale faces" have bor-
rowed the name of an Indian tribe.
The states which are indebted to these
sources for their designations are: Ala
bama, which is a combination OF words
signifying Here We rest" Connecti-
cut Is from "quah-nn-ta-cut," or
"quinni-tuii-cut," meaning ION the
long river" Illinois is formed in part
OF the Indian word "Illini." meaning
superior men," the termination being
French. Indiana is slight variation
OF the term "Indian." Iowa Is sup
posed to be pure Indian word, trans
lated by some authorities as 1.-The bean
tiful land" and by others rs "the
sleepy ones" Kansas, said to mean
'smoky water" is the designation of q
tribe which descended from the Osagss
through the Dakotas. Arkansas is the
same with the French prefix arc, "a
bow" Kentucky was originally Kan
tuck-kee," which is interpreted by
some authorities as meaning 1.-The dark
and bloody ground" while others say
the state Is named from IL phrase signi-
flying lat the head of river" Mas
sachusetts was the name of a sub-tribe
Of the Algenquins, and the term
also means about the great hills"
The Dakota Indians furnished the
name of the territory which has been
divided into two states, North and
South Dakota. Wyoming, another
name of the Iroquois tribe, signifies
great plains" The Indian names Of
other states are, by general agreement,
translated as follows: Idaho. gem Of
the mountains;' Michigan, great
lake," Minnesota, CLOUDY water;" Mis-
sissippi great river" or "fether OF
waters;" Missouri. muddy river;" Ne
brasha, "water valley" Ohio, "beauti-
ful river;" Tennessee, river of the big
bend;" Wisconsin. wild, rushing river. +"
Names having personal significance
are: Delaware, from Lord Delaware,
the first governor of the Virginia colo
ny. Georgia, from George H., king of
England. Louisiana, from Louis XIV,
of France. Maryland, from Henrietta
Marie, queen OF Charles [ of England.
North Carolina (also South Carolina),
from Charles L., Carolina being the
feminine form of Charles New York
first called New Netherland by the
Dutch) is named after the duke of York.
who received a valuable grant of land
in 1864 from his brother, Charles IL. of
England. Pennsylvania is named after
William Penn, the termination being
from "sylvia" (Latin). "a grove" Vir-
ginia is from Elizabeth, the virgin
queen of England. West Virginia was
until 1863 part of Virginia. Washing
ton takes it's name from tho father OF
his country"
A few states obtained their titles
from old world geographical designa-
tions. Maine is supposed to have been
named by early French settlers after
the old province of Maine in France.
The county of Hampshire in old En-
gland furnished the name of the state Of
New Hampshire in New England. New
Jersey was named in honor of Sir George
Cartaret, who was governor of the ISL
and of Jersey in the English channel,
and held it for King Charles l. in his
contest with parliament
Descriptive names not of Indian
origin are: Colorado from the Span
ish, signifying ''red," or ''colored;'
Florida, from the Spanish meaning
"the howery," SO called by Ponce de
Leon, in allusion to the aspect of the
country, and also because it was first
visited by him on Pascua Florida, o,
Easter Sunday; Montana. from the
Spanish. s;gnifying hill" Nevada,
from the Spanish, meaning white
with snow;" Vermont. from the French
words "verd," green" and mont
"mountain:" Rhode Island, from the
I Dutch, a corruption of Roode Island,
| cred island"), so named because of the
abundance of cranberries growing
along the coast.
There are three states concerning
which there is some doubt as to tn.
origin Of their names California il
first mentioned in the writings of Ber
nard Diaz del Costello, an officer wht
served under Cortez in the conquest o
Mexico One authority says the na,n'
was probably found by Cortez ia (,
Spanish romance entitled "Esplan
adian," published in 1910, and another
thinks it may have been derived from
the Spanish word "califa" ("caliph")
Oregon is said to signify River in tn,
West" 1t is also claimed to come from
the Spanish word ''oregano," or wilt
martoram. plant which grows abund
antly on the Pacific coast. 1t is said o
Texas ~ that the name is of Spauisl
origin: (2) that it was the collectiv
title of numerous aboriginal tribes; %
that it ia an Aztec term, signifyin
north country. y."-RocheSter Demo