Following on from the previous two weeks, here is the final helping on the examination of the origins and meanings of the names of the fifty states of the USA.
New York - when settled by the Dutch the city, which gave its name to the state, was given the name of New Amsterdam. When captured by the English in 1664 it was renamed in honour of the Duke of York, who was virtual ruler of the colony on behalf of his brother, King Charles II.
North Carolina - both North and South Carolina were named by Frenchmen Jean Ribaut and the Huguenot settlers who came here in 1560 and named it La Caroline in honour of their king Charles IX.
North Dakota - a Native American tribe the Omaha lived here, the Sioux word dakota means 'allies' and refers to the tribal union. The state was divided into North and South Dakota in 1889.
Ohio - the Native American Iroquois word ohio means 'beautiful' which was a description of the Ohio River and which was then transferred to the state.
Oklahoma - of Native American Choctaw origin where okla homa described it as the '(territory of) the red people'.
Oregon - no state has more suggestions for an origin than that of Oregon. Numerous languages have been cited, including Native American, French, Spanish, and even Iranian. Even more confusing are the definitions, including the simplistic 'hurricane' and the astonishingly far-fetched 'piece of dried apple'. The accepted origin dates from 1715 and a French cartographer who marked what is now the River Wisconsin as Ouariconsint. Unfortunately lack of space meant he required two lines and the last four letters became detached thus effectively creating a new river name of Ouaricon which was later anglicised to Oregon.
Pennsylvania - lanted granted to the Quaker William Penn was known as 'Penn's woodland', the Latin for 'wood' is silva.
Rhode Island - described in the early sixteenth century by Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano as 'about the size of the island of Rhodes' is highly unlikely to have been the origin of this name. Dutch settlers did refer to this place as rode meaning 'red' and a reference to the colour of the soil.
South Carolina - both South and North Carolina were named by Frenchmen Jean Ribaut and the Huguenot settlers who came here in 1560 and named it La Caroline in honour of their king Charles IX.
South Dakota - a Native American tribe the Omaha lived here, the Sioux word dakota means 'allies' and refers to the tribal union. The state was divided into North and South Dakota in 1889.
Tennessee - again a state named after the local river or possibly a tribal name, the Native American Cherokee phrase Tenn-assee either refers to 'river' if it began as the watercourse or, should this be the tribe, would refer to them as having 'crooked ears'.
Texas - several suggestions, none of which are likely to be correct, and including the notion that it came from the meeting between the Native American peoples and a Spanish monk who was told they were the taxian or 'good friends'.
Utah - here is certainly the name of the Native American tribe here, the word Ute describes them and/or their mountainous homelands as 'tall'.
Vermont - a name of French origins, vert mont describes 'the green hills', the forested slopes are still the dominant feature in this part of the country.
Virginia - famously named after the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I, who died four years before the settlers arrived here in 1607.
Washington - the capital city is named after one of the nation's most famous individuals, George Washington, and the state was also named to honour the man.
West Virginia - another part of what was Virginia and became separated during the American Civil War.
Wisconsin - another state named after a river, the Wisconsin is a French version of the Native American Algonquian name thought to describe 'the long river'. Although it should also be noted there have also been suggestions of 'the grassy plain' and the highly simplistic 'our homeland' if the name refers to the surrounding land and not the river.
Wyoming - the name is from the Native American Algonquian meche-weami-ing telling it was 'the big flats at (our place)' and was in use some sixty years before it was officially adopted for the state name in 1868, after it appeared in a poem by Thomas Campbell entitled Gertrude of Wyoming.
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