History + etymology + geography = 🤓
America’s multicultural history is woven into the language, the food, and even the map. Any place name you stumble upon carries clues about people who lived here long before statehood, as well as the waves of newcomers who left their linguistic fingerprints behind.
Now a nifty new map from WordTips pulls back that linguistic curtain by revealing the literal translations of every U.S. state and capital. Honestly, this project is like a crash course in American history disguised as a geography lesson.
To accomplish this, WordTips researchers pulled from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Online Etymology Dictionary, the American Library Association, and regional histories. Each name had to be confirmed by at least two sources. Because, as any linguist will tell you, a singular, exact etymology can be elusive.
Some state meanings were the ones you probably memorized in fourth grade, or are simple common sense. Colorado translates to “colored red.” Florida means “the flowery one.” Michigan’s name comes from an Ojibwe word meaning “great water.”
But others are less obvious. Alabama, for example, likely stems from a Choctaw term for “weed gatherer,” referring to fields cleared for cultivation. Kansas traces back to the Kanza tribe, whose name means “People of the Southwind.”
The American map with state names translated. images.prismic.io
Many capital city names honor actual people (Lincoln, Jackson, Jefferson City, Washington). But others have more hidden history lessons. Baton Rouge, which translates to “red stick,” was a literal pole marking tribal boundaries along the Mississippi River. Boston, which translates to “Botolph’s Stone,” was named for a patron saint of travelers via a town in England. Manchester, New Hampshire’s earliest meaning was “Breast-like Hill,” a nod to a Roman fort in England built atop a rounded mound.
Out west, Honolulu combines the Hawaiian words for “port” and “calm,” though a British captain once tried to rename it “Fair Haven.” And then there’s Topeka, Kansas, which somehow manages to be both practical and adorable: “A good place to dig potatoes.” Nice.
Midwest capitals and their translations images.prismic.io
My personal favorite: Memphis, meaning “enduring and beautiful,” was named after the ancient Egyptian capital because both cities sit beside mighty rivers. Cue the image of a pharaoh playing bluegrass.
The more you zoom out, the more it becomes clear that the entire country is stitched together by stories of migration, conflict, and colonization, yes, but also admiration and even humor.
As Wordtips pointed out, while the naming of whole states is mostly behind us, the practice has found a new frontier. NASA is already nicknaming Martian regions things like “Yogi Rock” and “Scooby Doo.” Boy, the Martians are gonna have a field day with those.
To check out all the maps in more details, hop on over to Wordtips.