This section is from the book "Manual Of Useful Information", by J. C Thomas. Also available from Amazon: Manual of useful Information.
Alabama - Indian; meaning "Here we rest".
Arkansas - "Kansas," the Indian name for "smoky water," with the French prefix "arc," bow or bend in the principal river.
California - Caliente Fornalla, Spanish for "hot furnace," in allusion to the climate.
Colorado - Spanish; meaning "colored," from the red color of the Colorado river.
Connecticut -Indian; meaning "long river".
Delaware - Named in honor of Lord Delaware.
Florida - Named by Ponce de Leon, who discovered it in 1512, on Easter Day, the Spanish Pascua de Flores, or "Feast of Flowers," Georgia - In honor of George II. of England.
Illinois - From the Indian "illini," men, and the French suffix "ois," together signifying "tribe of men".
Indiana - Indian land.
Iowa - Indian; meaning "beautiful land".
Kansas - Indian; meaning "smoky water".
Kentucky - Indian; for "at the head of the river;" or "the dark and bloody ground".
Louisiana - In honor of Louis XIV. of France.
Maine - From the province of Maine, in France.
Maryland - In honor of Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles I.
of England.
Massachusetts - The place of the great hills (the blue hills southwest of Boston).
Michigan - The Indian name for a fish weir. The lake was so called from the fancied resemblance of the lake to a fish trap.
Minnesota - Indian; meaning "sky-tinted water".
Mississippi - Indian) meaning "great father of waters".
Missouri - Indian; meaning "muddy".
Nebraska - Indian; meaning "water valley".
Nevada - Spanish; meaning "snow-covered," alluding to the mountains.
New Hampshire - From Hampshire county, England.
New Jersey - In honor of Sir George Carteret, one of the original grantees, who had previously been governor of Jersey Island.
New York - In honor of the Duke of York.
North and South Carolina - Originally called Carolina, in honor of Charles IX. of France.
Ohio - Indian; meaning "beautiful river.
Oregon From the Spanish "oregano," wild marjoram, which grows abundantly on the coast.
Pennsylvania - Latin: meaning Penn's woody land.
Rhode Island - From a fancied resemblance to the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean.
Tennessee - Indian, meaning "river with the great bend".
Texas - Origin of this name is unknown.
Vermont - French; meaning green mountain.
Virginia - In honor of Elizabeth, the "Virgin Queen".
Wisconsin - Indian; meaning "gathering of the waters," or "wild rushing channel."
 
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