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List of U.S. state and territory nicknames facts for kids

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Nicknames of the states, 1884
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
  • Alabama the Beautiful
  • Cotton Plantation State
  • Cotton State
  • Heart of Dixie (used on license plates)
  • Lizard State
  • Sweet Home Alabama
  • Yellowhammer State
 Alaska
  • Land of the Midnight Sun
  • Land of the Noonday Moon
  • The Last Frontier (used on license plates)
  • Seward's Folly (named after U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward)
  • Seward's Ice Box, Icebergia, Polaria, Walrussia, and Johnson's Polar Bear Garden were satirical names coined by members of the U.S. Congress during debate over the Alaska Purchase
 American Samoa
  • Motu o Fiafiaga (a Samoan phrase; in English, it is "Islands of Paradise") (used on American Samoa license plates)
  • Football Island[s]
 Arizona
  • Apache State
  • Aztec State
  • Baby State (because Arizona is the newest contiguous state in the Union)
  • Copper State
  • Grand Canyon State (used on license plates)
  • Italy of America
  • Sand Hill State
  • Sunset State
  • Sweetheart State (see below)
  • Valentine State (Arizona gained statehood on February 14, 1912)
 Arkansas
  • Bear State
  • Bowie State
  • Hot Springs State
  • Land of Opportunity (former official nickname; previously used on license plates)
  • The Natural State (used on license plates)
  • Razorback State
  • Toothpick State
  • Wonder State
 California
  • El Dorado State
  • The Golden State (previously used on license plates)
 Colorado
 Connecticut
  • Constitution State (official, used on license plates)
  • Nutmeg State
  • Provision State
  • Blue Law State
  • Freestone State
  • Land of Steady Habits
 Delaware
  • Chemical Capital of the World (due to one time being the corporate headquarters for several international chemical companies.)
  • Corporate Capital (due to the state's business-friendly incorporation laws)
  • Diamond State (Thomas Jefferson is supposed to have referred to Delaware as being like a diamond – small in size but great in value)
  • Blue Hen State or Blue Hen Chicken State
  • The First State (Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution; used on license plates)
  • Peach State (no longer used; see Georgia)
  • Small Wonder
 District of Columbia
  • Nation's Capital
  • DMV (nickname for the broader metropolitan area of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia)
  • Inside the Beltway
  • Chocolate City
 Florida
 Georgia
  • Peach State (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. 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.
  • Goober State — Refers to peanuts, the official state crop.
  • State of Adventure
 Guam
  • Tano y Chamorro (Land of the Chamorro) (used on Guam license plates)
  • Hub of the Pacific
  • Gateway to Micronesia
 Hawaii
  • Aloha State (officially the "popular" name, used on license plates)
  • Paradise of the Pacific
  • Pineapple State
  • Rainbow State
  • Youngest State
  • 808 State (colloquial, refers to the state's area code.)
 Idaho
  • Gem State
  • Gem of the Mountains
  • Little Ida
  • Spud State
 Illinois
  • Land of Lincoln (used on license plates)
  • Prairie State
  • Corn State
  • Garden of the West
 Indiana
  • Hoosier State (Used at various times on license plates)
    (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
  • America's Heartland (previously used on Licence Plates)
  • Central State
  • Dorothy's Home
  • Free State
  • Midway USA (previously used on Kansas Licence Plates)
  • Sunflower State
  • Wheat State (previously used on license plates)
 Kentucky
  • Bluegrass State (used on license plates)
  • Corn-cracker State (reported in 1881) (corn-cracker – the nickname of a Kentucky man; pejorative)
  • The Dark and Bloody Ground State (an allusion to battles between the Creek, Shawnee, Chickasaw, and Cherokee tribes)
  • Hemp State
  • Tobacco State
 Louisiana
  • Bayou State (previously used on license plates)
  • Creole State
  • Pelican State
  • Sportsman's Paradise (used on license plates)
 Maine
  • Pine Tree State (co-official with Vacationland)
  • Vacationland (used on license plates)
  • Lumber State
 Maryland
 Massachusetts
  • Baked Bean State
  • Codfish State (formerly represented on license plates by a codfish)
  • The Bay State
  • Old Colony State
  • Pilgrim State
  • The Spirit of America (used on license plates)
  • Taxachusetts (colloquial)
 Michigan
  • The Great Lakes State (previously used on license plates)
  • Water Wonderland and Water-Winter Wonderland (previously used on license plates)
  • The Wolverine State
  • The Mitten State
 Minnesota
 Mississippi
  • Hospitality State (previously used on license plates)
  • Magnolia State
  • The Birthplace of America's Music (being used on license plates)
  • The Bayou State
 Missouri
  • Bullion State
  • Show-Me State (used on license plates)
  • Gateway to the West
  • Lead State
  • Ozark State
  • Mother of the West
  • Iron Mountain State
  • Pennsylvania of the West
  • Cave State
 Montana
  • Big Sky Country (previously used on license plates)
  • The Last Best Place
  • Treasure State (used on license plates)
  • Land of the Shining Mountains
 Nebraska
  • Antelope State
  • Beef State (previously used on license plates)
  • Cornhusker State (previously used on license plates)
  • Bug-eating State
  • Blackwater State
  • The Good Life (as seen on state border signs)
  • Tree Planters State (formerly the official state nickname)
 Nevada
  • Battle Born State (refers to the fact that Nevada joined the Union during the Civil War)
  • Sagebrush State
  • Silver State (used on license plates)
  • Casino State
 New Hampshire
  • Granite State
  • The Live Free or Die State (official motto; "Live Free or Die" used on license plates)
  • Mother of Rivers
  • White Mountain State
  • Switzerland of America
 New Jersey
  • Garbage State (pejorative)
  • Garden State (used on license plates)
  • The Crossroads of the Revolution (previously used on license plates)
  • The Cornerstone State (used colloquially, especially with reference to Pennsylvania when it is called the Keystone State).
  • The Suburban State
 New Mexico
  • Land of Enchantment (used on license plates)
  • Land of Sunshine (predates "Land of Enchantment"; this earlier nickname highlighted the large percentage of sunshine received statewide)
 New York
 North Carolina
  • First in Flight
  • First in Freedom
  • Old North State
  • Tar Heel State
  • Turpentine State
  • Variety Vacationland
 North Dakota
 Northern Mariana Islands
  • Håfa Adai (a Chamorro phrase; in English, it is "Hello") (used on Northern Mariana Islands license plates)
  • America's Best Kept Secret
 Ohio
 Oklahoma
 Oregon
  • Beaver State
  • Pacific Wonderland (previously used on license plates and available on an extra cost plate)
  • Webfoot State
 Pennsylvania
  • Keystone State (previously used on license plates)
  • Quaker State
  • Coal State
  • Railroad State
 Puerto Rico
  • Isla del Encanto ("Island of Enchantment") (used on license plates)
  • Borinquen (name given by indigenous people, the Tainos)
 Rhode Island
  • Little Rhody
  • Ocean State (used on license plates)
  • Rogues Island
  • Smallest State
 South Carolina
 South Dakota
  • Artesian State
  • Blizzard State
  • Coyote State
  • Land of Infinite Variety
  • The Mount Rushmore State (officially adopted in 1980 in place of the former nickname of Coyote State)
  • Sunshine State (no longer used; see Florida)
 Tennessee
  • Big Bend State (refers to the Tennessee River)
  • Butternut State (refers to the tan color of the uniforms worn by Tennessee soldiers in the American Civil War)
  • Hog and Hominy State
  • The Mother of Southwestern Statesmen
  • Volunteer State (used on license plates)
 Texas
  • Lone Star State (used on license plates)
 U.S. Virgin Islands
  • America's Caribbean (used on U.S. Virgin Islands license plates until 2015)
  • American Paradise
 Utah
 Vermont
 Virginia
 Washington
  • Evergreen State (used on license plates)
 West Virginia
  • Mountain State (previously used on license plates)
  • Panhandle State
  • The Switzerland of America
  • Almost Heaven
 Wisconsin
  • Badger State
  • America's Dairyland (also on license plates since a 1939 state law)
  • The Mitten State
  • The Copper State (historical)
  • The Dairy State
 Wyoming
  • Cowboy State
  • Equality State
  • Forever West (on highway welcome signs)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Anexo:Apodos de estados de Estados Unidos para niños

  • List of U.S. state and territory mottos
  • List of demonyms for U.S. states
  • List of city nicknames in the United States
  • List of provincial and territorial nicknames in Canada
  • Lists of nicknames: nickname list articles on Wikipedia
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List of U.S. state and territory nicknames Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.