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15 states
- The 15 states that share their name with a river are Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
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The 15 states that share their name with a river are Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. In most cases, the names have a Native American origin.
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- Alabama - The state of Alabama is located in the southeastern region of the US. Its name comes from the nearby Alabama River. This river begins in Alabama, running southwest for 318 miles.
- Colorado - Colorado is considered a western state. It was named after the Colorado River, which comes from the Spanish word for “red colored” in reference to its red silt.
- Kansas - Kansas is centrally located in the middle of the midwestern region of the country. It is named for the Kansas River, which begins in the eastern part of the state.
- Tennessee - Tennessee is a southeastern state that shares a border with Kentucky. Its name comes from the Tennessee River, which cuts the state into 3 areas.
- ALABAMA: From an Indian tribe of the Creek Confederacy originally called the Alabamas or Alibamons, who in turn gave the name to a river from which the State name was derived.
- ALASKA: From Eskimo word "alakshak”, meaning peninsula; also said to mean "great lands. "
- ARIZONA: Many authorities attribute the meaning to a word meaning arid zone or desert. Others claim the name is Aztec, from "arizuma" meaning "silver bearing."
- ARKANSAS.: Origin uncertain. As usual with words of Indian origin, there are various spellings for this State name, among them Alkansia, Alkansas, and Akamsea.
The 15 states that share their name with a river are Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
Several of the states that derive their names from names used for Native peoples have retained the plural ending in "s": Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, and Texas. One common naming pattern has been as follows: Native tribal group → River → Territory → State.
State NameDate First Attested In Original LanguageLanguage Of OriginWord (s) In Original LanguageApril 19, 1692Choctaw / Alabamaalba amo / AlbaamahaDecember 2, 1666Aleut via Russianalaxsxaq via Аляска ( Alyaska)February 1, 1883aritz onaFebruary 1, 1883Oʼodham via Spanishali ṣona-g via Arizonac [7]You can’t find any U.S. state names shorter than Ohio, but it was named after an even shorter Iroquoian word: O-Y-O, meaning “great river.” The Seneca Native Americans settled along what is now the Ohio River in the 1650s, and though the region was briefly named La Belle Riviere by French explorers in the late 1600s, the English restored ...
Feb 28, 2019 · Wisconsin was originally “Meskonsing,” which is the Native American name for the river (now called Wisconsin as well) that runs 430 miles through the state.