Names aren’t really one of my primary focuses, but I have done some research on nicknames and slogans associated with the 50 U.S. states.
U.S. State Nicknames ˆ
The table below list some of the more familiar state nicknames, with a second table listing slogans that have been officially adopted.
The more familiar nicknames are generally listed first. A date in the last column indicates the year the first nickname listed was officially adopted. Other nicknames are unofficial. Information about unofficial slogans can be found in Geobop’s State Symbols.
List of State Nicknames | ||
---|---|---|
State | Nickname(s) | |
Alabama | The Heart of Dixie, The Yellowhammer State, Cotton State | |
Alaska | The Last Frontier, Land of the Midnight Sun, The Great Land | |
Arizona | The Grand Canyon State, Copper State | |
Arkansas | The Natural State, Hot Water State, Bowie State, Toothpick State | 1995 |
(former) | Land of Opportunity | 1995 |
(former) | Wonder State | 1923 |
California | The Golden State | 1968 |
Colorado | Centennial State, Colorful Colorado | |
Connecticut | Constitution State, Nutmeg State | 1959 |
Delaware | The First State, Blue Hen State, Diamond State, Small Wonder | 2002 |
Florida | Sunshine State, Orange State, Everglade State, Alligator State | 1970 |
Georgia | The Peach State, Goober State, Empire State of the South | |
Hawaii | The Aloha State, Paradise of the Pacific, Youngest State, Pineapple State | 1959 |
Idaho | The Gem State, Gem of the Mountains, Land of Famous Potatoes | |
Illinois | The Prairie State, Corn State | |
Indiana | The Hoosier State | |
Iowa | The Hawkeye State | 1938 |
Kansas | Sunflower State, Cyclone State, Jayhawk State, Wheat State, Jayhawker State | |
Kentucky | The Bluegrass State, Hemp State, Tobacco State, Dark and Bloody Ground | |
Louisiana | The Pelican State, Bayou State, Child of the Mississippi | |
Maine | The Pine Tree State, Border State, Old Dirigo State | |
Maryland | Free State, Old Line State | |
Massachusetts | Bay State, Pilgrim State, Baked Bean State | |
Michigan | The Wolverine State, Lake State, Lady of the Lake, Auto State | |
Minnesota | The North Star State, Land of 10,000 Lakes, Gopher State, Bread and Butter State | |
Mississippi | The Magnolia State, Bayou State, Mud-cat State | |
Missouri | The Show Me State, Bullion State, Lead State, Cave State, Ozark State | |
Montana | Big Sky Country, Bonanza State, Treasure State | |
Nebraska | Cornhusker State, Tree Planters’ State, Antelope State | 1945 |
Nevada | The Sagebrush State, Silver State, Mining State | |
New Hampshire | The Granite State, White Mountain State, Switzerland of America, Mother of Rivers | |
New Jersey | The Garden State, Clam State, Camden and Amboy State, Jersey Blue State, Pathway of the Revolution | |
New Mexico | Land of Enchantment | 1999 |
New York | The Empire State, Excelsior State, Knickerbocker State | |
North Carolina | The Tarheel State, Turpentine State, Old North State, First in Flight | |
North Dakota | The Peace Garden State, Flickertail State, Roughrider State, Sioux State, Land of the Dakotas | 1957 |
Ohio | The Buckeye State, Mother of Modern Presidents | |
Oklahoma | Sooner State | |
Oregon | The Beaver State, Webfoot State, Hard-case State | |
Pennsylvania | The Keystone State, Quaker State | |
Rhode Island | The Ocean State, The Smallest State, Plantation State, Little Rhody | 1971 |
South Carolina | The Palmetto State, Swamp State, Rice State, Iodine State, Keystone of the South Atlantic Seaboard | |
South Dakota | Mount Rushmore State, Sunshine State, Coyote State, Blizzard State, Artesian State | 1980 |
Tennessee | The Volunteer State, Big Bend State, Mother of Southwestern Statesmen | |
Texas | Lone Star State | 2015 |
Utah | The Beehive State, Mormon State, Salt Lake State, Land of the Saints | |
Vermont | Green Mountain State | |
Virginia | Old Dominion, Mother of States, Mother of Presidents, Cavalier State | |
Washington | Evergreen State, Chinook State | |
West Virginia | The Mountain State, Panhandle State, Switzerland of America | |
Wisconsin | Badger State, America’s Dairyland | |
Wyoming | The Cowboy State, Equality State |
List of Official State Slogans | ||
---|---|---|
State | Slogan | |
Illinois | The Land of Lincoln | 1955 |
Nebraska | Welcome to Nebraskaland, where the West begins. | 1963 |
Nevada | Battle Born | 1937 |
New Mexico | Everybody is Somebody in New Mexico | 1975 |
South Dakota | Great Faces, Great Places, | 1990 |
Tennessee | Tennessee—America at Its Best | 1965 |
Canada ˆ
List of Provincial Nicknames | |
---|---|
Province | Nickname(s) |
Alberta | The Sunshine Province, The Energy Province, The Princess Province |
British Columbia | The Pacific Province |
Manitoba | The Keystone Province |
New Brunswick | The Picture Province, The Loyalist Province |
Newfoundland | The Rock |
Northwest Territories | North of Sixty, Land of the Polar Bear, Canada’s Last Frontier |
Nova Scotia | The Land of Evangeline, Canada’s Ocean Playground |
Prince Edward Island | The Garden Province, Abegweit, Minegoo, The Island, Spud Island, Million Acre Farm |
Quebec | La Belle Province |
Saskatchewan | The Wheat Province |
Yukon Territory | Land of the Midnight Sun |