Symbols | World
Books | Store | Blog
About | Contact

New Jersey State Symbols

Welcome to the Garden State! New Jersey was the only state without an official song until Maryland repealed its state song. Some think it should adopt one of Bruce Springsteen’s hits, while others joke that it should adopt “New York, New York.” (Continued below)

New Jersey State Flag
Nicknames & Slogans
Nicknames The Garden State, Clam State, Camden and Amboy State, Jersey Blue State, Pathway of the Revolution
Slogan Garden State 2017
Symbols of State
Motto Liberty and Prosperity 1928
Song [none]
EcoSymbols
Flower common meadow violet (Viola sororia) 1972
Tree red oak (Quercus rubra) 1950
Memorial Tree dogwood (Cornus florida) 1951
Berry highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) 2004
Bird eastern goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) 1935
Animal horse (Equus caballus) 1977
Reptile bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) 2018
(Freshwater) Fish brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) 1991
Saltwater Fish striped bass (Morone saxatilis) 2017
Bug honeybee (Apis mellifera) Redundant Symbol 1974
Butterfly black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) 2016
Shell knobbed whelk (Busycon carica) 1995
Soil Downer (unofficial) Unofficial
Dinosaur † Hadrosaurus foulkii (Hadrosaurus foulkii) 1991
Mineral franklinite 2023
Cultural Symbols
Colors buff and Jersey blue 1965
Tall Ship A.J. Meerwald 1998
Juice cranberry juice 2023
Folk Dance square dance Redundant Symbol 1983

Most of the symbols representing the Garden State also represent other states. In fact, the brook trout and striped bass are among the most popular state fishes, while the goldfinch also represents distant Iowa and Washington.

More unique is New Jersey’s state fossil, one of the first dinosaurs ever discovered. Other unique symbols include the red oak, bog turtle, ship A.J. Meerwald, and the official colors, buff and Jersey blue.

New Jersey’s state animal, the horse, is depicted on its state flag. However, its flag would look a lot nicer if just about everything else was removed.

* * * * *

If you think state flags and flowers are nothing more than trivia, guess again. A thorough exploration of the more than 1,500 items adopted as state symbols embraces geography, history, and psychology.

You have found the best state symbols website, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The introduction above is adapted from Geobop’s State Symbols and My State Symbols Book, by far the biggest and most detailed state symbols references ever. You can learn still more about the symbols of the 50 states in the books Flag Quest and Grading the States. (Learn more about them here.)

After you spend some time exploring your favorite state’s symbols, you can come back here and tell us what you think about them.

New Jersey Symbols Store
Dress to impress! Check out the State Symbols Pro > New Jersey Symbols Store.
United States Home United States Home