List of U.S. state and territory nicknames (Redirected from State nickname)

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
 Alaska
 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
 California
 Colorado
 Connecticut
 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 (on highway welcome signs)
 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
 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
 Louisiana
 Maine
 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
 Missouri
 Montana
 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)[citation needed]
  • Tree Planters State (formerly the official state nickname)
 Nevada
 New Hampshire
 New Jersey
 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
 Puerto Rico
  • Isla del Encanto ("Island of Enchantment") (used on license plates)
  • Borinquen (name given by indigenous people, the Tainos)
 Rhode Island
 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
 Texas
 U.S. Virgin Islands
 Utah
 Vermont
 Virginia
 Washington
 West Virginia
 Wisconsin
  • Badger State
  • America's Dairyland (also on license plates since a 1939 state law)
  • The Mitten State[citation needed]
  • The Copper State (historical)
  • The Dairy State
 Wyoming
  • Cowboy State
  • Equality State
  • Forever West (on highway welcome signs)

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-11-02 20:09 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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