thumbnail

U.S. States by Alternate Nicknames

Can you guess each state based on two unofficial or prior nicknames?
Answer must correspond to highlighted box
Quiz by Quizmaster
Rate:
Last updated: June 10, 2019
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
First submittedSeptember 4, 2012
Times taken39,662
Average score66.7%
Rating4.14
5:00
Enter state here:
0
 / 24 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Nicknames
State
Mormon State | Friendly State
Utah
Pineapple State | Rainbow State
Hawaii
Creole State | Fisherman's Paradise
Louisiana
Razorback State | Hot Springs State
Arkansas
Heart of Dixie | Cotton State
Alabama
Bear Republic | El Dorado State
California
Corporate Capital | Blue Hen State
Delaware
Land of Lincoln | Corn State
Illinois
Orange State | Alligator State
Florida
Spud State | Gem of the Mountains
Idaho
Chesapeake State | Terrapin State
Maryland
Mother of Modern Presidents |
Birthplace of Aviation
Ohio
Nicknames
State
Baked Bean State | Pilgrim State
Massachusetts
Mitten State | Wolverine State
Michigan
Big Sky Country | The Last Best Place
Montana
Rough Rider State | Sioux State
North Dakota
Liberty Bell State | Quaker State
Pennsylvania
Apache State | Copper State
Arizona
Highest State | Columbine State
Colorado
Land of 10,000 Lakes | The Gopher State
Minnesota
Mother of Presidents | The Commonwealth
Virginia
Bellwether State | Ozark State
Missouri
Land of the Midnight Sun | Seward's Folly
Alaska
The Crossroads of the Revolution |
Tomato State
New Jersey
+1
Level 28
Jan 7, 2013
Get out--I guessed them all...and with 2:22 left on the clock!
+1
Level 38
Mar 31, 2022
I got a little bit more than 5
+1
Level 60
Jan 8, 2013
Did it with 1:10 left. That makes me happy, happy, happy!
+7
Level 61
Jun 27, 2013
many of these are very obscure
+1
Level 85
Dec 21, 2013
100% with 2:25 left. nice quiz!
+2
Level 35
Mar 3, 2014
Wisconsin is Cheese State. Add it!
+1
Level 72
Mar 15, 2014
Massachusetts is the Bay State.
+3
Level ∞
Jun 10, 2019
That is its official nickname, yes
+3
Level 79
Feb 13, 2015
I think calling Colorado the Columbine state is pretty disrespectful, not to mention kind of morbid
+36
Level 51
Apr 13, 2015
You do realize that columbine is a flower, right?
+24
Level 74
Nov 15, 2018
It is our state flower, not disrespectful at all.
+9
Level 69
Jun 17, 2019
Maybe he doesn’t realize that high schools are named after things? Anyway, Rocky Mountain Columbines are gorgeous, especially growing wild in the mountains… alas. I am homesick now.
+2
Level 27
Jun 7, 2021
Its a flower you dolt
+1
Level 63
Mar 28, 2022
It’s the official state flower. It is known as the Columbine State.
+1
Level 23
Dec 17, 2015
How is Texas only at 33%!?!?
+1
Level 59
May 13, 2017
Because everyone knows that Texas is known as "The Lone Star State". It makes sense that Texas would be referred to that way here.
+1
Level 28
May 23, 2016
never heard ohio called either of those things. and I live here.
+12
Level 84
Jun 10, 2019
'Birthplace of Aviation' is on license plates on virtually every car in the state, kinda hard to miss.
+1
Level 37
Jul 11, 2019
I though Kitty Hawk in one of the Carolinas was the birth place of Aviation.
+2
Level 73
Jul 11, 2019
And that there is the dispute between Ohio and North Carolina. The Wright brothers were from Ohio but Kitty Hawk, North Carolina is known for the first flight.
+1
Level 76
Jul 28, 2019
Neil Armstrong was also from Ohio, so he gets wrapped up in that as well.
+1
Level 86
Jul 29, 2019
And John Glenn.
+2
Level 78
Jun 30, 2016
I lived in New Jersey for more than 25 years. I only ever heard "Crossroads Of The Revolution" because I'm a history buff, and I never once heard "Tomato State". Clearly, the more well-known "Garden State" would have been too obvious for this particular quiz, but these nicknames are approaching extreme levels of obscurity, lol.
+6
Level 76
Dec 7, 2017
"Crossroads of the Revolution" was on our state quarter, so it's not THAT obscure. I've never heard Jersey called the Tomato State, but we are well-known for our tomatoes.
+1
Level 69
Jul 28, 2019
Likewise, I also never heard of the Tomato state for NJ. Kept looking for Garden State. And I grew up in NJ.
+2
Level 75
Jul 30, 2019
New Jersey was easy for a tomato grower like me because Rutgers University is known for breeding commercial tomato varieties such as Rutgers and Moreton, and I've also grown Jersey Giant and Jersey Devil. I like to grow heirlooms for taste, but I also grow hybrids for volume and disease resistance, and many of those reliable old standbys came from New Jersey.
+1
Level 71
Mar 28, 2022
On the other hand California produces 95% of the tomatoes grown in the U.S. New Jersey doesn't even crack the top five.
+1
Level 66
May 10, 2017
Does New York have any nickname?
+2
Level 76
Mar 14, 2018
Its official nickname is "The Empire State," which is where the name of the Empire State Building comes from, but it's possible it has other, less official nicknames as well that I don't know.
+1
Level 68
Mar 28, 2022
The big apple
+1
Level 66
Mar 28, 2022
The "Big Apple" is just New York City.
+1
Level 63
Mar 28, 2022
The Excelsior State’s another nickname. New Amsterdam. Knickerbocker State.
+4
Level 73
Jun 18, 2018
3:29, I think this was easier than the official nicknames quiz. Perhaps the official nicknames are more aspirational whereas these actual/alternate nicknames are more based in reality?
+1
Level 84
May 16, 2019
So many people totally missing the point that this is an "alternate" nickname quiz. It's not meant to use the ones that are most common.
+1
Level 90
Jun 10, 2019
I got 24/24, but only 4 points.
+3
Level 75
Jun 10, 2019
As a proud Virginian, I will overlook the presence of other Commonwealths (Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania) in the USA and instead commend you for describing Virginia as THE Commonwealth.
+1
Level 33
Aug 1, 2022
Amen to that.
+2
Level 83
Jun 11, 2019
As an Iowan, I take offense to Illinois being referred to as the "Corn State". While Illinois does produce a lot of corn (No. 2 in the US), I believe corn is more associated with Iowa. I'm not exactly sure what a better replacement would be, but as an Iowan living less than 10 miles from Illinois, I would never put Illinois over Iowa when it comes to corn.
+1
Level 75
Jul 30, 2019
When I was a girl in Missouri we often referred to Illinois as the Sucker State. (No idea why.) I agree, Iowa is known for corn, and even Nebraska is known for the Cornhuskers, but I never heard of Illinois as the corn state.
+1
Level 71
Mar 28, 2022
That was the nickname for Illinoisians in the 19th Century. Lincoln famously said, when downplaying his chances of becoming President, “Just think of such a sucker as me as President!” https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0040.203/--meaning-of-lincolns-such-a-sucker-as-me?rgn=main;view=fulltext
+2
Level 84
Jun 11, 2019
This is a lot easier if you know some universities mascots
+1
Level 68
Jul 28, 2019
As a New Zealander, that was a very fun and educational quiz, lots of guessing, thanks!
+1
Level 71
Jul 28, 2019
Why is Delaware the corporate state?
+4
Level 76
Jul 28, 2019
Because a crap-ton of companies are officially incorporated in Delaware, including over 66% of Fortune 500 companies. This includes giants like DuPont, Google, Amazon, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, and Wal-mart. This article gives a good description of why that is, but it basically boils down to there being court, legal, and tax advantages for corporations.
+2
Level 71
Mar 28, 2022
DuPont at least started out as a Delaware company. Which doesn't make it any less of a greedy monster.
+3
Level 70
Dec 26, 2019
Many of them feel more apt than the official ones
+1
Level 67
Mar 30, 2022
I always felt that Maryland should be the Bay State and Massachusetts should be something else...
+1
Level 52
May 16, 2021
For some reason, some kid in my class is obsessed with Mormons.
+1
Level 57
Mar 28, 2022
I got some of them because of their colleges team name!
+2
Level 70
Mar 28, 2022
Great quiz! Unlike some other comments, I definitely didn't feel like these were too obscure. All were definitely guessable with just a little knowledge about the states in question, and New Jersey and Arizona were the only two I wasn't completely sure about based on at least one of the two nicknames. I did appreciate having two ways to get them though, as I don't think I would've gotten it from just Bellwether State, Copper State, or Tomato State, for instance.

Also, FWIW, I think Montana was wise to not go with The Last Best Place as their official motto, as it makes me think of Montana as coming in dead last on a list of places ranked from Best to Worst.

+1
Level 46
Mar 29, 2022
Ive lived 32 years in Arizona and never heard the Apache or Copper state nicknames...here its always Grand Canyon State...lol