Statistics for U.S. States by Etymology

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General Stats
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General Stats

This quiz has been taken 103 times
The average score is 22 of 49

Answer Stats

Meaning	Language of Origin	State	Word in Original Language	% Correct
"Country of the virgin", after Elizabeth I of England	Latin	Virginia		99%
"Penn's woods"	Welsh and Latin	Pennsylvania	penn + silvania	97%
"Country of the virgin", after Elizabeth I of England	Latin	West Virginia		96%
"Flowery"	Spanish	Florida	florida	87%
"Red island"	Dutch	Rhode Island	roodt eylandt	87%
"Land of the Indians"	Latin	Indiana		81%
"Ally or friend"	Sioux	North Dakota	dakhóta	80%
"Ally or friend"	Sioux	South Dakota	dakhóta	80%
Named after the Kaw tribe	Kansa via French	Kansas	kkan:ze via Cansez	79%
Named after the Duke of York	English	New York		77%
Named after the first president of the United States	English	Washington		66%
Named for a fictional island ruled by Queen Calafia in the 16th-century novel Las Sergas de Esplandián	Spanish	California		63%
Derived from the name of the Aztec god Metztli	Nahuatl via Spanish	New Mexico	Mēxihco via Nuevo México	63%
"Green mountain"	French	Vermont	vert + mont	61%
Named after Queen Henrietta Maria of England	English	Maryland		60%
"Snow-covered"	Spanish	Nevada	nevado	60%
"Ruddy" or "red"	Spanish	Colorado	colorado	59%
Named after a county in south-east England	English	New Hampshire		59%
"Mountain"	Spanish	Montana	montaña	57%
"Mainland"	Aleut via Russian	Alaska	alaxsxaq via аляска	56%
Named after Louis XIV of France	French	Louisiana	Louisiane	56%
Named after the Ioway tribe	Chiwere via French	Iowa	ayuxwe via Aiouez	54%
"Speaks normally" - referring to the Illiniwek tribes	Algonquian via French	Illinois	ilenweewa	49%
Named after King Charles I of England	Latin via English	North Carolina	Carolus via Carolana	49%
Named after Hawaiki, legendary homeland of the Polynesians	Hawaiian	Hawaii	hawai'i	47%
Named after King Charles I of England	Latin via English	South Carolina	Carolus via Carolana	47%
Named after King George II of Great Britain	Latin via English	Georgia	Georgius	46%
"Cloudy water"	Lakota	Minnesota	mní sóta	39%
"Named after the largest of the British Channel Islands"	French	New Jersey		39%
"Large lake"	Ojibwe via French	Michigan	mishigami	37%
Borrowed from a French spelling of a Miami-Illinois rendering of a name for the Kaw tribe	Kansa via Miami-Illinois and French	Arkansas	akaansa	24%
Named with reference to the mainland, as opposed to the coastal islands	English	Maine	main	23%
"Friend"	Caddo via Spanish	Texas	táysha via Tejas	23%
"High"	Apache via Spanish	Utah	yúdah via yuta	21%
Named after the first Governor-General of the Colony of Virginia	Norman French via English	Delaware	de la Warr	20%
"Great river"	Ojibwe via French	Mississippi	misi-ziibi	19%
"At the long tidal river"	Easter Algonquian	Connecticut	quinnitukqut	17%
Named after a Cherokee village, the meaning of which is unknown	Cherokee	Tennessee	tanasi	17%
"Enemy"	Plains Apache	Idaho	ídaahę	16%
"River running through a red place"	Miami-Illinois via French	Wisconsin	wishkonsing via Ouisconsin	14%
"Flattened water"	Chiwere	Nebraska	ñįbraske	13%
"Red people"	Choctaw	Oklahoma	okla + homa	13%
"On the meadow"	Mohawk	Kentucky	kenhtà:ke	10%
"Good oak"	Basque	Arizona	aritz ona	9%
"Dugout canoe"	Miami-Illinois via French	Missouri	mihsoori	9%
"Large creek"	Seneca via French	Ohio	ohi:yo	9%
"Thicket clearers"	Choctaw	Alabama	alabamaaha	7%
"Near the great little-mountain"	Eastern Algonquian	Massachusetts	muswachusut	7%
"At the big river flat"	Munsee	Wyoming	xwé:wamank	1%