List of U.S. state and territory nicknames

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.

Map of the United States showing the state nicknames as hogs. Lithograph by Mackwitz, St. Louis, 1884.

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[1][lower-alpha 1]
 Alaska
 American Samoa
  • Motu o Fiafiaga (a Samoan phrase; in English, it is "Islands of Paradise")[9] (used on American Samoa license plates)[10]
  • Football Island[s][11]
 Arizona
 Arkansas
 California
 Colorado
 Connecticut
 Delaware
  • Chemical Capital of the World[30] (due to one time being the corporate headquarters for several international chemical companies.)
  • Corporate Capital (due to the state's business-friendly incorporation laws)[30]
  • Diamond State (Thomas Jefferson is supposed to have referred to Delaware as being like a diamond – small in size but great in value)[31]
  • Blue Hen State or Blue Hen Chicken State[32]
  • The First State[30][33] (Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution; used on license plates)
  • Peach State[30] (no longer used; see Georgia)
  • Small Wonder[30]
 District of Columbia[lower-alpha 1]
  • Nation's Capital[34]
  • DMV (nickname for the broader metropolitan area of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia)[34]
  • Inside the Beltway
  • Chocolate City[35]
 Florida
 Georgia
  • Peach State[38] (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.[39] 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.[40]
  • Goober State — Refers to peanuts, the official state crop.[41]
  • State of Adventure (on highway welcome signs)
 Guam
 Hawaii
 Idaho
 Illinois[53]
 Indiana
  • Hoosier State (Used at various times on license plates)[55]
    (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
 Kentucky
 Louisiana
 Maine
 Maryland
 Massachusetts
 Michigan
 Minnesota
 Mississippi
 Missouri
 Montana
 Nebraska
 Nevada
 New Hampshire
 New Jersey
 New Mexico
  • Land of Enchantment[78] (used on license plates)
  • Land of Sunshine (predates "Land of Enchantment"; this earlier nickname highlighted the large percentage of sunshine received statewide)[79]
 New York
 North Carolina
 North Dakota
 Northern Mariana Islands[lower-alpha 1]
 Ohio
 Oklahoma
 Oregon
 Pennsylvania
 Puerto Rico
  • Isla del Encanto ("Island of Enchantment") (used on license plates)
  • Borinquen (name given by indigenous people, the Tainos)[92]
 Rhode Island
 South Carolina
 South Dakota
 Tennessee
 Texas
 U.S. Virgin Islands[lower-alpha 1]
 Utah
 Vermont
 Virginia
 Washington[lower-alpha 1]
 West Virginia
 Wisconsin[107][lower-alpha 1]
 Wyoming
  • Cowboy State
  • Equality State
  • Forever West (on highway welcome signs)

See also

Notes
  1. No official nickname.
  2. Though this phrase is used on license plates, it is unclear if it is the official nickname of the Northern Mariana Islands.

References
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  5. "Heart of Dixie". Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors. Alabama Department of Archives & History. June 29, 2004. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2007.
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  9. Terrell, Connie (September 30, 2016). "Honor, Respect, Devotion to Duty: Coast Guard Auxiliarists Mike and Paula McDonald.". U.S. Coast Guard. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
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  31. "Jewel among the states (Quotation)". Monticello.ORG. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
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  34. Farhi, Paul. (July 30, 2010). After initial obscurity, 'The DMV' nickname for Washington area picks up speed. Washington Post. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
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  53. "Illinois". Illinois State Symbols & Emblems. Retrieved April 29, 2007.
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  55. The unofficial sobriquet of the State of Indiana has given rise to the humorous constructions Hoosierana (the land of Hoosiers; see uses in Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame Archived September 12, 2005, at the Wayback Machine and by sports journalist Frank DeFord) and Hoosierstan (the place of Hoosiers).
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  90. Writer John Francon Williams included a mention of Oregon as being the ‘Beaver State’ in 1892 in his book:The Advanced Class-Book of Modern Geography: Physical, Political, Commercial, by William Hughes and John Francon Williams, publ., London, George Philip & Son (1892) page 629: ‘OREGON, the ‘Beaver State,’ extends north of California to the Columbia River, which divides it from Washington.’
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  92. Elsa María Calderón. "98.03.04: The Taínos of Puerto Rico: Rediscovering Borinquen". Yale.edu. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  93. "Archives". Los Angeles Times. May 15, 1986.
  94. "Iodine". South Carolina Encyclopedia. April 14, 2007. Archived from the original on May 19, 2006. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
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  107. "Wisconsin State Symbols Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine" in Wisconsin Blue Book 2005-2006, p. 966. Wisconsin has no Official nickname.
  108. Dornfeld, Margaret; Hantula, Richard (2010). Wisconsin: It's my state!. Marshall Cavendish. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-60870-062-2.
  109. Urdang, Laurence (1988). Names and Nicknames of Places and Things. Penguin Group USA. p. 8. ISBN 9780452009073. "America's Dairyland" A nickname of Wisconsin
  110. Kane, Joseph Nathan; Alexander, Gerard L. (1979). Nicknames and sobriquets of U.S. cities, States, and counties. Scarecrow Press. p. 412. ISBN 9780810812550. Wisconsin - America's Dairyland, The Badger State ... The Copper State ...
  111. Herman, Jennifer L. (2008). Wisconsin Encyclopedia, American Guide. North American Book Dist LLC. p. 10. ISBN 9781878592613. Nicknames Wisconsin is generally known as The Badger State, The Dairy State, or America's Dairyland, although in the past it has been nicknamed The Copper State.
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