Texas, or "Tejas," is the Spanish pronunciation of a word that comes from the Caddo Native American tribe, who lived in the area before the Spanish arrived. The word roughly translates to "allies" or "friends." The state motto of Texas, "Friendship," was adopted in 1930 because it was associated with the meaning of the state’s name.

Home to more than 10,000 lakes, it’s no wonder that Minnesota’s name is a reference to water. “Minnesota” is derived from the Dakota word meaning “sky-tinted water.” The Native American tribe lived in the Wisconsin-Minnesota region for centuries, setting up camp on the shores of its many rivers and lakes.

Alaska's name in the Indigenous Aleut language is "alaxsxaq," which translates to "the mainland." More specifically, however, this word literally means "the object towards the action of the sea is directed” — in this case, the landmass of Alaska. An alternate theory is that Alaska’s state name is derived from another Aleut word, "Alyeska," which can be translated as "the great land."

California’s name came from a Spanish 16th-century romance novel, whose abbreviated title loosely translates to “The Adventures of Esplandian.” In it, the author Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo describes a fabled island utopia called California. When Spanish conquistadors, who were familiar with the novel, arrived in present-day Baja California, they thought they’d arrived at an island, so they bestowed the name California upon it.

Washington is the only U.S. state with a presidential namesake, but it may not have had that distinction without Kentucky representative Richard H. Stanton. The new territory in 1853 was originally going to be called “Columbia,” due to the Columbia River running through it, but Stanton thought this might be confused with the national capital, the District of Columbia, so he proposed the new name.

While a handful of state names come from French or French adaptations of Native American words, Florida’s name comes from Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. He landed in Florida around Easter in 1513, so he chose the name based on the Spanish “Pascua florida,” after the Spanish Easter celebration meaning “feast of the flowers.”

The state of Louisiana was originally part of the French settlements of the New World, and it was named after French King Louis XIV. It wasn't until the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 that the state became part of the United States. To this day, Louisiana retains its strong French heritage and culture.

When King Charles II divided the former Dutch territory of New Netherland, the area between the Delaware and Hudson rivers was granted to Sir George Carteret and Sir John Berkeley. They named it the Province of New Jersey in memory of Carteret’s birthplace — the original Jersey is one of the British Channel Islands.

Henrietta Maria, the wife of King Charles I of England, never actually set foot in Maryland during her life in the 17th century. But her husband provided the name for the future U.S. state when he granted a land charter to George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, in 1632. Charles I suggested “Terra Mariae,” which translated to Maryland.

Out of the 50 states, seven are named after royalty. However, unlike Georgia or Maryland, for example, Virginia didn’t take its name directly from a sovereign, but rather from Queen Elizabeth’s nickname. She was known as the Virgin Queen, as she never married during her 44-year reign. Sir Walter Raleigh settled Virginia in her name in 1584.