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List of demonyms for US states and territories

This is a list of demonyms used to designate the citizens of specific states, federal district, and territories of the United States of America. Official English-language demonyms are established by the United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO);[1] however, many other terms are in common use.

Map of state demonyms of the United States of America colored by suffix
Map of state demonyms of the United States of America colored by suffix

List

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Jurisdiction Recommended by USGPO[1] Alternatives
Official Unofficial Archaic Non-English
 Alabama Alabamian Alabaman[2]
 Alaska Alaskan Russian: аляскинец, romanized: alyaskinets[3]
 American Samoa American Samoan Samoan: Amerika Samoa
 Arizona Arizonan Arizonian[4] Spanish: Arizonense
 Arkansas Arkansan Arkansasan, Arkansawyer,[5] Arkie[6]
 California Californian Prune Picker,[7][8][9][10][11][12]

Californios

Spanish: Californio, Californiano, californiana
 Colorado Coloradan Coloradoan[13][14]
 Connecticut Connecticuter Connecticotian,[15] Connecticutensian,[15] Connecticuteer,[15] Connectitensian,[16] Nutmegger [17]
 Delaware Delawarean Blue Hen's Chicken,[18] Muskrat[18]
 District of Columbia Washingtonian
 Florida Floridian Alligator,[19] Fly-Up-the-Creek[19] Spanish: Floridiano, floridiana
Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Georgian Buzzard, Cracker, Goober-grabber[20]
 Guam Guamanian Chamorro: Tåotåo Guåhån
 Hawaii Hawaii resident Islander,[21] Kamaʻāina. The Associated Press Stylebook restricts use of "Hawaiian" to people of Native Hawaiian descent.[22] Hawaiian: Kamaʻāina
 Idaho Idahoan
 Illinois Illinoisan Illinoisian, Illinoian, Flatlander,[23] Sucker, Sand-hiller, Egyptian[24]
 Indiana Hoosier Indianan (former GPO demonym replaced by Hoosier in 2016),[1] Indianian (archaic)[25]
 Iowa Iowan Hawkeye[26]
 Kansas Kansan Grasshopper, Jayhawker, Sunflower[27]
 Kentucky Kentuckian Corncracker,[28] Kentuckyan
 Louisiana Louisianian Louisianan French: Louisianais Spanish: Luisiano, luisiana
 Maine Mainer Down Easter or Downeaster,[29] Mainiac,[30] Yankee (rare)
 Maryland Marylander
 Massachusetts Massachusettsan Bay Stater (official term used by state government) and Citizen of the Commonwealth (identifier used in state law)[31] Massachusettsian,[32] Massachusite,[33][34] Masshole (derogatory[35] as an exonym; however, it can be affectionate when applied as an endonym[36])
 Michigan Michiganian Michigander,[37] Wolverine,[38][39] Michiganite, Yooper/Troll (for residents of the Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula, respectively),[40] Michigoose (used specifically for female residents, as a play on "Michigander")[40]
 Minnesota Minnesotan Minne
 Mississippi Mississippian
 Missouri Missourian Missouran French: Missourien Spanish: Misuriano
 Montana Montanan
 Nebraska Nebraskan Bugeaters (fake) or Cornhuskers[41]
 Nevada Nevadan
 New Hampshire New Hampshirite New Hampshireman or New Hampshirewoman, Granite Stater, Granite Boys[42]
 New Jersey New Jerseyan New Jerseyite
 New Mexico New Mexican Spanish: Neomexicano, neomexicana, Neomejicano, neomejicana[43]
New York (state) New York New Yorker Knickerbocker[44][45] Spanish: Neoyorquino, neoyorquina
 North Carolina North Carolinian Tar Heel, Tar Boiler[46] Spanish: Norcarolino, norcarolina
 North Dakota North Dakotan Spanish: Nordakotense
 Northern Mariana Islands Mariana Islander Chamorro: Tåotåo Mariånas
 Ohio Ohioan Buckeye[47] Ohian[48]
 Oklahoma Oklahoman Okie,[49] Sooner[50]
 Oregon Oregonian
 Pennsylvania Pennsylvanian Penn, Quaker, Pennamite[51] Pennsylvania Dutch: Pennsylvanier[52]
 Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Boricua[53] Spanish: Puertorriqueño, puertorriqueña
 Rhode Island Rhode Islander Swamp Yankee[54]
 South Carolina South Carolinian Sandlapper[55] Spanish: Sudcarolino, sudcarolina
 South Dakota South Dakotan Spanish: Sudakotense
 Tennessee Tennessean Volunteer, Butternut[56] Big Bender
 Texas Texan Texian (Anglo-Texan - historical),[57] Tejano (Hispano-Texan), Texican (archaic) Spanish: Texano, texanaSpanish: Tejano, tejana
 Utah Utahn Utahian, Utahan
 Vermont Vermonter Woodchuck[58]
United States Virgin Islands Virgin Islands Virgin Islander
 Virginia Virginian
Washington (state) Washington Washingtonian
 West Virginia West Virginian Mountaineer
 Wisconsin Wisconsinite Badger,[59] Cheesehead,[60][61] Sconnie,[62] Wisconsonian, Wisconsese
 Wyoming Wyomingite Wyomese,[63] Wyomingian

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual. 2016. §5.23.
  2. ^ Safire, William (June 26, 1994). "On Language: Foam Fell on Alabama". The New York Times. Safire reports that after he used the word "Alabaman" in a column, he received a letter from Vic Gold that said in part, "The natives, I have learned to my sorrow, prefer Alabamian."
  3. ^ "Русский орфографический словарь: аляскинец". Academic (in Russian). February 12, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  4. ^ "Arizonan vs Arizonian: which one is right?". ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix (KNXV). February 10, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  5. ^ Arkansawyer definition - Dictionary - MSN Encarta. Archived from the original on November 15, 2009.
  6. ^ "Ar•kie". Dictionary.infoplease.com. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  7. ^ Kincheloe, Joe L. (2000). White Reign: Deploying Whiteness in America. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 239. ISBN 9780312224752.
  8. ^ Trombley, William (August 12, 1985). "Boom Area's Missing Link--Jobs : Lack of Local Employment a Major Problem for 'Inland Empire'". The Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ King, Susan (December 6, 2007). "Cowboy, biker ... rabbit?". The Los Angeles Times.
  10. ^ Armstrong, Bill (May 20, 2014). Surf, Sun and Prune Pickers. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1499629552.
  11. ^ "CALIFORNIA ODYSSEY: The 1930s Migration to the Southern San Joaquin Valley" (PDF). University of California Bakersfield. January 19, 1981. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  12. ^ Hadden, B.; Luce, H.R. (1991). "Time Magazine". Time. Vol. 138. Time Incorporated. ISSN 0040-781X. LCCN 25011669.
  13. ^ Writers Style Guide. Colorado State University. p. 62. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2009. The correct name for a person from Colorado is Coloradan (not Coloradoan).
  14. ^ Quillen, Ed (March 18, 2007). "Coloradan or Coloradoan?". The Denver Post.
  15. ^ a b c "Connecticut's Nicknames". Connecticut State Library. April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  16. ^ Peters, Samuel. "Preface". General History of Connecticut. p. 4.
  17. ^ "Connecticut's Many Nicknames". Archived from the original on November 8, 2005. Retrieved August 9, 2005.
  18. ^ a b "The State of Delaware - An Introduction to the First State from". Netstate.Com. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  19. ^ a b "The State of Florida". Netstate.
  20. ^ "The State of Georgia". Netstate. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  21. ^ "The State of Hawaii - An Introduction to the Aloha State from". Netstate.Com. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  22. ^ Christian, Darrel; Jacobsen, Sally A.; Minthorn, David, eds. (2013). The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. New York, NY: Basic Books. p. 112. ISBN 9780465082995.
  23. ^ Jim Fitzgerald (October 6, 1987). "A Friend Escapes To Illinois . . . And Now Is A Flatlander!". ChicagoTribune.com.
  24. ^ "The State of Illinois - An Introduction to the Prairie State from". Netstate.Com. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  25. ^ "Indianian". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on October 25, 2018.
  26. ^ "The State of Iowa". Netstate.com.
  27. ^ "The State of Kansas - An Introduction to the Sunflower State from". Netstate.Com. Retrieved July 22, 2012. People who live in or come from Kansas are called Kansans. Kansans are sometimes referred to as Jayhawkers. Kansans have also been referred to as Grasshoppers and Sunflowers, names derived from some of the state nicknames described above.
  28. ^ "Definition of CORNCRACKER". www.merriam-webster.com.
  29. ^ The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2007. New York: World Almanac Books. 2006. ISBN 978-0-88687-995-2.
  30. ^ "Mainiac". Time. June 20, 1938. (term used in reference to Maine author Kenneth Roberts)
  31. ^ "Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 2, Section 35: Designation of citizens of commonwealth". The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved February 29, 2008.: "Bay Staters shall be the official designation of citizens of the commonwealth."
  32. ^ Safire, William (June 6, 1982). "On Language". The New York Times.
  33. ^ Collections. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society. 1877. p. 435.
  34. ^ Jones, Thomas (1879). DeLancey, Edward Floyd (ed.). History of New York During the Revolutionary War. New York: New York Historical Society. p. 465.
  35. ^ Nagy, Naomi; Irwin, Patricia (July 2010). "Boston (r): Neighbo(r)s nea(r) and fa(r)". Language Variation and Change. 22 (2): 270. doi:10.1017/S0954394510000062. S2CID 147556528.
  36. ^ "'Masshole' among newest words added to Oxford English Dictionary". masslive.com. June 25, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  37. ^ "The State of Michigan - An Introduction to the Great Lakes State from". Netstate.Com. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  38. ^ Marckwardt, Albert H. (1952). "Wolverine and Michigander". Michigan Alumnus Quarterly Review. LVIII: 203–8.
  39. ^ Sperber, Hans (February 1954). "Words and Phrases in American Politics: Michigander". American Speech. 29 (1): 21–7. doi:10.2307/453592. JSTOR 453592.
  40. ^ a b "MDE - Michigan Glossary". Michigan.gov. January 30, 2008. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  41. ^ "Football Players to Eat Corn, Not Bugs". History Nebraska. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  42. ^ "The State of New Hampshire - An Introduction to the Granite State from". Netstate.Com. April 13, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  43. ^ Neomexicano definition by Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española)
  44. ^ "Definition of KNICKERBOCKER". www.merriam-webster.com. March 26, 2024.
  45. ^ New York Knicks, What's a Knickerbocker?
  46. ^ Powell, William S. (March 1982). "What's in a Name?: Why We're All Called Tar Heels". Tar Heel. Tar Heel Magazine, Inc. OCLC 005457348. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
  47. ^ "The State of Ohio - An Introduction to the Buckeye State". Netstate.Com. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  48. ^ "Ohian". Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online.
  49. ^ Stewart, Roy P. (December 20, 1968). "Postal Card Proves Sooners Were 'Okies' Way Back In 1907". The Daily Oklahoman. p. 9, col. 2. Now comes Mrs. Agness Hooks of Thomas with a postal card mailed at Newcastle, Ind. in 1907, address to a Miss Agness Kirkbridge, with the salutation: 'Hello Okie — Will see you next Monday night.' Signed: Myrtle M. Pence. Mrs. Hooks says Agness Kirkbridge was an aunt of hers. The Kirkbridge family came to Oklahoma Territory in 1904 and settled south of Custer City.
  50. ^ "The State of Oklahoma - An Introduction to the Sooner State from". Netstate.Com. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  51. ^ "History of". Luzerne County. Archived from the original on March 27, 2013. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  52. ^ The Penn Germania: A Popular Journal of German History and Ideals in the United States, Volumes 14 to 15. 1913. p. 231.
  53. ^ "Commonwealth of Puerto Rico". Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  54. ^ "The Providence Journal | Rhode Island breaking news, sports, politics, business, entertainment, weather and traffic - providencejournal.com - Providence Journal". Projo.com. July 17, 2012. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  55. ^ "South Carolina - Origin of the Terms Sandlapper, Sand-lapper, and Sand Lapper".
  56. ^ "The State of Tennessee - An Introduction to the Volunteer State from". Netstate.Com. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  57. ^ de la Teja, Jesus F. (1997). "The Colonization and Independence of Texas: A Tejano Perspective". In Rodriguez O., Jaime E.; Vincent, Kathryn (eds.). Myths, Misdeeds, and Misunderstandings: The Roots of Conflict in U.S.–Mexican Relations. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources Inc. p. 79. ISBN 0-8420-2662-2.
  58. ^ Keck, Nina (December 17, 2020). "Where Do The Terms 'Woodchuck' And 'Flatlander' Come From?". Vermont Public. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  59. ^ "Do You Want to Be a Badger?". Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
  60. ^ Kapler, Joseph Jr. (Spring 2002). On Wisconsin Icons: When You Say 'Wisconsin', What Do You Say?. Wisconsin Historical Society. pp. 18–31. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
  61. ^ Foamation: About Us. Foamation. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
  62. ^ Partridge, Eric (2006). The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: J-Z. Taylor & Francis. p. 1678. ISBN 9780415259385. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  63. ^ "Chicago Daily Tribune". June 2, 1903. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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