Half of all US states, 25, are named after Native Americans. Here they are:
1. Alabama: Named after the Alabama tribe, or Alibamu, a Muskogean-speaking tribe. Sources are divided between the meanings "clearers of the thicket" or "gatherers of herbs."
2. Alaska: Named after the Aleut word “alaxsxaq,” meaning “the mainland”
3. Arizona: Named after the O'odham word “al ĭ ṣonak,” meaning “little spring”
4. Connecticut: Named after the Mohican word “quonehtacut,” meaning “place of the long tidal river”
5. Hawaii: Original Hawaiian word meaning “homeland”
6. Illinois: Named after the Illinois word “illiniwek,” meaning “men”
7. Iowa: Named after the Ioway tribe, whose name means “gray snow”
8. Kansas: Named after the Kansa tribe, whose name means “people of the south wind”
9. Kentucky: Origins unclear, may have been named after the Iroquoian word “Kentake,” meaning “in the meadow”
10. Massachusetts: Named after the Algonquin word “Massadchu-es-et,” meaning “big-hill-little-place.”
11. Michigan: From the Chippewa word “Michigama,” meaning “big lake.”
12. Minnesota: Named after the Dakota Indian word “Minisota” meaning “white water.”
13. Mississippi: Named after the river that was named by the Choctaw, meaning “big water” or “father of waters.”
14. Missouri: Named after the Missouri tribe whose name means “those who have dug canoes.”