Question

From which linguistic traditions are most state names derived?

Answer 1

Answer:

Most States had their names derived from a simple Linguistic tradition of naming a place according to what the locals called it.

Explanation:

If we study the etymology of the names of US States, it becomes very clear that as Europeans started to take over local lands, they wanted to maintain the 'exotic factor' and uniqueness of the land and it's location tradition.

Even today, the names honor the long lost tribes and languages of North America.

For example, The State of IOWA is named after the local native American tribes of the Iwoas. KANSAS is named after the local tribe of Kaw, another native American tribe.

Some other names pay tribute to what others called their home. For example the Sioux tribe used to call their home Dakota, which means friends in their language. Today, the State is called Dakota.

Other States have even more interesting origins such as the State of Georgia which was named after King George of England.