Random Best State Nicknames (50 items)

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  (#33) South Carolina

  • 1788-04-23

  The state tree of South Carolina is the sabal palmetto which inspired the state's nickname. Sabal palm wood was used during the Revolutionary War to build forts that could withstand the impact of cannonballs. The tree itself eventually came to represent the triumphant defenders against the British Fleet during the Revolutionary War.
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  (#32) Louisiana

  • 1812-04-30

  There's nothing more terrifying than a pelican, right? The pelican became the state bird in 1966 which happened to be the same year that pelicans started dying from pesticides, leading to their endangered status. Today, the pelican population is back to normal with its greatest enemy being the alligator (whose isn't?).
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  (#37) Indiana

  • 1816-12-11

  Which came first - the state name or the movie? Everybody loves the sports flick Hoosiers, about the Indiana basketball team, however the term Hoosier was in use way before the film was released. The term came about in the 1800s defining the pioneers of Indiana and the qualities they possessed: self-reliance and bravery.
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  (#6) Kentucky

  • 1792-06-01

  What's this all about? Well, the state is full of bluegrass! Though it actually looks green to the naked eye, it is the bloom, not the grass that is blue. Bluegrass was in popular demand by settlers early on, and the term became so popular it was even given to a new genre of music based on the Appalachian musicians in the region.
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  (#22) West Virginia

  • 1863-06-20

  The Allegheny Mountains run through West Virginia, accounting for more than 10% of the state's land area. It has also been called The Switzerland of America and The Panhandle State, because of its shape, not the fact that it has one of the lowest average annual incomes in the country.
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  (#41) South Dakota

  • 1889-11-02

  Mount Rushmore was commissioned in 1927 and sculptor Gutzon Borglum, with 400 helpful people, sculpted the faces of presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt ,and Lincoln, right onto the side of the mountain. More than twp million people a year visit the monument, which is reason enough to call South Dakota The Mount Rushmore State.

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