Have you ever wondered where the state name Georgia or South Carolina came from? What about New York or California? You can easily find the answers to these questions through Google. Or, you could make a fun game out of it and… guess! Prepare a real game show experience for yourself and your friends in true Jeopardy!-style. We’ve got the questions covered. Not all the questions are about state name origins, but they all concern state names. We’ve even prepared a bonus round for the extra brave!
If you don’t want to wait long, go through the questions yourself and answer them. To make the game more fun, we’ve hidden the answers. Choose to see them whenever you’re ready!
1. They’re Sisters, but Not Twins.
The names of these two states honor a king & his father, who was executed in 1649
2. How Well Do You Know Your Reality TV?
Though it doesn’t have “island” in its name, it’s named after a European island
3. You Probably Know a Woman with This Name!
It’s the only state named for a woman & whose capital is also named for a woman
4. Hint: They’re All in The South.
Three of the four states whose names come from the first names of European kings
5. The City Is Home to Many Successful Athletes.
Frederick, Maryland was named for this sixth Baron
6. The Country Went on to Invade and Colonize Others.
This country is named for the 5th century Germanic people who invaded it
7. People of That State: Can You Confirm?
One popular story is that men of this state fought so stalwartly it seemed their feet were stuck to the ground
8. This Man Had Multiple Cities Named After Him.
In 1517 the Portuguese modified the name of a port city of western Ceylon in honor of this man
9. Hint: The Team Was Founded by Art Rooney.
This city that’s home to an NFL team is named for an 18th-century British prime minister
10. The Chippewa Know a Great Lake!
This state’s name is from Chippewa words meaning “great water,” after the lake of the same name
11. An Easy Question for Our French Speakers.
Its name is from the French for “green mountain”
12. It’s a Former French Colony.
It was named for the king of France
13. His Name was Not Sean…
The first part of its name honors the father of the colony’s founder; the rest means “woodland”
14. Think: Shore…
This state was named for an island in the English Channel
15. They Also Fit in the “4-Letter Word” Category.
These are the two U.S. states with only one consonant in their names
16. It Sounds a Bit Like Math Homework, but You’ll Get It!
Of the four states that begin & end with the same vowel, the one that doesn’t begin & end with the same letter as the other three states
17. The Name Can Be Deceiving!
It’s the only two-word state name in which neither word appears in the name of any other state
18. It May Remind You of a Young Fictional Pop Star.
It’s the only state from which rainwater flows to the Pacific, the Atlantic & Hudson Bay
19. The Two Names Are Very Similar!
Benjamin Harrison had the admission orders shuffled, so no one knows which of these two states was 39th & which was 40th
20. Name Both for Double Points!
One of two state capitals that formerly served as the capital of the U.S.
21. Believe It or Not, It Has Three Vowels.
The only one of the 50 states that has a one-syllable name
22. Try To Get a Baby to Pronounce It!
The only state whose name ends with three consonants
23. It’s a City in Sunny California.
This motto is the name of a city in that state & is a famous quote by an ancient Greek from the 3rd century B.C.
24. It Is Also the Name of a Country.
This state was named for a man born in Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover in 1683
25. It’s Also a Common French-Sounding Male Name.
This Plains State capital of only 14,000 people is the only U.S. capital with no letters of its state in its name
26. Knowing Greek Can Certainly Help.
One of the two state capitals whose names end with the Greek word for “city”
27. You Have a 4 In 50 Chance of Getting At Least One Right.
Two of the four states whose names were those of independent republics before they entered the Union
28. It Is Home To One Of The Five Great Lakes.
The name of this state is derived from an Indian word meaning “great lake”
29. You Can Probably Think Of At Least One!
Number of states whose names end with the same vowel they begin with
30. It Also Contains The State Name.
With 12 letters, it’s the longest one-word state capital
31. The State Name Can Double as a Female Name.
This state capital is on the site of a cross erected by Capt. Christopher Newport May 24, 1607
32. The State Was Also Called The Great American Desert.
This state capital was a compromise choice between North Platters & South Platters
33. You’ll Know What That Means Once You Hear It Out Loud!
The name of this capital is an Anglicized form of the Hebrew word for “peace”
34. Think Mountains and The Ocean.
After Alaska, this state has the greatest difference between its highest & lowest points
35. Hint: Two of Them Have Two Words in Their Name.
Two of the four states that border only two other states
36. Lead With Spelling, Not Pronunciation.
The two states whose one-word names are contained in other state names
37. It Is Also The Least Populous Capital City In North America.
A state capital since 1805, its name begins with the last four letters of the state’s name
BONUS CATEGORY: “STATE” NAMES
- This playwright didn’t use his home state of Mississippi for his pen name
- Mrs. Naugatuck replaced this maid on “Maude”
- “The Carpetbaggers” character who sequeled into a film of his own with Steve McQueen
- Champ whom Eddie Felson hustled in “The Hustler”
- Western star famous for rope tricks & Rose Parade appearances
Final Words
We hope you had fun with this lesson in geography (and a little bit of history, too!). For more fun Jeopardy! and trivia ideas, check out these lists of easy movie trivia questions, planet trivia questions, Bible Jeopardy questions, Harry Potter trivia questions, Broadway musical Final Jeopardy questions, ballet trivia questions, trivia questions for Kindergarteners, and all the fun and educational trivia questions we have on the TriviaBliss database!
Leave a Reply