How America's State Capitals Got Their Names
Texas named its capital Austin in January 1839, before anyone had picked the spot where the city would stand. A lot of state capitals got their names that way, by a vote of lawmakers setting up a new seat of government.
Read through these stories and you’ll start to see the patterns. Plenty of capitals honor people, from presidents like Jefferson, Madison and Lincoln to a fur trader, a ferry family and a pioneer killed on the Kentucky River. Others carry Native or Hawaiian names: Tallahassee, Topeka, Cheyenne and Honolulu. French and Spanish gave you Boise, Baton Rouge, Sacramento and Santa Fe, and a few capitals simply borrowed the name of an English town, like Hartford, Dover and Boston.
Not every story is settled. In places like Montgomery, Augusta and Salem, the old sources don’t agree on who the name honors or who picked it, and each article shows you where they split.
Every city here is its state’s capital today, according to the federal place-names records kept by the U.S. Geological Survey. The list isn’t complete yet: Albany, New York, and Columbia, South Carolina, don’t have their stories on the site so far.
How we picked these. The place is the capital of its state today, as shown in the U.S. Geological Survey's federal place-names record, and the site has a published article on how it got its name. Each story below lists the source that confirms it.
Montgomery County, ALEverybody agrees Montgomery, Alabama, is named for a man called Montgomery, but the old books don't agree on which one.
DisputedAlabama's capital carries a Montgomery's name, but old books split: Gen. Richard Montgomery or the major its county honors. Source: GNIS feature 165344 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Juneau City and Borough, AKJuneau, Alaska's capital, started out as a mining camp called Harrisburg, and the Navy called it Rockwell. The miners settled it by voting for Juneau.
DocumentedAlaska's capital began as a mining camp called Harrisburg, and the miners voted to name it for prospector Joseph Juneau. Source: GNIS feature 1404263 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Maricopa County, AZPhoenix, Arizona, could have been Stonewall, the name Jack Swilling wanted. Darrell Duppa looked at the ancient ruins and suggested Phoenix instead.
DocumentedArizona's capital is named for the mythical bird, suggested by Darrell Duppa. Jack Swilling had wanted Stonewall. Source: GNIS feature 44784 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Pulaski County, ARBy 1911, the rock that gave Little Rock, Arkansas, its name was holding up the end of a railroad bridge.
DocumentedArkansas's capital is named for a small rocky point on the south bank of the Arkansas River. Source: GNIS feature 83350 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Sacramento County, CASacramento, California, is named for a river, and the Spanish officer who named it in 1808 first gave the name to what's now the Feather River.
DocumentedCalifornia's capital is named for the Sacramento River, which the Spanish named for the Holy Sacrament. Source: GNIS feature 1659564 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Denver County, CODenver, Colorado, sits on a town site that another company had already staked out and named St. Charles.
DocumentedColorado's capital is named for James W. Denver, governor of Kansas Territory in 1858. Source: GNIS feature 201738 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Hartford County, CTThe English town that gave Hartford, Connecticut, its name spells it Hertford, and an 1886 history says people there more often pronounce it Harford.
DocumentedConnecticut's capital is named for Hertford, England, most likely because it was the Rev. Samuel Stone's birthplace. Source: GNIS feature 213160 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Kent County, DEDover, Delaware, nearly became Canterbury: in 1699, Kent County asked for that name, and the council in Philadelphia granted everything but kept Dover.
DocumentedDelaware's capital is named for Dover, England. In 1699 Kent County asked for Canterbury, but Dover stayed. Source: GNIS feature 217882 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Leon County, FLIn 1823, the men picking a site for Florida's capital rode past two Tallahassees, an old Indian town and a new one, and the capital took the name.
DocumentedFlorida's capital took its name from the Tallahassee Indian towns on the site. The word is translated "old town." Source: GNIS feature 308416 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Fulton County, GAAtlanta, Georgia, was called Terminus and then Marthasville before a railroad engineer coined its name from the word Atlantic.
DisputedGeorgia's capital was Terminus, then Marthasville. The best-supported story says Atlanta was coined from Atlantic. Source: GNIS feature 351615 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Honolulu County, HIA captain who sailed into Honolulu's harbor in 1794 called it Fair Haven, and that's just how early scholars translated the Hawaiian name Honolulu.
DocumentedHawaii's capital has a Hawaiian name that early scholars read as "fair haven" or "quiet harbor." Source: GNIS feature 366212 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Ada County, IDBoise, Idaho, takes its name from French fur traders who called its river the wooded one for the trees along its banks.
DocumentedIdaho's capital is named for the Boise River, from the French word for wooded. Source: GNIS feature 400590 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Sangamon County, ILSpringfield, Illinois, got its name from a county order in 1821, but for a while part of the town was platted as Calhoun, and many refused to use it.
DocumentedIllinois's capital got its name from a county order in 1821, though part of the town was first platted as Calhoun. Source: GNIS feature 426595 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Marion County, INWhen Jeremiah Sullivan proposed the name Indianapolis for Indiana's new capital in 1821, the House laughed. Then it voted yes.
DocumentedIndiana's capital is "City of Indiana" with a Greek ending. The House laughed at the name in 1821, then voted yes. Source: GNIS feature 452890 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Polk County, IAThe Army captain who built the fort that became Des Moines, Iowa, named it Raccoon in 1843. General Scott ordered Fort Des Moines instead.
DisputedIowa's capital grew from Fort Des Moines, the name General Scott ordered in place of Raccoon in 1843. Source: GNIS feature 465961 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Shawnee County, KSWhen F. W. Giles proposed the name Topeka, Kansas, in January 1855, he couldn't say what the word meant. Later explanations all point to wild potatoes.
DocumentedKansas's capital has an Indian name that 19th-century writers tied to digging wild potatoes. Source: GNIS feature 485477 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Franklin County, KYFrankfort, Kentucky's capital, is named for Stephen Frank, a pioneer killed on the Kentucky River in 1780. Two old accounts tell his death differently.
DocumentedKentucky's capital is named for Stephen Frank, a pioneer killed on the Kentucky River in 1780. Source: GNIS feature 517517 (U.S. Geological Survey)
East Baton Rouge Parish, LABaton Rouge, Louisiana, means "red stick," and in March 1699 a French expedition passed a pole painted red with fish and bear heads tied to it.
DisputedLouisiana's capital is French for "red stick," most likely after a red-painted pole on the riverbank. Source: GNIS feature 1629914 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Kennebec County, MEAugusta, Maine, was born Harrington in 1797. Within months the town asked for a new name, and its petition never said why it wanted Augusta.
DisputedMaine's capital was born Harrington in 1797 and became Augusta within months. Who it honors is still disputed. Source: GNIS feature 581636 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Anne Arundel County, MDWhen Maryland's new capital took the name Annapolis in 1695, the Anne it honored wasn't a queen yet. She was Princess Anne, seven years from the throne.
DocumentedMaryland's capital took the name Annapolis in 1695 for Princess Anne, seven years before she became queen. Source: GNIS feature 595031 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Suffolk County, MABefore it was Boston, the colonists' town on the Shawmut peninsula was Trimountain. In 1630 it took the name of Boston, a town in Lincolnshire, England.
DisputedThe Massachusetts capital was once Trimountain. In 1630 it took the name of Boston in Lincolnshire, England. Source: GNIS feature 617565 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Ingham County, MIFor its first months as the capital, Lansing, Michigan, was officially the Town of Michigan. Its real name came from New York, by way of a paper town.
DocumentedMichigan's capital was first the Town of Michigan. Its name traces back to Lansing, New York, by way of a township. Source: GNIS feature 1625035 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Ramsey County, MNBefore Saint Paul, Minnesota, had a saint's name, the place was called Pig's Eye, after a one-eyed whiskey seller named Pierre Parrant.
DocumentedMinnesota's capital was called Pig's Eye before a log chapel dedicated to Saint Paul gave it a new name. Source: GNIS feature 662851 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Hinds County, MSThe men sent to find a capital near Mississippi's center in 1821 picked a bluff about 35 miles (56 km) south of it, and the town there became Jackson.
DocumentedMississippi's capital is named for Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson, in a state law of November 28, 1821. Source: GNIS feature 711543 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Cole County, MOJefferson City's legal name is still the City of Jefferson, the name Missouri's legislature gave its new capital in honor of Thomas Jefferson.
DocumentedMissouri's capital honors Thomas Jefferson, and its legal name is still the City of Jefferson. Source: GNIS feature 758233 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Lewis and Clark County, MTHelena, Montana, got its name from a Minnesota miner at an 1864 meeting, but the old accounts don't agree on which Helena he had in mind.
DisputedMontana's capital got its name at an 1864 miners' meeting, but accounts split on which Helena was meant. Source: GNIS feature 802116 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Lancaster County, NELincoln, Nebraska, is named for Abraham Lincoln, but an 1889 history says the name began as an Omaha senator's trick to keep the capital. It backfired.
DocumentedNebraska's capital is named for Abraham Lincoln. An 1889 history says the name began as a senator's trick. Source: GNIS feature 837279 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Independent city, NVCarson City, Nevada, carries Kit Carson's name, but the town got started because Abram Curry wouldn't pay $1,000 for a corner lot in Genoa.
DocumentedNevada's capital carries Kit Carson's name, which was already on the Carson River and valley. Source: GNIS feature 863976 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Merrimack County, NHConcord, New Hampshire, got its name in 1765, after decades of fighting with Bow over the land, and the old histories don't say why it was picked.
DocumentedNew Hampshire's capital got its name in 1765 after decades of fighting with Bow. Old histories don't say why it was picked. Source: GNIS feature 873303 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Mercer County, NJNew Jersey's capital was first written "Trent's-town," after William Trent, a Philadelphia trader who bought the land on the Delaware in 1714.
DocumentedNew Jersey's capital was first written "Trent's-town," after William Trent, a Philadelphia trader. Source: GNIS feature 884540 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Santa Fe County, NMSanta Fe means holy faith, and New Mexico's capital has carried that name for over 400 years, but even its first historians couldn't find the day it began.
DocumentedNew Mexico's capital has a Spanish name meaning holy faith, and its first historians couldn't find the day it began. Source: GNIS feature 936823 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Wake County, NCSir Walter Raleigh never set foot in North Carolina, and the City of Raleigh he planned in America was never built.
DocumentedNorth Carolina's capital is named for Sir Walter Raleigh, who never set foot in the state. Source: GNIS feature 1024242 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Burleigh County, NDBismarck, North Dakota, took the name of Germany's chancellor in 1873 for a business reason: the Northern Pacific wanted German investors to notice.
DocumentedNorth Dakota's capital took the German chancellor's name in 1873 so German investors would notice the railroad. Source: GNIS feature 1035849 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Franklin County, OHIn 1812, Ohio lawmakers turned down the name Ohio City for their new capital and named it Columbus instead, after Christopher Columbus.
DocumentedOhio's capital is named for Christopher Columbus. In 1812 lawmakers turned down the name Ohio City. Source: GNIS feature 1080996 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Oklahoma County, OKOklahoma City's post office didn't carry the name Oklahoma City until 1923. Before that, the mail went to plain "Oklahoma."
DocumentedOklahoma's capital takes the name Oklahoma, a Choctaw word for "red people." Its post office was plain Oklahoma until 1923. Source: GNIS feature 1102140 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Marion County, ORSalem, Oregon, sits on a spot the Native people called Chemeketa, and historians still argue over who gave the future state capital its new name.
DisputedOregon's capital sits on a spot called Chemeketa, and historians still argue over who named it Salem. Source: GNIS feature 1167861 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Dauphin County, PAIn 1786, state officials renamed Harrisburg Louisbourg, for the king of France. John Harris, who had named the town for his family, wouldn't go along.
DocumentedPennsylvania's capital is named for John Harris's family. In 1786 officials renamed it Louisbourg, and Harris wouldn't go along. Source: GNIS feature 1213649 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Providence County, RIRoger Williams named Providence, Rhode Island. In a 1661 deed he said he chose it "in a sense of God's merciful providence unto me in my distress."
DocumentedRhode Island's capital was named by Roger Williams for God's providence, which he credited with saving him. Source: GNIS feature 1219851 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Hughes County, SDPierre, South Dakota, takes its name from Fort Pierre, a fur-trading post across the Missouri named for St. Louis fur trader Pierre Chouteau Jr. in 1832.
DocumentedSouth Dakota's capital is named for Fort Pierre, a fur post named for St. Louis trader Pierre Chouteau Jr. Source: GNIS feature 1266887 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Davidson County, TNHenry Gannett's 1905 place-name book said Nashville, Tennessee, honored Abner Nash, a governor, and only then mentioned General Francis Nash.
DocumentedTennessee's capital is named for Gen. Francis Nash of North Carolina. It was Nashborough until 1784. Source: GNIS feature 1652484 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Travis County, TXAustin, Texas, got its name by law in January 1839, before anyone had picked the spot where the new capital would stand.
DocumentedTexas's capital was named for Stephen F. Austin by law in January 1839, before anyone picked its site. Source: GNIS feature 1384879 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Salt Lake County, UTFor its first twenty years, Salt Lake City had a longer name: the pioneers called it the City of the Great Salt Lake, and the word Great stayed until 1868.
DocumentedUtah's capital is named for the Great Salt Lake, and it was Great Salt Lake City until 1868. Source: GNIS feature 1454997 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Washington County, VTCol. Jacob Davis named Montpelier, Vermont, after a city in France because he was tired of new towns copying old ones and wanted a name nobody else had.
DocumentedVermont's capital is named for the city in France. Col. Jacob Davis wanted a name no other town had. Source: GNIS feature 1461834 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Independent city, VAIn September 1733, William Byrd wrote that he and his friends had laid the foundation of two cities in a single day, and one was to be called Richmond.
DocumentedVirginia's capital is named for Richmond, the town near London, which the site was said to resemble. Source: GNIS feature 1499957 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Thurston County, WAOlympia, Washington, was once Smithter, a blend of its two owners' names, and more often Smithfield, before it took its name from the Olympic Mountains.
DocumentedWashington's capital was Smithter and Smithfield before it took its name from the Olympic Mountains. Source: GNIS feature 1533353 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Kanawha County, WVThe man who founded Charleston, West Virginia, was named George. The town is named for his father, Charles Clendenin, and it took some digging to prove it.
DocumentedWest Virginia's capital is named for Charles Clendenin, father of the town's founder, George Clendenin. Source: GNIS feature 1558347 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Dane County, WIMadison, Wisconsin, got its name in the fall of 1836 from James Duane Doty, who drew a capital city for President James Madison on land with no city on it.
DocumentedWisconsin's capital is named for President James Madison by James Duane Doty, who drew it in 1836. Source: GNIS feature 1581834 (U.S. Geological Survey)
Laramie County, WYCheyenne, Wyoming, is named for the Cheyenne people, and the word has nothing to do with the French chien, or dog, despite an old guess that it did.
DocumentedWyoming's capital is named for the Cheyenne people. The word has nothing to do with the French chien, or dog. Source: GNIS feature 1609077 (U.S. Geological Survey)