Idaho Was Made Up

Because people frequently take place names for granted, the etymology of place names is always fascinating. How many Californians can say with certainty that they even know what the word "California" means? The term is derived from a Spanish romance story written in the 16th century. California ruled over a paradise island. Like Alaska, which is derived from an Aleut word that means "great land," other state names are derived from Native American languages.

Idaho stands out among the states. When George M. Willing proposed using this word as the name for the state of Colorado, he claimed that it was likely Native American in origin. According to him, it denotes "Gem of the Mountains." The issue was that he simply made up the name; it wasn't even a Native American word.

As a result, they rejected it and chose to give Colorado a Spanish name after the river, which was red, or in this case, "colour rojo." After a few years, Congress had to name a new state, and for some reason they all forgot that Willing had lied about Idaho's Native American origins. They decided to go with that, but it is still meaningless today.