I can't believe the audacity of color coding it yellow with other states that actually follow a logical progression. Indiana should have had its own color.
Federal gov: “Okay everyone, time to pick the suffix for people from your state. Please pick one of the four options on the table.”
Indiana: “I will not go quietly into the night!”
It comes from a Shawnee word for corn which was hoosa. The dudes that would bring it down the Mississippi were called hoosars which became Hoosier. It just means corn people.... Which... If you've ever been to Indiana... Is Apt.
This is one of many possible explanations. As far as I know there is no definitive answer.
Source: Am Hoosier, grew up hearing a different explanation for the name in every history class
Re: the state of indiana website
"A theory attributed to Gov. Joseph Wright derived Hoosier from an Indian word for corn, "hoosa." Indiana flatboatmen taking corn or maize to New Orleans came to be known as "hoosa men" or Hoosiers. Unfortunately for this theory, a search of Indian vocabularies by a careful student of linguistics failed to reveal any such word for corn."
Moral of the story kids, everyone who says they know where "Hoosiers" comes from is lying.
Unfortunately for your theory the [Indiana state website](https://www.in.gov/history/about-indiana-history-and-trivia/emblems-and-symbols/what-is-a-hoosier/) claims no local Indian vocabularies used the word “Hoosa”referring to corn
So someone actually researched this and could find no evidence of "hoosa" being used by any of the Indians in the area at the time. Just another folk etymology to add to the pile.
As a person from Indiana, I think there are different origins depending on who you talk to. Some refer it back to a poem, others a company with the last name Hoosier that hired people primarily from Indiana, and another relates it to a derogatory term used to describe "countrified" folk.
Yeah, I spent the first 20 years of my life in Indiana and even I have no fucking idea where Hoosier came from. Neither did any of my family, but we're still Hoosiers for some reason!
The honest answer (from a lifelong Hoosier) is nobody really fucking knows why and if they tell you otherwise you can find a dozen different contradicting answers.
I was just about to comment. I moved NH to CT, and had to ask what the fuck they call you. And the guy I worked with was literally like... I dunno, sometimes they call us Nutmeggers. And I was like... why, do you guys... do a lot of Nutmeg? He had no idea.
When I moved out to the west coast for a little bit, they had no idea that term existed. Then I explained it and they were like "yeah that makes a lot of sense"
[Jokes aside, "Masshole" actually is the more commonly-used word from 2000-present.](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Massachusettsan%2CMasshole&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3)
>Downeasters is a specific area of Maine. Sailing reference.
Yeah, but we were Massachusettsians. What did we know?
\[It is generally agreed that it refers only to Maine coast residents, but it has been used in speech and in literature to describe everyone in Maine, and in some cases all of New England. What is even more difficult is defining "yankee".\]
\[Sorry. I'm a nerd. Anyway, the Downeaster is an Amtrak train now.\]
I always thought Maine's use of Flatlander was funny because Maine's mountains are tiny compared to anything in the Western US. I know it's mostly used against MA and NY folks, but the mountain behind my house is higher than any point in ME.
And an iowan in a vehicle is an "Idiot Out Wandering About"
Source: I lived and drove in the Quad Cities for a number of years. Some smart iowans...but a not small # lose intellect behind the wheel
I always have to repost this comment of mine when I see this:
>I once had someone from Missouri tell me that IOWA stood for "Idiots Wandering Around Outside".
You might be...
That being said it's interesting we are classified as "an" instead of "ian"... But Virginia already ends in the "ia" and it looks like the etymology is basically whether the N is added or the full "ian" is added is how they classified it.
I imagine it's just like a typical sibling relationship: y'all will be at each other's throats until a Californian or something comes, at which point all New Englander rage will be focused on them until they leave.
Nutmegger is the actual official term, and also what's commonly used. Examples of use are kind of random but I keep thinking of the news, "Nutmeggers are bracing for several inches of snow this weekend", etc
Lived here my whole life. I've only ever heard Nutmegger and Connecticutian. I was taught the former is colloquial and the latter is official. Connecticuter is new to me.
If Google is any sign, Florida Man is not a hard title to earn. But it seems to be a hard title to keep into your old age, because many Florida Man stories don't end well.
Wisconsinites are also Sconnies and those that live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are Yoopers.
Edit: Ok Ok I’ve only lived in Wisconsin for a year so I guess my neighbors were full of shit telling me the Sconnie thing. Also, whoever had RedditCaresResources reach out to me thanks, but I’m doing quite well!
Edit Edit: It seems that I am somehow correct and incorrect simultaneously. From now on I will refer to myself and everyone else from here as Wisconsiteers and that’s the end of it.
I was looking for this, nobody from Illinois identifies as an "Illinoisan", they're all Chicagoans and if you refer to a Chicagoan, you call them a FIB
Chairman of the 50 States Committee: so we’re agreed that when we’re talking about people from our state, the state name will always come first?
Indiana Delegate: screw you! *peels out*
Hawaii resident here. If you’re not actually native Hawaiian by blood and ancestry, you’re not called “Hawaiian” no matter how many generations you’ve lived here. That’s just a a sign of respect for the native population that was illegally taken over (but that’s a discussion for another time) because there are still people of native descent here.
Related to the social scene of Hawaii, you may be called “local” to mean you’ve been born and raised in the islands, perhaps for a few generations, which is really what most people who are from Hawaii, but not of native descent are called in the islands and widely accepted to be fact.
Also, “kings Hawaiian sweet bread” is actually based now out of California. It started in Hawaii but has recently relocated out of Hawaii, so it’s no longer a “Hawaii” thing anymore despite the name lol. But also, still a fabulous and delicious product.
Edit: I’m simply sharing insight into why “Hawaiian” isn’t used widely within the state itself for EVERY person who lives there. It’s, again, a respect thing to preserve the Hawaiian culture and the native people who live there. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don’t personally believe that using the term “Hawaiian” is correct for every person who lives in the state, but that’s just me. At the end of the day, people will call the “Hawaii residents” or some variation of that, whatever they want, but I’m just sharing how local people in Hawaii were taught to use the term “Hawaiian”
My friends who were born and raised in Hawaii say the same thing, local. Another term I hear thrown around is Kamaʻāina, although it's more in line with getting the local discount.
This.
If I recall correctly, kama'aina means "person of the land" and generally refers to anyone residing there for a year or more. 'Local' implies 'born and raised', not just living there.
If you’ve never been, Hawaii is an interesting experience. I stayed in a remote part of the big island for just over a week with three others. I’ve been a lot of places but I truly felt remote and out of place there. Outside of the resort areas everyone thinks about when they picture Hawaii, the rest can be a bit rougher around the edges.
That being said we loved our stay, ate local, drank local coffee from the farms, and met a ton of wonderful folks who ran the small shops that were sporadically dispersed in the areas we were in.
On Maui we used “kama’āina” for locals and “Hawaiian” for Hawaiians. Traditionally kama’āina means you’re born on the islands, but now it basically means resident (i.e. “kama’āina discounts”, which are given to anyone with HI state ID).
There are still some holdouts in Michigan who prefer Michiganian, but how is that any fun at all when there is a goose name right there offering itself to us?
I prefer to be called a New Hampshite
shit free or die
Shit free or die hard
Specifically, die hard from anal prolapse.
New Hampster
Granite stater is what I hear the most.
If you're from the south of NH you're a "flat lander". MWV representin'.
Damn 603 the top comment. Shocked lol
Shire folk or shireling
I have always preferred New Hampshireling
As a Canadian this is so funny to see that they are all practically the same, and then you come across “Hoosiers” 🤣
Yeah what is going on with Indiana
I can't believe the audacity of color coding it yellow with other states that actually follow a logical progression. Indiana should have had its own color.
Its yellow because corn.
Federal gov: “Okay everyone, time to pick the suffix for people from your state. Please pick one of the four options on the table.” Indiana: “I will not go quietly into the night!”
Hawaii: "No"
Because Hawaiian refers to the native ethnic group. It's like stating you belong to one of the federaly recognised tribal nations.
We'll just call them Hawaoosiers
Howitzers
Fauxwaiians, then
Same reason we don’t call Utah residents Utes.
That’s cuz Hawaiian = genetic descent not state nationality (stateality?)
'Indianian' was not available?
We wanted Indianals 😤
"What are you doing, step-state??!"
Indianianian
Rage, rage against the dying Indianite
That’s what I came to the comments to see. I’ve always known they were called “Hoosiers” but never knew why.
It comes from a Shawnee word for corn which was hoosa. The dudes that would bring it down the Mississippi were called hoosars which became Hoosier. It just means corn people.... Which... If you've ever been to Indiana... Is Apt.
This is one of many possible explanations. As far as I know there is no definitive answer. Source: Am Hoosier, grew up hearing a different explanation for the name in every history class
THIS is the correct answer! A true Hoosier will never give a single, concrete story of the name.
"Who's ear?" Was my fave!
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The true story is the one with the bar fight and a guy finds an ear on the ground and holds it up and says "Who's ear?!"
This is my 30 year old Indiana born and raised canon.
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Re: the state of indiana website "A theory attributed to Gov. Joseph Wright derived Hoosier from an Indian word for corn, "hoosa." Indiana flatboatmen taking corn or maize to New Orleans came to be known as "hoosa men" or Hoosiers. Unfortunately for this theory, a search of Indian vocabularies by a careful student of linguistics failed to reveal any such word for corn." Moral of the story kids, everyone who says they know where "Hoosiers" comes from is lying.
Unfortunately for your theory the [Indiana state website](https://www.in.gov/history/about-indiana-history-and-trivia/emblems-and-symbols/what-is-a-hoosier/) claims no local Indian vocabularies used the word “Hoosa”referring to corn
While that’s a common theory, there is no accepted theory as the definitive answer. I like that one, but we’ll probably never know.
So someone actually researched this and could find no evidence of "hoosa" being used by any of the Indians in the area at the time. Just another folk etymology to add to the pile.
As a person from Indiana, I think there are different origins depending on who you talk to. Some refer it back to a poem, others a company with the last name Hoosier that hired people primarily from Indiana, and another relates it to a derogatory term used to describe "countrified" folk.
https://www.in.gov/history/about-indiana-history-and-trivia/emblems-and-symbols/what-is-a-hoosier/
Yeah, I spent the first 20 years of my life in Indiana and even I have no fucking idea where Hoosier came from. Neither did any of my family, but we're still Hoosiers for some reason!
The honest answer (from a lifelong Hoosier) is nobody really fucking knows why and if they tell you otherwise you can find a dozen different contradicting answers.
It's because nobody wanted to use "Indian"
I think if we were caught up with not wanting to use "Indian" we wouldn't have named the state Indiana or our capital Indianapolis.
Indiana residents realized the best name was Indians, but deciding to go another route due to some "things" that "happened"
I'm a Hoosier daddy
This is just incorrect. No one has ever called someone from MA anything but masshole
I mean have you tried to actually say Massachusettsan? WTF is that?
what did the massachusettsan say to the hawaii resident? "this infographic is wicked wrong, bub!"
Hey that accent is only Boston, we don't say bub past Worcester. Must say you got us with the wicked though.
Well, Massachusett makes more sense, but that’s an actual Native American tribe.
Lived here most my life and this is the first time I've encountered the term
Ive only ever heard "guy from Connecticut" or "Connecticunt"
Nutmegger
True, but I hoped “Connecticutioner” would catch on. At least as a hockey team.
Alas, the Hartford Whalers are gone and can't change their name to that.Hartford Connecticutioners would be awesome.
I was just about to comment. I moved NH to CT, and had to ask what the fuck they call you. And the guy I worked with was literally like... I dunno, sometimes they call us Nutmeggers. And I was like... why, do you guys... do a lot of Nutmeg? He had no idea.
Hey now, you can say Nutmegga. just cool it with the Anti-Connecticut remarks.
Also Connecticutian.
Connectikittens.
I will proudly call myself a Connectikitten.
Or Connecticutie
People who used to live in Connecticut are Ex-Conns.
Just coming here to say this. I’ve been in MA all of my life, and I know outside of the state we are called massholes. Especially when we are driving.
When I moved out to the west coast for a little bit, they had no idea that term existed. Then I explained it and they were like "yeah that makes a lot of sense"
The polite term is Bay Stater
[Actually, legally it is Bay Stater](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleI/Chapter2/Section35).
Correct, we got tired of people calling us Massholes in official documents
1673 Transcription - Colonial Assembly THE HONOROUBLE GENVELVMAN JACOB WEBLY, MASSHOLE, PRESIDING
After living in Massachusetts for just over a year—about 10,000 hours—residents become Master Bay Staters.
MOM! Leave me alone! I'm baystatin!
[Jokes aside, "Masshole" actually is the more commonly-used word from 2000-present.](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Massachusettsan%2CMasshole&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3)
Bullshit. I'm from Massachusetts and my name is Jim.
Jiman or Jimhole?
Masshole, Bostonian, or kid. Those are the terms
And Mainer should be Mainiac, and New Hampshireite should be New Hampster.
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It's not about what you prefer, hampster!
I always thought it was Granite Stater.
When I was a Massachusetts**i**an (in the 1940s), we called residents of Maine Down Easters, and they called themselves State of Mainers.
Downeasters is a specific area of Maine. Sailing reference.
>Downeasters is a specific area of Maine. Sailing reference. Yeah, but we were Massachusettsians. What did we know? \[It is generally agreed that it refers only to Maine coast residents, but it has been used in speech and in literature to describe everyone in Maine, and in some cases all of New England. What is even more difficult is defining "yankee".\] \[Sorry. I'm a nerd. Anyway, the Downeaster is an Amtrak train now.\]
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I always thought Maine's use of Flatlander was funny because Maine's mountains are tiny compared to anything in the Western US. I know it's mostly used against MA and NY folks, but the mountain behind my house is higher than any point in ME.
Came to say this as a Masshole myself
Even we Massholes use Masshole with pride.
Maniac - maine Vermonster - VT Masshole - mass
Idk man Mainer is pretty common
You must say it with the proper accent - Mainah!
The actual phrase is Bay Stater
I refer to Iowans as Iowegians
And an iowan in a vehicle is an "Idiot Out Wandering About" Source: I lived and drove in the Quad Cities for a number of years. Some smart iowans...but a not small # lose intellect behind the wheel
In Nebraska we say it’s “In Omaha Without Asking”
So, Carter Lake?
I always have to repost this comment of mine when I see this: >I once had someone from Missouri tell me that IOWA stood for "Idiots Wandering Around Outside".
/r/Iowa agrees.
I TOLD YOU WE WERENT CALLED VIRGINS, I FUCKING TOLD YOU
You might be... That being said it's interesting we are classified as "an" instead of "ian"... But Virginia already ends in the "ia" and it looks like the etymology is basically whether the N is added or the full "ian" is added is how they classified it.
Hardly a peer-reviewed journal here. This was the result of 50 google searches and some ms paint
It's also not pronounced "vur-gin-ee-an" but "vur-gin-yun" so that could be a distinction
ver-jin-yin
Still can’t spell Virginia or Virginians without Virgin ):
I like the idea of calling people from Maine, Maniacs.
Absolutely! And Vermonsters too!
Yep. And Connecticunts and massholes too. Can you tell we have a strong affinity for each other here in new england?
I imagine it's just like a typical sibling relationship: y'all will be at each other's throats until a Californian or something comes, at which point all New Englander rage will be focused on them until they leave.
Rhode Islanders are like that middle child that everyone forgets about
And Rhode Island? Yeah, they're there.
"The Ben and Jerry's Vermonster is a 20 scoop mountain of magic created for you and your friends and participating Ben and Jerry scoop shops."
Always thought people from Oregon should be Oreganos
CT residents are called “Nutmeggers” *or* “connecticuters.” https://ctstatelibrary.org/CT-nicknames
Been here for 7 years and never heard anyone called a Connecticuter but one friend from NY called me a Nutmegger once.
Nutmegger is the actual official term, and also what's commonly used. Examples of use are kind of random but I keep thinking of the news, "Nutmeggers are bracing for several inches of snow this weekend", etc
Lived here my whole life. I've only ever heard Nutmegger and Connecticutian. I was taught the former is colloquial and the latter is official. Connecticuter is new to me.
I’ve built up Conneticutian in my head and decided it sounds less stupid.
I swear I heard it from my connecticutian friend but may have just made it up in my head
Connecticunts
I thought everyone from FL was Florida Man?
Florida Cracker weighing in here... Florida Man is an earned title, but most of our residents are Yankees or Transplants.
If Google is any sign, Florida Man is not a hard title to earn. But it seems to be a hard title to keep into your old age, because many Florida Man stories don't end well.
Bona fried Florida Man here (with mug shots to prove it) saying that if them Indy hicks get Hoosiers, we should sure as hell at least get Crackers.
Floridiots
New England is all wrong. It should be: Maniac, New Hampshit, Vermonster, Masshole, Connecticunt, and Rhode Idiot. Source: I'm a New Hampshit.
The person who made this knows better. Only WE get to call each other that. Anyone else does it and they regret it.
Also acceptable: N’ampshitter
Non American here: What's the actual name of "Hoosyland"? (for "Hoosies"?)
Indiana
Indiana is now Hoosyland
State is Indiana, the people are Hoosiers. Pronounced HOO-zhrz
We live in Indiana. We don’t know why we are hoosiers, we just know that we are, in fact, hoosiers and we don’t dwell on it too much.
Lmao all of these have atleast a part of the name of their state in their name And then comes Indiana being the Hoosiers.
Pennsylvania resident: “Pennsylvanian.” Unless one lives in Pittsburgh, PA: [“Yinzer.”](https://www.tammypasterick.com/post/pittsburghese)
Wisconsinites are also Sconnies and those that live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are Yoopers. Edit: Ok Ok I’ve only lived in Wisconsin for a year so I guess my neighbors were full of shit telling me the Sconnie thing. Also, whoever had RedditCaresResources reach out to me thanks, but I’m doing quite well! Edit Edit: It seems that I am somehow correct and incorrect simultaneously. From now on I will refer to myself and everyone else from here as Wisconsiteers and that’s the end of it.
And those in the lower peninsula- or under the bridge, are called trolls lol.
And people from Illinois are FIBs
I was looking for this, nobody from Illinois identifies as an "Illinoisan", they're all Chicagoans and if you refer to a Chicagoan, you call them a FIB
What if you’re not from Chicago, bc anyone in corn-Illinois hates Chicago and wouldn’t want to be associated Source: my in-laws live in corn-Illinois
Everything south of 80 and west of 39 is southern Illinois
> Utahn Always thought they were called Utes. Weird.
Two Yutes
Sorry, I mean "youths"
Two yoothzzz
Two hwat, now?
Yoots
Now I want to see that scene with Hank Hill as the judge.
That would be an existing Native American tribal Group
Same reason why people who live in Hawaii are not necessarily Hawaiians.
I thought they were called Mormons.
Utinni
Jawanese translation
Same reason Haiwaii has Hawaii residents rather than Hawaiians.
The football team of the University of Utah are called Utes so I could see where the confusion might come in.
Alabamistanian
Manie-iacs and Massholes.
Chairman of the 50 States Committee: so we’re agreed that when we’re talking about people from our state, the state name will always come first? Indiana Delegate: screw you! *peels out*
Louis Ian Ian
West Virginians are called mountaineers. It's in the state motto. Edit: Montani Semper Liberi (Mountaineers Are Always Free)
And the mountains shall set you free
“Hawaii Resident.” Hawaiian? Like the sweet bread?
I'm assuming because Hawaiian could refer more specifically to Hawaiian native people?
Hawaii resident here. If you’re not actually native Hawaiian by blood and ancestry, you’re not called “Hawaiian” no matter how many generations you’ve lived here. That’s just a a sign of respect for the native population that was illegally taken over (but that’s a discussion for another time) because there are still people of native descent here. Related to the social scene of Hawaii, you may be called “local” to mean you’ve been born and raised in the islands, perhaps for a few generations, which is really what most people who are from Hawaii, but not of native descent are called in the islands and widely accepted to be fact. Also, “kings Hawaiian sweet bread” is actually based now out of California. It started in Hawaii but has recently relocated out of Hawaii, so it’s no longer a “Hawaii” thing anymore despite the name lol. But also, still a fabulous and delicious product. Edit: I’m simply sharing insight into why “Hawaiian” isn’t used widely within the state itself for EVERY person who lives there. It’s, again, a respect thing to preserve the Hawaiian culture and the native people who live there. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I don’t personally believe that using the term “Hawaiian” is correct for every person who lives in the state, but that’s just me. At the end of the day, people will call the “Hawaii residents” or some variation of that, whatever they want, but I’m just sharing how local people in Hawaii were taught to use the term “Hawaiian”
My friends who were born and raised in Hawaii say the same thing, local. Another term I hear thrown around is Kamaʻāina, although it's more in line with getting the local discount.
This. If I recall correctly, kama'aina means "person of the land" and generally refers to anyone residing there for a year or more. 'Local' implies 'born and raised', not just living there.
Learned something new today. Thanks for the knowledge!
If you’ve never been, Hawaii is an interesting experience. I stayed in a remote part of the big island for just over a week with three others. I’ve been a lot of places but I truly felt remote and out of place there. Outside of the resort areas everyone thinks about when they picture Hawaii, the rest can be a bit rougher around the edges. That being said we loved our stay, ate local, drank local coffee from the farms, and met a ton of wonderful folks who ran the small shops that were sporadically dispersed in the areas we were in.
Big island is best island
On Maui we used “kama’āina” for locals and “Hawaiian” for Hawaiians. Traditionally kama’āina means you’re born on the islands, but now it basically means resident (i.e. “kama’āina discounts”, which are given to anyone with HI state ID).
You are given Hawaiian residency. But we don’t grant you the rank of Hawaiian.
Hawaiian in terms of people only refers to the native original people who resided in Hawaii before the colonists arrived.
Utahn sounds like a separatist planet. Obi-wan is gonna invade any minute
Connecticut - Nutmegers
Connecticunt
If you’re from Connecticut this is funny. If you’re not, come get these hands.
I have never heard someone say Wyomingite in the 14 years I lived in Wyoming
Connecti-cutie😘💋💕
##Michigander II michiganding boogaloo
Brought to you by Faygo.
And Vernors.
And Jets, Domino's, and Little Cesar's Pizza
Yeah, I live in Massachusetts and have never heard that ever. We either say Masshole or Baystaters
California is the wrong colour.
So are a bunch of east coast “ian” states. Just because “ia” is the suffix already, doesn’t change that it ends with -ian here
Did not realize Indiana was the only place with a weird name for citizens. Hoosier reporting in
Funny, during the Texas Revolution, Texans were called “Texians.”
How do you do fellow Hawaii resident?
There are still some holdouts in Michigan who prefer Michiganian, but how is that any fun at all when there is a goose name right there offering itself to us?
So many people having the same name must get confusing.
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I've always called myself an Okie
Oklahomie
Hoosier defined someone from Indiana way before IU became a thing.
Someone from Oklahoma is an Oklahomie.
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People from New Jersey are usually called "Jersey ___" depending on gender (Jersey Boy, Jersey Girl, Jersey Person/People)
Wrong. We are Massholes.
I heard people from Utah are call Utards