Which state has the worst name?

[Rules for me, but not for thee]

Arkansas definitely worst.  But I think there definitely should be a Massachippisippi.

https://youtu.be/Afb-nWeKakg?t=352

[jimrtex]

New York... where is Old York?

Besides being named for a traitor.

It would be like naming the major river in New England the Arnold River, and the southernmost state on that river, Arnold, with a capital of Benedict.

[jimrtex]

Massachusetts. It's unnecessarily long for such a small state, and unlike California, isn't phonetic. Make it easier for kids and rename it Plymouth, Mayflower, or Blue Hill. That all being said, I like that it is named after the local indigenous colony Massachusett (thank you Wikipedia), but I still think such an important state could have a simpler name.

Massachusetts is perfectly phonetic. What kind of non-phonetic way do you pronounce it?

People from Texas split the "ch" into "t" - "sh", and then slide "sh" to merge with the third 's'.

When someone from Bwoston is annoyed, they emphasize: Massatwo(....)s

[angus]

Virginia itself stretches more westerly than WV does.

Indeed.  Virginia stretches way out west.  The westernmost part of Virginia is west of Detroit, even.

[Illiniwek]

Virginia itself stretches more westerly than WV does.

Indeed.  Virginia stretches way out west.  The westernmost part of Virginia is west of Detroit, even.

WOW. You look at how wide Virginia is but you really don't realize that it goes west of Detroit until you look closely.

[The Arizonan]

Surprised nobody mentioned West Virginia. They should have named it something original.

They actually considered naming it Kanawha, but for whatever reason, they went with West Virginia.

Here's an off-topic question: why is "MP" the postal abbreviation for the Northern Mariana Islands? It would make more sense if it was "NI" or "MR".

[angus]

mariana post?  mariana postal? 

While we're at it, wouldn't AR be more appropriate for Arizona?  You guys are bigger than Arkansas.  You could kick their asses and take AR away from them if you really wanted to. 

[The Arizonan]

mariana post?  mariana postal? 

While we're at it, wouldn't AR be more appropriate for Arizona?  You guys are bigger than Arkansas.  You could kick their asses and take AR away from them if you really wanted to. 

We've always preferred 'AZ', but Arkansas became a state before us, so they got 'AR'. On another note, we can take 'AR', Arkansas can take 'AK', and Alaska can get stuck with 'AS'.

[cinyc]

Here's an off-topic question: why is "MP" the postal abbreviation for the Northern Mariana Islands? It would make more sense if it was "NI" or "MR".

Some say it stands for Mariana(s) Pacific, others say Mariana(s) Protectorate. 

In any event, by the time the CNMI became a territory, NM was taken, as were many of the logical postal codes for Mariana that started with M - MA, MI, MN, MS, etc.  I suppose they could have gone with MR, but that would be confused with Mister.  So MP it was.

[Del Tachi]

Indiana is pretty terrible.

"Land of Indians"

[Wells]

Mississippi, Idaho, and Louisiana.

[Bojack Horseman]

Mississippi and Alabama. Connecticut if you go by pronunciation.

[muon2]

Virginia itself stretches more westerly than WV does.

Indeed.  Virginia stretches way out west.  The westernmost part of Virginia is west of Detroit, even.

Much like southern IL is south of Richmond, VA while Chicago is north of NYC.

I also like using the names of Native peoples to name the states. In the case of many of the states we are somewhat stuck with the language that recorded the name. For instance Illinois is a blend of an English and French reading of the initial French spelling. When I set about drawing a new set of states for a hypothetical map in 2013 I used Illini for the state name. In that exercise I used Native American peoples for all 50 names.

[Antonio the Sixth]

State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

I attended to a talk last quarter in which at some point the speaker asked if someone knew Rhode Island's full name, and I was the one to bring that up. He then went into a rant about Rhode Island being a ridiculous State that shouldn't exist. That was absolutely hilarious.

[Kingpoleon]

Dear Arkansas Haters:

We're the first state mentioned in the Bible. "Noah looked out of the Arkansas..."

Thanks,
Kingpoleon, of the State of Greatness

[Joe Republic]

I'd mention Nevada, because nobody outside the state seems to know how to pronounce it correctly.

[Brittain33]

Virginia, because if you strip away the history and just think that it's derived from the word "virgin," that's pretty weird in 2016.

[The Arizonan]

I'd mention Nevada, because nobody outside the state seems to know how to pronounce it correctly.

Yes, the correct way to pronounce it is 'Neh-vahd-duh' (the second syllable rhymes with "bad").

I was born in Reno and I lived there for almost all of my childhood.

I remember how in Oceans Eleven, Matt Damon's character mispronounces the name of the state even though he was posing as someone from the Nevada Gaming Commission.

[This account no longer in use.]

I know how to pronounce it; I just think it sounds better the other way.

[Joe Republic]

I know how to pronounce it; I just think it sounds better the other way.

The wrong way?  Okay.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

I know how to pronounce it; I just think it sounds better the other way.

The wrong way?  Okay.

No, the locals just pronounce it the wrong way!

In all seriousness, the non-local way is closer to the authentic Spanish pronunciation, since it is a Spanish word roughly translating to "snow covered".

[Goldwater]

I know how to pronounce it; I just think it sounds better the other way.

The wrong way?  Okay.

No, the locals just pronounce it the wrong way!

In all seriousness, the non-local way is closer to the authentic Spanish pronunciation, since it is a Spanish word roughly translating to "snow covered".

I mean, I know that's technically true, but it just sounds wrong to me.

[Joe Republic]

I know how to pronounce it; I just think it sounds better the other way.

The wrong way?  Okay.

No, the locals just pronounce it the wrong way!

In all seriousness, the non-local way is closer to the authentic Spanish pronunciation, since it is a Spanish word roughly translating to "snow covered".

In that case, somebody better inform the residents of Illinwah, Vehrmawh, Tehas and Hawa-ee!

[Badger]

None of them. /moderate hero.

[DINGO Joe]

Could have been worse, Thomas Jefferson's plan for the Northwest Territory involved the following state names:

Sylvania, Michigania, Cheronesus, Assenisippis, Metropotamia, Illinoia, Saratoga, Washington, Polypotamia, and Pelipsia.