View source for List of Brazil state name etymologies

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{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2009}}
The names of most Brazilian states are based on [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] placenames, while others are based on indigenous (often [[Tupi–Guarani languages|Tupi–Guarani]]) and a few [[Languages of Europe|European languages]].

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! State name !! Language of origin !! Source word !! Meaning and Notes
|-
| {{Flag|Acre}}<br>[[File:Acre in Brazil.svg|100px]] || [[Tupi language|Tupi]]  || a'quiri or a'kiru, || from a misspelling of [[Aquiri River|Aquiri]], a local river, which meaning is "green river"; ''not'' from [[acre]] (a measurement of area) or [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] (as in the [[Siege of Acre (1291)|Siege of Acre]]).
|-
| {{Flag|Alagoas}}<br>[[File:Alagoas in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Portuguese ||  || plural of ''alagoa'', a flooded field or swamp
|-
| {{Flag|Amapá}}<br>[[File:Amapa in Brazil.svg|100px]]|| [[Arawak language|Arawak]] || amapá || "the land in the end" (documented in Sir [[Walter Raleigh]]'s account of [[Guyana]] as ''Land of Amapaia'')
|-
| {{Flag|Amazonas}}<br>[[File:Amazonas in Brazil.svg|100px]] || [[Greek language|Greek]] ||  || after the [[Amazon River]], which was named by Spanish explorers who heard rumors that [[Amazons]] ("female mounted warriors", possibly from the Iranian ethnonym ''*ha-mazan-'', "warriors"; former supposed etymology—[[Greek language|Greek]] α-μαστός ''a- mastos'', "with no breasts"— is considered [[false etymology]]) guarded the legendary city of [[El Dorado]] in the middle of the forest
|-
| {{Flag|Bahia}}<br>[[File:Bahia in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Old Portuguese || bahia || bay or harbor; the colonial province was called ''Bahia de Todos os Santos'' (All Saints Bay), because it was discovered on November 1, All Saints Day
|-
| {{Flag|Ceará}}<br>[[File:Ceara in Brazil.svg|100px]] || [[Old Tupi language|Tupi]] || sy ara || "mother of the day" or "source of light", because it is a sunny land with sparse vegetation (therefore, few shadows)
|-
| {{Flag|Espírito Santo}}<br>[[File:Espirito Santo in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Portuguese ||  || "[[Holy Spirit|Holy Ghost/Spirit]]"
|-
| {{Flag|Goiás}}<br>[[File:Goias in Brazil.svg|100px]] ||  |Tupi|| goyaz || Apparently, the name originated from the name of Tupi goiaiase nation that occupied the region in the late 16th century the term gwa ya mean "equal individual ", and therefore able to be friends .
|-
| {{Flag|Maranhão}}<br>[[File:Maranhao in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Portuguese ||  || Portuguese spelling of Marañón, another name for the Amazon River; from 1621 to 1709, the north of Brazil was styled ''the State of Maranhão'', with its capital at [[São Luís, Maranhão|São Luís]]
|-
| {{Flag|Mato Grosso}}<br>[[File:Mato Grosso in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Portuguese || Matto Grosso || "thick grass" or "dense woods"
|-
| {{Flag|Mato Grosso do Sul}}<br>[[File:Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Portuguese ||  || a new state created in 1975 from the southern part of Mato Grosso state, its name means "thick grass/dense woods of the south" 
|-
| {{Flag|Minas Gerais}}<br>[[File:Minas Gerais in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Early Modern Portuguese || Minas Geraes || "General Mines"; separated from São Paulo in 1709 and placed under the direct control of the Portuguese Crown as the ''[[Captaincy]] of São Paulo and the Mines'', after the discovery of [[gold]], [[diamond]]s, and [[Gemstone|gems]] in the territory
|-
| {{Flag|Pará}}<br>[[File:Para in Brazil.svg|100px]] || [[Tupi–Guarani language|Tupi-Guaraní]] || pará || river; probably because of the estuary of the Amazon River. The Pará River, near the state capital [[Belém]], would be "River River".
|-
| {{Flag|Paraíba}}<br>[[File:Paraiba in Brazil.svg|100px]] || [[Old Tupi language|Old Tupi]] || parahiba || ''pará'' (river) + ''aíba'' (rough, bad), probably meaning "rough river"
|-
| {{Flag|Paraná}}<br>[[File:Parana in Brazil.svg|100px]] || [[Guarani language|Guarani]] || paraná || "wide river"; the words for "river", "large river", "lagoon", "sea" and "lake" have different meanings in Tupi, leading to confusion that ''Paraná'' meant ''sea''
|-
| {{Flag|Pernambuco}}<br>[[File:Pernambuco in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Tupi || paranambuka || ''paranã'' (sea) + ''mbuka'' (hollow), referring to the coastal reefs; the state capital, [[Recife]], is derived from the Portuguese for [[reef]]
|-
| {{Flag|Piauí}}<br>[[File:Piaui in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Tupi || piauhi || ''piau'' (a type of river fish) and ''y'' (river), so Piau Fish River
|-
| {{Flag|Rio de Janeiro}}<br>[[File:Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Portuguese ||  || "River of January"; the city harbor was discovered on January 1, 1502, and was believed to be the mouth of a river (such as the [[Tagus estuary]] which forms a bay by [[Lisbon]]). The state was named after the city, now its capital.
|-
| {{Flag|Rio Grande do Norte}}<br>[[File:Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Portuguese ||  || "Great River of the North"; ''Rio Grande'' was the original Portuguese name of the [[Potenji River]]
|-
| {{Flag|Rio Grande do Sul}}<br>[[File:Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Portuguese ||  || "Great River of the South"; the long and narrow Patos Lagoon (lagoon of the ducks) was probably mistaken for a river; thus the name of the first important settlement in the state, the town of [[Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul|Rio Grande]]
|-
| {{Flag|Rondônia}}<br>[[File:Rondonia in Brazil.svg|100px]] ||  ||  || after Marshal [[Cândido Rondon]], explorer of the region; the old name for the state was Guaporé, Tupi for "pathway to the lake"
|-
| {{Flag|Roraima}}<br>[[File:Roraima in Brazil.svg|100px]] || [[Yanomaman languages|Yanomaman]] || roro imã || "thundering mountain" according to some sources; the old name for the state was Rio Branco, Portuguese for "white river"
|-
| {{Flag|Santa Catarina}}<br>[[File:Santa Catarina in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Portuguese || Santa Catharina || after Saint [[Catherine of Alexandria]]
|-
| {{Flag|São Paulo}}<br>[[File:Sao Paulo in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Portuguese ||  || after the Jesuit monastery of [[São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga]] ([[Paul of Tarsus|Saint Paul]] of the Fields of Piratininga), built to Christianize native peoples; the state was named after its capital
|-
| {{Flag|Sergipe}}<br>[[File:Sergipe in Brazil.svg|100px]] || [[Tupi language|Tupi]] || siri jibe || after the name of a native chief, Serijipe; another possible origin is from the Tupi ''siri jibe'', a "brook with crabs"
|-
| {{Flag|Tocantins}}<br>[[File:Tocantins in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Tupi || tukantin || ''tukan'' ([[toucan]], a South American bird) + ''tin'' (nose), or ''nose of toucan''; the confluence of the [[Araguaia River|Araguaia]] and [[Tocantins River|Tocantins]] rivers is shaped like a bird's beak; the region is also named "Bico do Papagaio" (Parrot Beak), however, the river had this name long before maps revealed the shape of the confluence
|-
| {{Flag|Distrito Federal}}<br>[[File:Distrito Federal in Brazil.svg|100px]] || Portuguese ||  || lit. "Federal District"; formerly the municipal territory of the national capital was called either ''Município Neutro'' (Neutral Municipality, from 1834 to 1889), ''Corte Imperial'' (Imperial Court, from 1822 to 1834) or ''Capital Federal'' (Federal Capital, from 1889 to 1934)
|}

==See also==
*[[States of Brazil]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Lists of Brazilian states}}
{{Place name etymologies}}

[[Category:Lists of states of Brazil|Etymologies]]
[[Category:Lists of place name etymologies|Brazil]]