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How did Arkansas get its name?

Home » Arkansas » Arkansas - Overview and History » How did Arkansas get its name?

Many of the names of cities or regions in Arkansas come from the languages of the explorers who discovered the area. The same holds true for the name of the state: Arkansas derives from the Quapaw Indians and French explorers. The term means “south wind” and comes from a name some Native Americans used to describe the Quapaw Indians, an early tribe that lived in the area.

One tribe pronounced the word Oo-ka-na-sa, and another called it Ar-kan-soa. When the state was admitted to the Union in 1836, it was recorded as Arkansas. In 1881, the state's General Assembly passed a resolution declaring that the state's name should be spelled "Arkansas" but pronounced "Arkansaw."



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