

Human: How did US states get their names?

Assistant: In the Colonial period, a lot of them were named by the colonists themselves, for places and people in Europe that were significant to them.  After independence, many of the states got renamed, especially to reflect some other significant characteristic of the area.

Human: what else can you tell me about how they got their names

Assistant: 
I’ll read you a bit more about that, from the New York Times:
Here’s a nice list of state names.