You probably had to learn the names of all 50 states back in elementary school. Here’s a look into an alternate universe, where you would’ve had to memorize totally different state names. Here’s a look at some rejected options.
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Deseret
After a plan to have a much larger state comprising parts of present-day Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico fell through, the provisional state of Deseret was cut down to its present-day size and joined the union in 1896 as the state of Utah. Deseret is a word from the Book of Mormon, the scripture of the LDS Church, whose members largely inhabited Deseret as well as Utah. Church leaders asked the federal government to continue to use the name Deseret for the state, but Utah was chosen, named for the Ute tribe native to the area.
Lygonia
In 1639, King Charles of England declared the northeastern peninsula of his nation’s New World territories to be named Mayne (the spelling changed over time) and “not by any other name or names whatsoever.” Charles wanted to get his preferred name down in writing, as explorer Fernando Gorges had two suggestions that the king hated: New Somerset, and Lygonia—Gorges mother was named Cicely Lygon.
Humboldt
Several geographical features in the western U.S. are named Humboldt, after German geographer and explorer Alexander von Humboldt, who was the first to map much of Latin America. He was never in the American West, however—explorer John C. Fremont named the Humboldt River and other things in his honor. It was proposed as a name when statehood came about in 1864, but the government went with the Spanish word for “snowfall” instead—Nevada.
New Columbia
If and when Washington, D.C. ever did become a state, a name change would likely be in order, as there’s already a state called Washington. The name decided on by the commission aiming to make the District of Columbia into a state: New Columbia. It’s the name D.C. residents picked in 1982 when they voted in favor of statehood. Other suggestions that have been floated: Anacostia, Potomac, and the very confusing State of Washington, D.C.