| | State | | Motto | Origin of name |
| Alabama | AL | Audemus jura nostra defendere (We dare defend our rights) | May come from Choctaw meaning “thicket-clearers” or “vegetation-gatherers” |
| Alaska | AK | North to the Future | Corruption of Native American word meaning “great land” or “that which the sea breaks against” |
| Arizona | AZ | Ditat Deus (God enriches) | From the Native American meaning “little spring” or “young spring” |
| Arkansas | AR | Regnat populus (The people rule) | From the Quapaw Indians |
| California | CA | Eureka (I have found it) | From a book Las Sergas de Esplandián- by Garcia Ordóñez de Montalvo- c. 1500 |
| Colorado | CO | Nil sine Numine (Nothing without Providence) | From the Spanish- “ruddy” or “red” |
| Connecticut | CT | Qui transtulit sustinet (He who transplanted still sustains) | From an Native American word meaning “beside the long tidal river” |
| Delaware | DE | Liberty and independence | Named for Sir Thomas West- Baron xxxxxxx |
| Florida | FL | In God we trust (1868) | From the Spanish- meaning “feast of flowers” (Easter) |
| Georgia | GA | Wisdom, justice, and moderation | In honor of George II of England |
| Hawaii | HI | Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono (The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness) | Uncertain. may have been named by its traditional discoverer- Xxxxxx. |
| Idaho | ID | Esto perpetua (It is forever) | Unknown. Though popularly believed to be an Indian word- it is an invented name |
| Illinois | IL | State sovereignty, national union | Algonquin for “tribe of superior men” |
| Indiana | IN | The Crossroads of America | Meaning “land of Indians” |
| Iowa | IA | Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain | Probably from an Indian word meaning “this is the place” or “the Beautiful Land” |
| Kansas | KS | Ad astra per aspera (To the stars through difficulties) | From a Sioux word meaning “people of the south wind” |
| Kentucky | KY | United we stand, divided we fall | From an Iroquoian word meaning “land of tomorrow” |
| Louisiana | LA | Union, justice, and confidence | In honor of Louis XIV of France |
| Maine | ME | Dirigo (I lead) | First used to distinguish the mainland from the offshore islands. |
| Maryland | MD | Fatti maschii, parole femine (Manly deeds, womanly words) | In honor of Henrietta Maria (queen of Charles I of England) |
| Massachusetts | MA | Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem (By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty) | From Native American meaning “at or about the great hill” |
| Michigan | MI | Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice (If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look around you) | From Native American word meaning “great or large lake” |
| Minnesota | MN | L'Étoile du Nord (The North Star) | From a Native American meaning “sky-tinted water” |
| Mississippi | MS | Virtute et armis (By valor and arms) | From an Native American meaning “Father of Waters” |
| Missouri | MO | Salus populi suprema lex esto (The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law) | Named after the Native American tribe means “town of the large canoes.” |
| Montana | MT | Oro y plata (Gold and silver) | Chosen from Latin dictionary by J. M. Ashley. “mountainous.” |
| Nebraska | NE | Equality before the law | From an Native American meaning “flat water” |
| Nevada | NV | All for Our Country | Spanish: “snowcapped” |
| New Hampshire | NH | Live free or die | From the English county of Xxxxxx |
| New Jersey | NJ | Liberty and prosperity | From the Channel Isle of Xxxxxx |
| New Mexico | NM | Crescit eundo (It grows as it goes) | From the country of Xxxxxx |
| New York | NY | Excelsior (Ever upward) | In honor of the Duke of Xxxxxx |
| North Carolina | NC | Esse quam videri (To be rather than to seem) | In honor of Charles I of England |
| North Dakota | ND | Liberty and union, now and forever: one and inseparable | From the Sioux tribe- meaning “allies” |
| Ohio | OH | (none) | From an Iroquoian word meaning “great river” |
| Oklahoma | OK | Labor omnia vincit (Labor conquers all things) | From two Choctaw Indian words meaning “red people” |
| Oregon | OR | Alis volat Propriis (She flies with her own wings) (1987) | Unknown. first used by Jonathan Carver in 1778 - taken from the writings of Maj. Robert Rogers- an English army officer. |
| Pennsylvania | PA | Virtue, liberty, and independence | In honor of Adm. Sir William Xxxxxx |
| Rhode Island | RI | Hope | From the Greek Island of XXX |
| South Carolina | SC | Animis opibusque parati (Prepared in mind and resources) and Dum spiro spero (While I breathe, I hope) | In honor of Charles I of England |
| South Dakota | SD | Under God the people rule | From the Sioux tribe- meaning “allies” |
| Tennessee | TN | Agriculture and Commerce (1987) | Of Cherokee origin; the exact meaning is unknown |
| Texas | TX | Friendship | From an Indian word meaning “friends” |
| Utah | UT | Industry | From the Ute tribe- meaning “people of the mountains” |
| Vermont | VT | Vermont, Freedom and Unity | From the French meaning “green mountain” |
| Virginia | VA | Sic semper tyrannis (Thus always to tyrants) | In honor of Elizabeth “Virgin Queen” of England |
| Washington | WA | Al-Ki (Indian word meaning “by and by”) | In honor of George Washington |
| West Virginia | WV | Montani semper liberi (Mountaineers are always free) | In honor of Elizabeth- “Virgin Queen” of England |
| Wisconsin | WI | Forward | French corruption of an Indian word whose meaning is disputed |
| Wyoming | WY | Equal rights (1955) | From the Native American word- meaning “mountains and valleys alternating” |