A lot Nigerians have no clue how Nigerian states
got their names . I was guilty of such, until I came across this piece.

ABIA :
Abia is an acronym derived from the name of the four
main groups of people in the state as at the time it
was formed in 1991: A ba B ende
I suikwuato A fikpo
2. ADAMAWA:
This state was named after a warrior that conquered
the region in the begining of the 19th century. His
name was Modibbo Adama Bin Ardo Hassan.
3. AKWA–IBOM :
Akwa Ibom is named after a river, the Qua Iboe ( or
Kwa Iboe ) River .
4. ANAMBARA :
It was derived from the name of the Oma Mbal
( Omambala) River ( in Ibo , the native name of the river
is Ànyịm Ọma
Mbala ) .
5. BAUCHI:
There are three versions of how Bauchi got its name .
One version says ‘ Bauchi’ is Hausa word meaning the
southern flanks of Hausa land . Tribes living in the
southern parts of the Hausa land were referred to as
“ kasashen bauchi ” and the area they lived in later
came to be known simply as Bauchi. According to the
second version the state was
named for Baushe , a famous hunter who settled there
before the 19th century while the third states that
‘bauchi ’ is Hausa word for slavery
since it was a center for slave raiders.
6. BAYELSA:
Bayelsa was formed as a result of the clamour from
the three LGAs in old River ( Brass LGA known as
BALGA, Yenegoa LGA known as YELGA and Sagbama
LGA – SALGA ) . The name came about from the
combination of their acronymns. BA +YEL+SA =
BAYELSA.
7. BENUE :
It is a word from the Batta language ‘Binuwe ’ which
means ‘ Mother of Waters ’.
8. BORNO:
The name was derived from ‘ Borno ’ , an alternative
name of the Kanuris who form the predominant ethnic
group in the state .
9. CROSS RIVER:
The state took its name from a River called Oyono or
Cross River .
10. DELTA :
It was named for the delta of the River Niger formed
as it enters theAtlantic Ocean .
11. EBONYI :
The state was named after the Aboine River that cuts
through Abakaliki , the state capital .
12. EDO:
Named after the Bini people who had always referred
to themselves as Edo or Iduu .
13. EKITI:
‘Ekiti ’ is a term that is said to denote a settlement of
many hills “ Okiti”
14. ENUGU :
Enugu derived its name from two local words enu ugwu
which means ‘top of the hill ’ .
15. GOMBE :
Named after the dialect of Fulani language
( Fulfulde) spoken in the area ‘ Gombe’ .
16. IMO :
This state is named after the Imo River ( Imo Mmiri) .
17. JIGAWA:
The state was named after its distinctively golden-
coloured soil , Jigawa.
18. KADUNA:
The state after the crocodiles in Kaduna River.
Kadunas is Hausa plural word for crocodiles .
19. KANO:
The state was named after a blacksmith of the Gaya
tribe who settled in the area while sourcing for iron
stone . His name was Kano .
20. KATSINA :
Katsina was named after the wife of the local ruler
known as Janzama . Her name was Katsina .
21. KEBBI:
Legend has it that Kebbi was named after the Ka’ abba
in Mecca , Saudi Arabia .
22. KOGI:
The name Kogi was said to have be derived from
‘kogin’ , hausa for river. This is to represent the fact
that the two biggest Rivers in Nigeria, River Niger and
River Benue form a confluence in the state.
23. KWARA :
This was named after the River Niger which forms the
Northern border of the state. The Nupes used to call
the river Kwara.
25. LAGOS :
The name is a Portuguese word for lakes . The
Portuguese were the first set of Europeans to reach
Lagos in 1472 . The name was inspired by the lagoons
and rivers in Lagos.
26. NASARAWA :
It was so named by the founder of Nasarawa kingdom ,
Makama Dogo .
Nasarawa means Victorious .
27. NIGER:
Named after the popular River Niger.
28. OGUN :
Named after the Ogun River.
28. ONDO :
This was named after the settlers of the old Ondo
Kingdom . Ondo is a word for settlers .
29. OSUN:
Like a number of other Nigerian states, it was also
named after a river; River Osun .
30. OYO:
It was named after the Old Oyo empire .
31. PLATEAU:
The state was named for the Jos Plateau .
32. RIVERS :
A state with many water bodies, Rivers State was
named for many of the rivers present in the area.
33. SOKOTO:
Named after the defunct Sokoto Caliphate . Sokoto is
the anglicized version of the Arabic word ‘ suk ’ which
means ‘ market ’ or ‘ place of commerce’ . Or “ assukuut ”
which means “ silence” in Arabic .
34. TARABA:
The state was named after the Taraba River.
35. YOBE:
The state was named after Komadugu Yobe ( Waube or
Ouobe ) or River Yobe ( or River of Yo ) .

36. ZAMFARA :
Zamfarawa is one of the sub dialects of Eastern Hausa
linguistic group and that is where the name came from
zan-fara noma


Credit; https://www.informationng.com/2016/08/see-where-your-nigerian-state-got-its-name-from.html

Now....I think I know

God bless Nigeria