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; Aba, Bende, Isuikwuato and Afikpo.

ADAMAWA The state was named after a warrior that conquered the region in the beginning of the 19th century. His name was Modibbo Adama Bin Ardo Hassan.

AKWA IBOM The state is named after the river Qua Iboe or (Kwa Iboe).

ANAMBRA It was derived from the name of the Oma Mbala (Omambala) River. (In Igbo the native name of the river is Àyim Oma Mbala).

BAUCHI There are 3 versions of how Bauchi got its name. One version says 'Bauchi' is a Hausa word meaning the Southern flanks of Hausaland. Tribes living in the southern part of Hausa land were referred to as 'Kasashen Bauchi".
According to the second version the state was named after Baushe a famous hunter who settled there before the 19th century.
While the third states that 'Bauchi' is the Hausa word for slavery, since it was the center of slave trade.

BAYELSA Bay el so was formed as a result of the clamour of the LGA's in the old Rivers State. (Brass LGA known as BALGA, Yenegoa LGA known as YELGA and Sagbama LGA -SALGA.) The name came by the combination of their acronyms. BA-YEL-SA=BAYELSA.

BENUE Benue is a word from the Batta language 'Binuwe' which means 'Mother of waters'.

BORNO The name was derived from 'Borno' an alternative name of the Kanuris who form the predominant ethnic group in the state.
Another version is that 'Borno' was gotten from the Arabic word "BAHR NOOR" meaning 'River of Light' as most of the residents there are 'Shuwa Arabs'.

CROSS RIVER The state took its name from a river called Oyono or Cross River.

DELTA It was formed after the delta of the River Niger formed as it enters the Atlantic Ocean.

EBONYI The state was named after the Aboine River that cuts through Abakaliki the state capital.

EDO Named after the Bini people who always referred to themselves as Edo or Iduu.

EKITI 'Ekiti' is a term that's said to denote a settlement of many hills.

ENUGU Enugu derived its name from two local words 'Enu' and 'ugwu' which means 'Top of the Hill'.

GOMBE Named after the dialect of Fulani Language (fulfulde) spoken in the area 'Gombe'.

IMO The state is named after the IMO River (Mmiri Imo).
I sincerely hope the current governor doesn't rename the state to 'Rochas Foundation' before His tenure elapses.

JIGAWA The state was named after its distinctive golden color soil 'Jigawa'

KADUNA The state after the crocodiles in Kaduna River. 'Kadduna' is Hausa plural word for crocodiles.

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.

KATSINA The state was named after the wife of the local Ruler known as Janzama. Her name was Katsina.
Another version says the name was derived from a big boabob tree 'Katsi' located in Durbi Tarkushe, Mani LGA. The people worshipped/performed rituals there. I think the tree still exists.

KEBBI Legend has it that Kebbi was named after the Ka'abba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Or it could be named after Kabawa, a tribe that's predominantly settled around the capital of the state, or in/around Arugun LGA. 'Bakabe' in Hausa means a native of Kebbi.

KOGI It was said to be derived from the word 'Kogi' (Hausa word for River). This is to represent the fact that the two biggest Rivers in Nigeria (River Niger & River Benue) form a confluence in the state.

KWARA This was named after the River Niger which forms the Northern Border of the state. The Nupes used to call it River Kwara.

LAGOS The name is a Portuguese word for 'lake'. The Portuguese were the first settlers from Europe to reach lagos in year 1472. The name was inspired by the lagoons and Rivers in Lagos.

NASARAWA It was named after the founder of Nasarawa Kingdom, Makama Dogo. NASA raw a means victorious.

NIGER Named after the popular River Niger.

OGUN Named after the Ogun River.

ONDO It was named after the settlers of the old Ondo kingdom. Ondo is a word for settlers.

OSUN Like a number of other Nigerian states, it was also named after a River, the Osun River.

OYO It was named after the Oyo empire. The Oyo kingdom itself was named after a smooth hill where the first settler received spiritual guidance to stay. It means 'a slippery place'.

PLATEAU The state was named for the Jo's Plateau.

RIVERS A place with many water bodies. Rivers state was named for the many Rivers found in the state.

SOKOTO Named after the defunct Sokoto caliphate, Sokoto is the Anglicized version of the Arabic word 'Suk' which means 'Market' or 'Place of Commerce'.
Another version states that Sokoto gets its name from the word ' Sassaka' which means 'to weave'. This was the predominant occupation of the Habe people who lived there. After the Jihad it was changed to 'Sakkwatun' so as to sound like 'Makkahtun' (Mecca). The British Anglicized it to Sokoto.

TARABA The state was named after the Tara na River.

YOBE The state was named after Komadugu Yobe (Waube or Ouobe) or River Yobe (River of Yo).

Phew! Finally

ZAMFARA The land of Jambarawa.

Lalasticlala, please come and move to the permanent site

Good job.

Continue with copy & paste