1. 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 beginning 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 planks 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 from the delta of the River
Niger
which formed as it enters the Atlantic
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.



culled from information Nigeria



http://www.praizeblog.com/2016/08/nigerias-36-states-and-origin-of-their.html?m=1

cc lalasticlala

great info

I love this thread.... very educative.

OK, I see, nice info

lalasticlala come in carry am go permanent site oo

Lagos should change it colonial name to EKO

For those that didn't know the real pronunciation is LAR-GOOS

Not LAY-GOS