AHC: Names for hypothetical US states

Just a very quick challenge, perhaps you can help me.

What I need are plausible names for two hypothetical US states that are highlighted in the pictures below.

namethisstate_a.png

namethisstate_b.png


A few notes:
  • The name Lakota is already taken elsewhere in this scenario, and I would prefer to avoid a rather silly name such as Arrowhead for the state in the first picture.
  • The hypothetical state in the second picture is OTL Missouri north of the Missouri river, but I don't really want to give it the name North Missouri, as the Missouri in this scenario was enlarged by additional territory in the west after having the lands in the north cut off.*
  • The timeframe of this scenario is c.1850-c.1860.
*It's a bit of an OTL West Virginia situation, though this doesn't really matter here.
 
Ok, I'm assuming the two different colours (blue and orange) represent two different countries here.

A few options for first one:
  • Mesabi (or a variant spelling) - for the Mesabi Range
  • Sylvania - for the Lake of the Woods (maybe a bit of a stretch)
  • Winnibig - for Lake Winnibigoshish
  • Chippewa - the Chippewa National Forest is located there, and the Chippewa/Ojibwe lived in the northern parts of Minnesota
  • Winnebago - for the Ho-Chunk/Winnebago nation that also lived in the area
  • Adams - for President John Adams
  • Monroe - for President James Monroe
  • Jackson - for President Andrew Jackson
I like the name Chippewa for this hypothetical state the best.

As for the second:
  • Missouri - because it was originally part of the state of Missouri, so why not keep the name. There's no way that could possibly be confusing :biggrin:
  • Chariton - for the Chariton River
  • Grand - for the Grand River
  • Blanchette - for Louis Blanchette, founder of St. Charles, Missouri
  • Lafayette - for the Marquis de Lafayette (not really sure about this one)
  • Adams - for President John Adams
  • Monroe - for President James Monroe
  • Jackson - for President Andrew Jackson
I like Missouri and Chariton. Calling it after a President seems to be OK, as well.
 
The one near what I assume is the Canadian border/ OK, point taken on the OTLy, Alamo then?
It's indeed near the Canadian border, as it's basically the OTL northern part of Minnesota. But... Alamo? That doesn't really sound realistic to me, especially not for a state in that region.

Millelacs for the Northern one ?
Interesting suggestion, I like it. But on the other hand, it covers only a very small region of the hypothetical state.

Ok, I'm assuming the two different colours (blue and orange) represent two different countries here.

A few options for first one:
  • Mesabi (or a variant spelling) - for the Mesabi Range
  • Sylvania - for the Lake of the Woods (maybe a bit of a stretch)
  • Winnibig - for Lake Winnibigoshish
  • Chippewa - the Chippewa National Forest is located there, and the Chippewa/Ojibwe lived in the northern parts of Minnesota
  • Winnebago - for the Ho-Chunk/Winnebago nation that also lived in the area
  • Adams - for President John Adams
  • Monroe - for President James Monroe
  • Jackson - for President Andrew Jackson
I like the name Chippewa for this hypothetical state the best.
Ah, those are great! They have a direct relation to the area, and fit the naming convention for the surrounding states (native American names like Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, etc.) very well.

As for the second:
  • Missouri - because it was originally part of the state of Missouri, so why not keep the name. There's no way that could possibly be confusing :biggrin:
  • Chariton - for the Chariton River
  • Grand - for the Grand River
  • Blanchette - for Louis Blanchette, founder of St. Charles, Missouri
  • Lafayette - for the Marquis de Lafayette (not really sure about this one)
  • Adams - for President John Adams
  • Monroe - for President James Monroe
  • Jackson - for President Andrew Jackson
I like Missouri and Chariton. Calling it after a President seems to be OK, as well.
Though these two states seem to be in different countries on that map, that might or might be only temporary, so this hypothetical state cannot have the same name as the already existing Missouri. Chariton sounds okay, but a more native American name might work better here as well.
 
As for the second:
  • Missouri - because it was originally part of the state of Missouri, so why not keep the name. There's no way that could possibly be confusing :biggrin:
I like

Actually de-naming South Missouri Missouri would make sense, since the Missouri people lived in the North, not in the South.
 
For the lower picture (the one just north of Missouri) I suggest the Names of "Clarksdale", "Clarkania", or just Clark. This is a reference to William Clark who explored the area alongside Meriwether Lewis. The capital could be along the northern banks of the Missouri River. The name could be "Williamsburg" or something similar.
 
For *South Missouri? I don't suppose you'd accept West Pennsylvania...

I do like Chippewa for the other.

What did the natives call the area? What about natives who lived there? The Chiwere? What about using that for *Missouri?
 
I personally like Lafayette, maybe Kansas too, for the more southerly state although I know you didn't want to use OTL names. There's also the possibility of Cheyenne, Peoria, Sauk, Shawnee or Osage if we're going for Indian names. Personally however, I do like the idea of Lafayette.
 
Pretty much at random, here's some of my suggestions for a state in that area:

-Gidinake(corruption of Ojibwa giwedin'akii, 'northern land')
-Sebeka(Ojibwa for 'town by the water')
-Marais(a French trading town on the Superior coast)
-Gitchabit(a bastardization of the old name for the above)
-Yankton(a Dakota tribe in the vicinity)
-Minnetaree(another tribe, though they may have been further south)
-Itasca(after the Mississippi's source Lake Itasca)
 
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Chippewa shall be the name of the state in the first picture. It fits very well with the names of the surrounding states, and has a connection to the area in question.

As for the state in the second picture... Ah, difficult. I like many of your suggestions though.
 

Driftless

Donor
Gitchagami/Gitchagumee for the Arrowhead region of Minnesota. It's their name for Lake Superior. The first spelling is Ojibwe, the latter is Longfellow's version from the then famous "Song of Hiawatha"
 
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