The Meanings Of The Names Of All Nigerian States

A lot Nigerians have no clue how

Nigerian states got their names.

INFORMATION NIGERIA in this piece has

compiled them from you.

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

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