The Eight M-States — The Hardest Group
Eight states start with M, and each gets a different two-letter code. These are the most commonly confused abbreviations in the quiz:
- MA — Massachusetts
- MD — Maryland
- ME — Maine
- MI — Michigan
- MN — Minnesota
- MO — Missouri
- MS — Mississippi
- MT — Montana
The Eight N-States — Almost as Tricky
Eight states also start with N, each with a distinct abbreviation:
- NC — North Carolina
- ND — North Dakota
- NE — Nebraska
- NH — New Hampshire
- NJ — New Jersey
- NM — New Mexico
- NV — Nevada
- NY — New York
Other Abbreviations That Catch People Off Guard
Beyond the M and N groups, a few individual abbreviations don't follow the obvious pattern:
- KS — Kansas (not KA, because KY was taken by Kentucky)
- KY — Kentucky (K + Y from KentuckY)
- OH — Ohio (not OI)
- RI — Rhode Island (R for Rhode, I for Island)
- TN — Tennessee (T + N from TeNnessee)
- TX — Texas (T + X from TeXas)
- CT — Connecticut (C + T from ConnecTicut)
- WV — West Virginia (W for West, V for Virginia)
More U.S. State Symbol Quizzes
Once you've locked in the abbreviations, the state capitals quiz is a natural next challenge — and many of the same states that have tricky abbreviations also have surprising capitals.
For a broader test, the U.S. States General Knowledge Quiz mixes abbreviations, capitals, flags, birds, and nicknames in a single round.