Guide Rankings Geography Updated May 18, 2026

Number of Letters in State Names

All 50 U.S. state names listed and colored by number of letters, from Massachusetts at 13 to Iowa, Ohio, and Utah at 4

Number of Letters in State Names

Ranking - Geography

Quick Answer

Number of Letters in State Names

  1. 1

    The number of letters in U.S. state names ranges from 4 to 13. Massachusetts, North Carolina, and South Carolina each have 13 letters — the most of any state. Iowa, Ohio, and Utah each have 4 letters — the fewest. Spaces are not counted; only letters are.

  2. 2

    Eight-letter names are the most common: eleven states share that length, including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Virginia. Three states tie at the top and three tie at the bottom.

Map

Number of Letters in State Names Map

letters
No data
States shaded from lightest (4 letters) to darkest (13 letters). Massachusetts and both Carolinas lead at 13; Iowa, Ohio, and Utah are shortest at 4.
Number of Letters in State Names Map
Rank State letters
1 Massachusetts 13
1 North Carolina 13
1 South Carolina 13
4 New Hampshire 12
4 Pennsylvania 12
4 West Virginia 12
7 Connecticut 11
7 Mississippi 11
7 North Dakota 11
7 Rhode Island 11
7 South Dakota 11
12 California 10
12 Washington 10
14 Louisiana 9
14 Minnesota 9
14 New Jersey 9
14 New Mexico 9
14 Tennessee 9
14 Wisconsin 9
20 Arkansas 8
20 Colorado 8
20 Delaware 8
20 Illinois 8
20 Kentucky 8
20 Maryland 8
20 Michigan 8
20 Missouri 8
20 Nebraska 8
20 Oklahoma 8
20 Virginia 8
31 Alabama 7
31 Arizona 7
31 Florida 7
31 Georgia 7
31 Indiana 7
31 Montana 7
31 New York 7
31 Vermont 7
31 Wyoming 7
40 Alaska 6
40 Hawaii 6
40 Kansas 6
40 Nevada 6
40 Oregon 6
45 Idaho 5
45 Maine 5
45 Texas 5
48 Iowa 4
48 Ohio 4
48 Utah 4

States shaded from lightest (4 letters) to darkest (13 letters). Massachusetts and both Carolinas lead at 13; Iowa, Ohio, and Utah are shortest at 4.

Number of Letters in State Names Table

Words

Download as PDF

Print-ready table — Number of Letters in State Names

Longest and Shortest U.S. State Names by Letter Count

Highest

13
Massachusetts flag
Massachusetts #1

Lowest

4
Utah flag
Utah #48

Top 10 Highest — Letters

#1 Massachusetts flag Massachusetts
13
#1 North Carolina flag North Carolina
13
#1 South Carolina flag South Carolina
13
#4 New Hampshire flag New Hampshire
12
#4 Pennsylvania flag Pennsylvania
12
#4 West Virginia flag West Virginia
12
#7 Connecticut flag Connecticut
11
#7 Mississippi flag Mississippi
11
#7 North Dakota flag North Dakota
11
#7 Rhode Island flag Rhode Island
11

Top 10 Lowest — Letters

#48 Utah flag Utah
4
#48 Ohio flag Ohio
4
#48 Iowa flag Iowa
4
#45 Texas flag Texas
5
#45 Maine flag Maine
5
#45 Idaho flag Idaho
5
#40 Oregon flag Oregon
6
#40 Nevada flag Nevada
6
#40 Kansas flag Kansas
6
#40 Hawaii flag Hawaii
6

Longest State Names

The Massachusetts State House in Boston with its gold dome
Massachusetts is tied for the longest U.S. state name at 13 letters, alongside North Carolina and South Carolina.

Three states share the longest name at 13 letters: Massachusetts, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Massachusetts is one word; the Carolinas are two-word names where the space is not counted. All three were among the original 13 colonies.

The next group at 12 letters includes Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and West Virginia. Pennsylvania is the only single-word name among them. New Hampshire and West Virginia each have a space that is excluded from the letter count.

Shortest State Names

The Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines under a blue sky
Iowa is tied with Ohio and Utah for the shortest U.S. state name at just 4 letters.

Iowa, Ohio, and Utah each have 4 letters, the fewest of any U.S. state name. No state has a shorter name. Iowa comes from an Ioway people's name; Ohio from a Seneca word for 'large creek'; Utah from the Ute people's own name.

The next group at 5 letters includes Idaho, Maine, and Texas. At 6 letters: Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, Nevada, and Oregon.

How We Counted Letters

Front view of the Rhode Island State House in Providence
Rhode Island now counts as 11 letters in its official state name after the 2020 removal of Providence Plantations.

Only alphabetic letters are counted. Spaces are excluded. North Carolina has 13 letters — 5 in 'North' and 8 in 'Carolina' — not 14 characters. New Hampshire has 12 letters (3 + 9), not 13.

Rhode Island's official name was shortened in November 2020 when voters removed 'Providence Plantations' by ballot referendum. The current official name is Rhode Island, which has 11 letters.

Quick Answers

Which state has the longest name?
Massachusetts, North Carolina, and South Carolina all have 13 letters, the most of any U.S. state. Spaces are not counted, so both Carolinas count as 13 letters, not 14 characters.
Which state has the shortest name?
Iowa, Ohio, and Utah each have 4 letters — the fewest of any state. No U.S. state has a name shorter than 4 letters.
How many letters are in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts has 13 letters: M-a-s-s-a-c-h-u-s-e-t-t-s. It ties with North Carolina and South Carolina for the longest state name.
How many letters are in North Carolina?
North Carolina has 13 letters — 5 in 'North' and 8 in 'Carolina.' The space between the two words is not counted.
Do spaces count in state name length?
No. Only letters are counted. Spaces are excluded. That is why North Carolina has 13 letters, not 14 characters, and New Hampshire has 12 letters, not 13.
Which states have 4 letters?
Three states have 4-letter names: Iowa, Ohio, and Utah. They are the shortest state names in the United States.
Which states have 13 letters?
Three states have 13-letter names: Massachusetts, North Carolina, and South Carolina. They are the longest state names in the United States.
What is the most common number of letters in a state name?
Eight letters is the most common. Eleven states have 8-letter names: Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Virginia.

Methodology

Letter counts exclude spaces and punctuation. Only alphabetic characters are counted. North Carolina = 13 letters (5 in 'North' + 8 in 'Carolina'), not 14 characters. States with identical letter counts share the same rank.

Sources

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.
Found an error? Report it here.

You Might Also Like