What Was The Original Name of Alabama?

The name "Alabama" itself has much deeper roots, originating from the Alabama River, which European explorers named after the Native American Alibamu tribe that lived along its banks.

From Tribal Lands to Colonial Claims

Long before it had a formal English name, the land of Alabama was home to several Native American peoples, most prominently the Muscogee (Creek), Choctaw, Cherokee, and the Alibamu tribe.

• Early European Names: When the first European explorers arrived, they gave the region different names based on their colonial claims. The Spanish considered the Gulf Coast area part of their vast territory of La Florida. Later, the French included it as part of their colony of La Louisiane.

The Path to Statehood

After the American Revolutionary War, the land became part of the United States. Its formal administrative names evolved as the young country expanded westward.

• Mississippi Territory: In 1798, the U.S. Congress organized the Mississippi Territory, which encompassed the land that would become both Mississippi and Alabama. For nearly two decades, the future state of Alabama was simply the eastern region of this massive territory.
• Alabama Territory: As the population of settlers in the Mississippi Territory grew, there was a push to divide it. On March 3, 1817, Congress passed an act that split the territory in two. The western portion retained the name Mississippi and prepared for statehood, while the eastern portion was officially organized as the Alabama Territory.

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This was the final formal name for the region before it became a state. The Alabama Territory existed for just over two years before it was admitted to the Union as the 22nd state on December 14, 1819.

Sources:

• Alabama Department of Archives and History
• Encyclopedia of Alabama
• The National Archives
• S. Library of Congress
• Historical accounts of the Mississippi and Alabama Territories