Alternate Names for Washington

[shiftygiant]

You really dont know much about Washington if you think he was humble. Noble, sometimes, but never humble.

Doesn't mean he can't have his moments (Edited to remove 'Washington was humble' bit), and it does seem in character for him to get a bit put off at not just a city but the capital of a nation being named after him. I'd love to know what he thought about a state.

 

[Hierophant]

Sorry i went off like that, just hate seeing Washington or the other founders whitewashed. It takes away the fact that they were men too. My favorite quote about G Washington goes "he couldn't tell a lie....without a smile on his face"

As an Oregonian I'd like to suggest Oregon is just admitted as a state based closely on the territorial lines.

 

[shiftygiant]

Sorry i went off like that, just hate seeing Washington or the other founders whitewashed. It takes away the fact that they were men too. My favorite quote about G Washington goes "he couldn't tell a lie....without a smile on his face"

As an Oregonian I'd like to suggest Oregon is just admitted as a state based closely on the territorial lines.

It's fine, I understand why you'd be annoyed, and I don't blame you. My only real resources regarding Washington are all talking the guy up, which is in itself frustrating. I only say he was humble based on oft repeated George III quote.

Oregon on Territorial Lines would be interesting, but I imagine the south would throw a hissy fit over that- maybe just Oregon+Washington combined?

 

[jahenders]

State: Columbia, Olympia, Tacoma, Vancouver, Jefferson, Washington
Capital: DC (just), Washingtonia, Columbiana, Americana

That is true , though it is possible that maybe the City of Washington, where the popular prefix comes from, isn't named Washington; Perhaps when the Three Commissars inform Washington that the Federal City will be named after him, he humbly requests they do not out (Maybe Washington felt that naming the Capitol after him would give the impression that he was solely responsible for America). Columbia becomes the favored alternative, and the Capital is officially 'The District of Columbia', or 'Columbia' for short, and confusion regarding state and district is avoided.

An alternative would be the City is named after the Potomac river, or after Maryland (Federal District of Maryland, though this would be after the retrocession and the most unlikely).

On the State, I have some alternatives:
-Vancouver (After the man, who first visited the area whilst charting the North West)
-Jefferson (Because founding fathers)
-Cascadia (After the mountains. Already mentioned, I just like it).
-Casylvania (Because puns)
-Duwam (Shortened version of Duwamish, the river and tribe near Seattle)
-Columbia (Most likely, although the reasons why they didn't go for it, as pointed by the OP, are amusing)
-Monsylvania (Means Mountain forest in Latin, I think. Obviously reflects the States Mountains and Forest)
-Tacoma/Rainier (after the mountain)
-Olympia (After the Capitol of the State)
-Washington II: The Wrath of Stanton
-Whale (After the shape)

The naming Committees for the District and State are honestly my favorite PoD's.

 

[ChinookNik]

As a resident of the great state*, it's long been annoying to see the name of my home so often preferenced by "the mess in", and it's about another place, the Imperial Capitol.
The cultural divide between the east and the west side of the mountains would make adoption of a new name more difficult, any name that identifies primarily with the Puget Sound region would be rejected by the eastern side. That wounds my first choice, Salish, as the body of water that includes the Sound is now known as the Salish Sea. But Salish was the language spoken over most of the state by the first peoples. However, as a Seattleite, "Seattle, Salish" does not have a good ring. Bah.
Cascadia has a foothold, and would likely have the best chance at adoption, but the name refers to the region from southern Alaska to Northern California. It would selfish of us to keep the name to ourselves.
Jefferson is the name of the would-be state that would be formed from southern Oregon and Northern California. They already have their own flag.
Tahoma or Tacoma is both too western and fails from the rivalry between the two largest ports on the sound. Seattle won the battle of naming the Mountain Rainier over the partisans of Tacoma, centered on the city.
Vancouver already has the confusion between the great city in BC and our own small city north of Portland, using that as the name only increases the confusion that this renaming is trying to eliminate. By the way, BC isn't British any longer. How about "Royal Salish"?
Put me down for Cascadia. Moves us up on the by-state roll-calls, by golly.

*Considering that several states style themselves "Commonwealths", it would be quite in character for our quirky sense of humor to adopt the reference of James Farley and call ourselves a "Soviet"