Pop Quiz: Do You Know All of Arkansas’ Nicknames?

Arkansas is known for many things, including its abundance of nicknames.

Nicknames, for the most part, are cool. Of course, you can't give yourself a nickname. No, no... nicknames are given by others. Hopefully, the name you are given is based off of something legendary you did or, at the very least, is an abbreviation of your original name. I've had a lot of nicknames in my day; Jess, Jessi, Sunshine (while I was working in NYC), Gus Gus, Jiggy... Not all of them have been my favorite, but at least I felt like people loved me enough to give me a pet name.

States have their own nicknames as well.

In fact, Arkansas has several nicknames. Many know that Arkansas is the The Natural State because it's our official nickname that was adopted in 1995. However, there are more than just those two. NetState.com actually lists eight different nicknames.

The Natural State - because Arkansas is so naturally beautiful with lakes, streams, rivers, mountains, forests, wildlife, fish, etc.

Land of Opportunity - an early "official" nickname that was adopted in 1947

The Wonder State - the original "official" nickname from 1923-1947 to promote the natural resources found in Arkansas

The Razorback State - straight from the University of Arkansas' mascot

The Hot Springs State - a better option than the original Hot Water State in honor of the world-famous hot springs

The Bowie State - named for the famous knives that were being used in Arkansas that supposedly had to be "sharp enough for shaving and heavy enough to use as a hatchet [...] long enough to be used as a sword and wide enough to paddle a canoe."

The Toothpick State - also used in reference to a knife that was used in Arkansas, similar to a Bowie knife, but longer and designed for throwing

The Bear State - due to the bears found in Arkansas, this is the earliest known nickname, which was replaced by The Wonder State to prevent people from getting the wrong impression about the state