Delaware

The demonym 'Delawarean' honors Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (1577-1618), an English nobleman who served as the governor of the Virginia Colony. Lord De La Warr never actually visited the region that would bear his name, but his influence on early English colonization in North America was significant.

The name was first applied in 1610 by English explorer and sea captain Samuel Argall, who sought shelter from a storm in a bay he named 'De La Warr Bay' (now Delaware Bay) in honor of Virginia's governor. From this bay, the name extended to the Delaware River (which the Lenape people called 'Lenape Wihittuck' or 'River of the Lenape'), and subsequently to the entire region.

The surname 'De La Warr' or 'Delaware' is of Norman-French origin, deriving from a place in France. Over time, various spellings emerged including 'De La Warr,' 'De la Warr,' 'De Lawarr,' and eventually the Americanized 'Delaware.' Early colonial documents also show spellings like 'Delawar,' 'De La Ware,' and 'Delaware.'

Before European contact, the region was inhabited by the Lenni Lenape (meaning 'original people' or 'common people'), an Algonquian-speaking people. Ironically, European colonists began calling the Lenape people themselves 'Delaware Indians,' a name that stuck despite having no indigenous origin. The Lenape called their homeland 'Lenapehoking.'

The area was first settled by the Dutch in 1631 (Zwaanendael colony), then the Swedes in 1638 (New Sweden), before coming under English control in 1664. The region was initially part of Pennsylvania but existed as the 'Three Lower Counties on Delaware' before becoming a separate entity.

Delaware was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on December 7, 1787, earning it the nickname 'The First State.' The demonym 'Delawarean' uses the suffix '-an,' though the alternative form 'Delawarean' with '-ean' is also widely accepted and perhaps more common. Some historical sources also reference 'Delawareite,' though this form is now rare.