There’s only one state whose name starts with two vowels. Can you guess what it is?
This Is the Only State Name that Starts with Two Vowels
Updated on Jun. 16, 2025
If you picked the name of a U.S. state out of a hat, you would have slightly less than a 1 in 4 chance of choosing one that starts with a vowel. Twelve of the 50 United States fit the bill. But you’d have just a 1 in 50 chance of choosing a state that starts with two consecutive vowels—because there’s only one. Can you guess which is the only state that starts with two vowels?
Read on to find out the answer and get more fun facts, including the origin of the state’s name.
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What’s the only state that starts with two vowels?
If you live in the Midwest, this might have been a no-brainer—specifically, if you live in a certain state situated between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. That’s right, the answer is Iowa! Its name, of course, starts with an i followed by an o—no other state’s name begins with two vowels in a row. (Go ahead, test it out with every other state name that starts with a vowel!)
In case you’re wondering, Iowa got its name from the tribe of Native Americans who lived in the area.
What’s the only state abbreviation with two vowels?
Here’s more vowel-related trivia that proves Iowa is truly unique: It’s the only state whose two-letter abbreviation consists of two vowels. That may not seem surprising—until you realize that its abbreviation is not the same two letters it starts with! The state abbreviation for Iowa is IA, not IO.
There’s a reason Iowa takes home these two honors. After all, its name contains four letters, three of which are vowels. The same is true for Ohio, but the distinction doesn’t carry over to its abbreviation, OH.
What states end with two vowels?
Ending with two consecutive vowels is less of a distinction for U.S. state names. Eight of them do it—nine if you count y as a vowel:
- California
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- New Jersey
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- West Virginia
In fact, it’s actually rarer for them to end with two consecutive consonants, as in Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wyoming.
Which 12 U.S. states begin with a vowel?
The 12 states that start with a vowel are:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Utah
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Sources:
- Federal Aviation Administration: “Two-Letter State and Territory Abbreviations”
- U.S. Department of Indian Affairs: “Origin of Names of US States”
- State Constitutions of the United States by Robert Maddex
