What Is a Hoosier? And Where Does the Term Come From?

Explaining the Origins of This Unique Indiana Term

Indiana has called itself the Hoosier state for over 150 years, but what does that mean, exactly? Let’s explore the term’s history to find out.

Put as simply as possible, a Hoosier is a person from Indiana. The state nickname is one of the oldest in the country and has seen widespread use in the Hoosier State and across the US.

What Does It Mean to Be a Hoosier?

There’s more to this term than meets the eye. At the surface value, it simply refers to Indiana residents. When we probe beneath the surface and into the state’s history, it becomes clear that the subtext is equally essential.

The term gained widespread acceptance in the 1830s and ‘40s. At the time, it defined good-natured and independent-minded neighbors but also implied a frontier roughness. While Indiana is now far from its origins on the wild frontier, the rest of the connotations stuck around.

The Origins of the Term Hoosier

Anyone from Indiana can tell you that there is an ongoing debate surrounding the historical origins of the term Hoosier. Some theories are very obviously false, as with people who claim it’s supposed to be a homonym of “who’s here,” “who’s ear,” or even “huzzah.” Others are harder to disprove.

Some people continue to believe that a contractor named Hoosier, employed as a manager on the Louisville and Portland Canal, liked hiring Indianans, who then became known as “Hoosier’s men.” Another theory posits that it’s derived from the indigenous word for corn, “hoosa.”

Yet another favored explanation states that Indiana rivermen were experts at “hushing” their adversaries in brawls and thus became known as “hushers.” Proponents of this theory assume the term moved on to become Hoosiers over time.

As far as historians can determine, none of these theories is correct.

Early Written Uses of the Term Hoosier

Some credit the term to John Finley of Richmond, who wrote a poem titled “The Hoosier’s Nest” in 1833 that was widely copied throughout the country. Immediately following the poem’s release, John W. Davis made a toast to “The Hoosier State of Indiana.”

The problem is that written evidence of earlier use is readily available. Finley almost certainly used the term with the understanding that his readers would understand its meaning and connotations.

The Most Likely Explanation

Interestingly, one historian and secretary of the Indiana Historical Society, Jacob Piatt Dunn, Jr., determined that people used the term “hoosier” in the South to denote woodsmen or rough hill people.

According to Dunn, they adopted the term from the slang word “hoozer,” commonly used in the Cumberland dialect of Great Britain. The English term was derived from the Anglo-Saxon word “hoo,” which meant “hill” or “high.”

Dunn’s research shows that immigrants from Cumberland, England, brought the term with them to the Cumberland Mountains. Their descendants then moved on and settled in southern Indiana. Over time, the term lost any connotations of roughness and became the beloved nickname it is today.

There’s no way to prove Dunn’s theory is correct, though it is the most widely accepted etymological explanation among historians and linguists. Regardless of the term’s origins, it has become a part not just of local Indiana dialects but the national vernacular.