{"id":225838,"date":"2026-06-21T20:59:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T20:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/?p=225838"},"modified":"2026-06-08T20:30:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T20:30:32","slug":"new-jersey-name-history-old-new-jersey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/new-jersey-name-history-old-new-jersey\/","title":{"rendered":"If We\u2019re New Jersey, Who\u2019s Old Jersey?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"custom_featured_image\" style=\"display:none;\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-name-history-300x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"new jersey name history\" style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-name-history-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-name-history-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-name-history.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-name-history-585x390.jpg 585w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-name-history-263x175.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/div><div id=\"custom_category\" style=\"display:none;\">local history<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Jersey\u2019s naming is a classic tale of 17th-century political favors and colonial <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobokengirl.com\/hoboken-jersey-city-real-estate-listings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">real estate<\/a>. While the primary reason for our great state\u2019s name is well-documented, there are quite a few fun parallels that link the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution and its island eponym. <\/span><b>Read on to learn about New Jersey\u2019s naming origins as well as the <a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/molly-pitcher-history-new-jersey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">historical<\/a>, geographical, and serendipitous connections between the old Jersey of England and the U.S. Garden State.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-225843\" src=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-name-history-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"new jersey name history\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-name-history-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-name-history-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-name-history-585x390.jpg 585w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-name-history-263x175.jpg 263w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-name-history.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Photo Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nypl.org\/blog\/2015\/02\/09\/new-jersey-genealogy-guide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Public Library<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>We Could Have Been New Netherland<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before the British took over this region, the Dutch referred to the place we now call New Jersey as part of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nieuw Nederland<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or New Netherland. Some early maps and settlers used Dutch nomenclature for the area, like Pavonia or Achilles Kol, but, in 1664, the British Jersey label was enforced by a royal decree.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b><i>Read More: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobokengirl.com\/new-jersey-county-names-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The History Behind New Jersey County Names<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Jersey was named by Sir George Carteret and Lord John Berkeley after the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel. The Duke of York, who would later become King James II, granted the territory to Carteret and Berkeley as a reward for their loyalty during the English Civil War. Sir George Carteret had served as the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Jersey and had provided a sanctuary for the exiled Charles II. The name New Jersey was both a tribute to Carteret\u2019s ancestral home and a political message made in defense of the Crown.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The legal boundaries of the British colony of New Jersey and the number of New Jerseys in the Americas caused significant confusion for decades. For a long period, New Jersey wasn&#8217;t one entity. Between 1674 and 1702, it was a colony split between East Jersey and West Jersey due to disputes between the landholding proprietors. The land wasn\u2019t unified into a single royal colony until 1702.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>But What is this Place called Really?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many New Jersey <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobokengirl.com\/new-jersey-county-names-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">place names<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> come from the Lenape or Delaware language. Today, we employ Lenape-derived names like Hoboken, which comes from <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hupok\u00e0n<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> meaning pipe, or Weekawken, which comes from <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xwiiahkiing,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which means place of gulls. The whole region was referred to as <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scheyechbi<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, meaning long land water. These indigenous names typically described the local landscape rather than recognizing a person or people asserting ownership. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scheyechbi<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> referred to the land between the Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-225855 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"new jersey\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey-585x585.jpg 585w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/newjersey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/06\/new-jersey.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Across the Pond&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Jersey\u2019s Northwestern European namesake is actually more than just a single Jersey and not even part of the United Kingdom. The Isle of Jersey, and the islands of Minquiers and \u00c9cr\u00e9hous make up the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Bailiwick of Jersey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Channel Islands. It is a specific territory under the jurisdiction of a Bailiff, who serves as the civic head, president of the legislature, and head of the judiciary.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bailiwick of Jersey, which sits near the coast of northwest France, is separated from the U.S.\u2019s New Jersey by roughly 3,000 nautical miles and by a massive difference in scale, but the two Jerseys share a few surprising commonalities. The history connecting the two locations is rooted in 17th-century political loyalty but has evolved through agriculture and geography in the centuries since then.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We all know that our Jersey is known as the Garden State. Well, old Jersey is famous for its agriculture too, specifically the Jersey Royal potato, which comes from the Americas but is a staple of British cuisine. Both regions have historically relied on their fertile soil as a core part of their identity. Both are roughly at similar latitudes &#8211; the island is slightly further north &#8211; which contributes to their shared history of seasonal farming. The similarities between the Jerseys range from significant to superficial to spurious.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Quirky Parallels and Competitions<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most famous global export of the Channel Island Jersey is the Jersey cow. The<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/usjersey.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> American Jersey Cattle Association<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> notes that the breed was cultivated for nearly 600 years on the Isle before becoming a major part of the U.S. dairy industry. These cows were brought to the United States in the 1800s and have been making our milk ever since. Consequently, the &#8220;Jersey cow&#8221; is a common sight in the rural parts of the US state that shares its name.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both the old and the new Jersey are deeply defined by our relationships with the sea. The Isle of Jersey\u2019s dramatic cliffs and gorgeous beaches compete on sure footing with the New Jersey peninsula\u2019s famous coastlines. While New Jersey has its boardwalk oysters, clams, and crab shacks, old Jersey is famous for its spider crabs and ormers (a type of local shellfish). Both cultures revolve around seasonal, ocean-to-table dining. At the moment, the Bailiwick of Jersey has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bailiwickexpress.com\/business\/michelin-mastery-jersey-restaurant-bohemia-keeps-its-star\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> more Michelin-starred restaurant than the foodie State of New Jersey can claim.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both Jerseys brag elegant Victorian-style seaside architecture with a clear resemblance between Cape May and the port towns of the Isle of Jersey\u2019s 19th-century resort town aesthetic. As the largest of the Channel Islands, Jersey is a popular holiday destination. The main town of St. Helier is the hub for nightlife, known for cosy traditional pubs and chic cocktail bars. To which the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/best-rooftop-bars-jersey-shore\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jersey Shore<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> says, \u201cHold my bucket of booze.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both Jerseys have thriving, dedicated surfing communities. The Isle of Jersey boasts one of the oldest surf clubs in Europe and hosts major surfing competitions. And of course, New Jersey has a robust year-round surfing scene that is often overlooked by outsiders but absolutely central to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/essential-apps-jersey-shore-nj\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">local life<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in surftowns like Manasquan and Belmar.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If it\u2019s a competition, New Jersey wins, hands down, on size. The Bailiwick consists of the main island of Jersey and some surrounding uninhabited islands and rocks, including Les Dirouilles, Les \u00c9cr\u00e9hous, Les Minquiers, and Les Pierres de Lecq. Those French names are fancy, but New Jersey has the Barrier Islands, Ellis Island, Liberty Island, and a whole lot of notably <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Glen_Rock_(boulder)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">big rocks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Ties That Bind Us<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The strongest formal link today is between the two Jersey capitals. Trenton, New Jersey, and Saint Helier, the capital of the Isle of Jersey, are official <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trentonian.com\/2020\/01\/28\/photos-trenton-and-sister-city-st-helier-officials-formalize-sibling-status\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sister Cities<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This partnership was established to foster cultural and commercial exchange, serving as a modern bridge between the two regions that share a naming history.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both Jerseys share a love of sports. While the Isle of Jersey is obsessed with cricket and rugby, we all love soccer. The Isle of Jersey calls their soccer football, but we need not hold that against them. Their national football team, the Jersey Bulls, competes in the English league system. The great state of New Jersey is arguably the soccer capital of the U.S., home of the NY\/NJ Red Bulls, and hosting the 2026 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobokengirl.com\/new-jersey-fifa-world-cup-guide-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">World Cup<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>See More: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themontclairgirl.com\/iconic-montclair-spots-new-jersey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Montclair Spots That Have Stood the Test of Time<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both Jerseys boast a serious love of golf. The Isle of Jersey produced the legendary Harry Vardon, who won six British Opens. New Jersey is home to some of the most prestigious courses in the United States, like Pine Valley and Baltusrol, and is the headquarters of the USGA. In this area, the Islanders set an example worth following. While traditional golf courses often face criticism for acting as biological dead zones, the Isle of Jersey\u2019s La Moye Golf Course famously protects its fragile coastal environment. Their stunning sand dunes are managed for botanical, historical, and wildlife conservation.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What\u2019s in a Name?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are a zillion measures by which the Jersey of Europe and the Jersey of North America can be compared. Both have rather business-friendly political structures. Both hold <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobokengirl.com\/hackensack-riverkeeper-eco-tours-cruises\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">precious biodiversity<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Both have gorgeous historic <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobokengirl.com\/robbins-reef-lighthouse-bayonne-new-jersey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lighthouses<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Both the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shimajournal.org\/article\/10.21463\/shima.194\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">island<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobokengirl.com\/mermaids-history-new-jersey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">peninsula<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shimajournal.org\/article\/10.21463\/shima.194\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">well-documented<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> history of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobokengirl.com\/mermaids-history-new-jersey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mermaids<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The Isle is home to the mythical Black Dog of Bouley Bay; New Jersey has its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobokengirl.com\/history-new-jersey-devil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Devil<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The top favorite traditional dessert in the Bailiwick of Jersey is Jersey Wonders or <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">des m\u00e8rvelles,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which is similar to a doughnut; and the State of New Jersey really, really loves <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themontclairgirl.com\/apple-cider-donuts-north-jersey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">doughnuts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps sharing a name doesn&#8217;t mean we are destined to be twins, but there is a lot to appreciate in both of the world\u2019s Jerseys. New Jersey and the old Bailiwick have taken wildly different paths over the last few hundred years, evolving into unique places with our own particular <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jerseyuncovered.com\/getting-to-know-jersey\/fun-and-interesting-facts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">quirks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/tag\/beach-vibes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vibes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. So, while it&#8217;s fun to point out that we both love the ocean and have pretty brown milk cows, our two Jerseys are like two very cool strangers who happen to share the same surname.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Follow @thenewjerseygirl on&nbsp;<a class=\"broken_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thelocalgirlhq\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s1\">Instagram<\/span><\/a>&nbsp;+&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@thelocalgirlhq?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s1\">TikTok<\/span><\/a>&nbsp;for the latest updates on Hoboken, Montclair, Bergen County, and more,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.myflodesk.com\/xdt5qdr3st\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s1\">sign up for our weekly newsletter here<\/span><\/a>&nbsp;that shares everything you missed each week, and check out our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/calendar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s1\">events calendar<\/span><\/a>, which has over 100+ events weekly to peruse.<\/p>\n<div class=\"categories\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stories<\/a>&nbsp;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>local historyNew Jersey\u2019s naming is a classic tale of 17th-century political favors and colonial real estate. While the primary reason for our&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":330,"featured_media":225843,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,45,1,40],"tags":[9,43,11,12],"class_list":["post-225838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-new-jersey","category-news","category-the-local-girl","tag-lifestyle","tag-new-jersey","tag-news","tag-tlg"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>If We\u2019re New Jersey, Who\u2019s Old Jersey? - The New Jersey Girl<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New Jersey wasn&#039;t always called New Jersey. 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