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Some more trivia on the name Wyoming:
 
The name Wyoming is indeed derived from a Delaware Indian term, as
indicated by the earlier message.  The term is also applied to a
valley in Pennsylvania, counties in New York, West Virginia and
Pennsylvania, and cities/towns in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and
Ontario.  It was first used on maps for the area in the Western U.S.
by the A.J. Johnson Co. in 1865.  This was the year that an Ohio
Congressman named James Ashley proposed that the area become
Wyoming Territory (Ashley was Chairman of the House Committee on
Territories and also proposed the name Montana).  The Johnson Co.
continued to map this area as Wyoming the next few years, even though
it was not approved as a separate territory until 1868 (it was
governed as part of Dakota Territory during that time).  The bill that
finally passed to set up Wyoming Territory was introduced by Senator
Richard Yates, of Illinois, in 1868.  Yates proposed that this
territory be named Lincoln, and there ARE maps showing this area as
Lincoln Territory (although the University of Wyoming Libraries don't
have any--citations to same would be appreciated).  Other names
proposed by residents of the fledgeling territory include Cheyenne,
Arapahoe, Platte, & Sweetwater.
 
Linda Zellmer
University of Wyoming