Iowa State Symbols

Iowa state symbols and facts: official state symbols include the American goldfinch, wild prairie rose, bur oak, Hawkeye nickname, and state motto.

Abbreviation

Des Moines

Capital

1846

Statehood

Symbols

Overview

The American goldfinch, wild prairie rose, and Hawkeye nickname are the best-known official state symbols of Iowa. The blue-white-red flag, Our Liberties We Prize motto, and a state tree law broad enough to cover every native oak tie Iowa's prairie identity to statehood-era language and Louisiana Purchase memory.

Best-known symbol Iowa State Flag

Oldest in this guide Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain, 1847

Broad tree symbol Oak

Iowa State Symbols — Complete List

Category	Official Symbol	Adopted
State Flag	Iowa State Flag	1921
State Bird	American Goldfinch Spinus tristis	1933
State Flower	Wild Prairie Rose Rosa arkansana	1897
State Tree	Oak Quercus	1961
State Motto	Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain English	1847
State Nickname	The Hawkeye State	—
State Colors	Red, White, and Blue	—
License Plate Slogan	The Hawkeye State	1954
State Seal	Great Seal of Iowa	1847

What Does Iowa Mean?

Iowa is the 29th U.S. state, admitted to the Union on December 28, 1846. The name comes from the Ioway or Iowa people, whose name entered English through French and other colonial spellings.

The Hawkeye nickname is a separate story. The existing nickname page connects it with Black Hawk, James Edwards's 1838 newspaper promotion, and Iowa's territorial identity before statehood.

Iowa's postal abbreviation is IA, and residents are called Iowans. Its motto, Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain, came just 58 days after statehood and reflects the state's boundary dispute and statehood negotiations.

Key Meaning and Background

Origin: From the Ioway or Iowa people, filtered through colonial-era spellings.
Statehood: Iowa became the 29th state on December 28, 1846.
Nickname: Hawkeye is tied to Black Hawk and territorial-era newspaper promotion.

Usage Examples and Context

State: Refers to Iowa, a Midwestern state strongly associated with agriculture, prairie, and river settlement.
People: People from Iowa are called Iowans.
Motto: The motto appears on the Great Seal and is one of the country's longest state mottos.

Nicknames and Short Forms

Hawkeye State: Iowa's best-known nickname, promoted in the territorial period.
Corn State: Informal nickname tied to Iowa's farm economy.
Land Where the Tall Corn Grows: Poetic agricultural nickname connected with Iowa cultural memory.
Abbreviation: IA; older short form Ia.

Newest and Oldest Symbols

Oldest listed Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain, 1847

Older symbols tend to anchor the state's public identity: flag, bird, flower, motto, or nickname.

Newest listed Oak (1961), The Hawkeye State (1954)

Recent designations often show how states keep adding wildlife, foods, breeds, and cultural traditions.

What Iowa's Symbols Say About the State

Iowa's state flag is a history lesson in three vertical stripes. Dixie Cornell Gebhardt's design uses French tricolor memory, a bald eagle, and the state motto to connect Iowa's Louisiana Purchase past with World War I-era patriotism.

The American goldfinch and wild prairie rose are not showy trophies. They work because they belong to the open-country Iowa people actually see: roadsides, field edges, and prairie remnants.

The oak may be Iowa's most editorially interesting choice. Instead of naming bur oak alone, the state adopted oak at the genus level, making the symbol about a whole woodland group and its wildlife value.

Quick Answers

What is Iowa's most famous state symbol?

The Iowa state flag is one of the clearest symbols because it carries the eagle, state motto, and blue-white-red design tied to Iowa's French Louisiana history.

What is Iowa's state bird?

Iowa's state bird is the American goldfinch, adopted in 1933.

What is Iowa's state flower?

Iowa's state flower is the wild prairie rose, adopted in 1897.

Why is Iowa's state tree listed as oak instead of bur oak?

Iowa designated oak broadly, without naming a single species. Bur oak is often treated as the representative oak because it grows throughout all 102 counties.

How many official state symbols does Iowa have?

Iowa's state symbols list here includes the flag, goldfinch, wild prairie rose, oak, motto, colors, and Hawkeye nickname.