There are no U.S. states that start with the letter ‘J.’
Kind of strange, but not really.
When naming the states of the U.S., many letters got skipped over.
Some of those made plenty of sense (talking to you, X!)
But J? Who knows why the early namers of places in the U.S. found it incompatible with statehood.
Apparently, they found it incompatible with everything. There really aren’t a lot of ‘J’ cities either.
So, whether you’re working on a ‘J’ assignment or looking forward to that next intense game of Scattergories where ‘J’ comes up on the die, if you need some states that begin with the letter ‘J’ you’re gonna have to look beyond the borders of the U.S. or get creative.
International States That Start With J
Though there are no U.S. states that start with the letter J, there are a few other countries that call their territories states and have states with J names.
In Indian, for instance, you’ve got –
- Jharkhand
In Malaysia, you’ve got –
- Johor
In Mexico, you’ve got –
- Jalisco
Independent States That Start With J
Along with countries that call their independent territories “states,” there are also countries that are considered independent, or sovereign, states.
These sovereign states are:
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
Basically, any country that is not under the political or social control of another country is considered a sovereign state, including the United States.
States of Being That Start With J
Now, if you really want to push your luck with “state” (like during a Scattergories game), you can also go with a different definition of “state.”
Namely, this definition –
“the condition of a person or thing” (dictionary.com)
This opens up tons of possibilities.
So, what ‘J’ states can a person or thing be in?
- Jaded
- Jailed
- Jazzed
- Jelly-like
- Jilted
- Jolly
- Jubilant
Whether or not you’ll get away with any of these really depends on how cool the group you’re playing with is or how cool your teacher is.
But, unless it’s explicitly stated that you must name a “place that is a state” or a “US state” that starts with a J, it’s kind of open to interpretation, isn’t it?
Plus, you’re being super creative (good for you!), so you should really get bonus points.
Onward From the ‘J’ State Names
So, there you have it. No U.S. state names start with the letter ‘J.’
But there are plenty of interpretations of the word “state,” so don’t be afraid to get creative and try your luck!