As we’ve discussed before, if you live in Michigan, you may consider yourself a Michigander or a Michiganian. (
Check it out.)
But why are demonyms so various and seemingly random? (A demonym is any
name derived from a place. The word “demonym” was coined by Paul
Dickson, an editor at Merriam-Webster, in his 1997 book Labels for
Locals. Californian, Frenchmen, New Yorker, and Swiss are all demonyms.)