what does this symbol mean?

US state flags

The flag of every US state as its own law describes it: what the seal, colours and stars on it stand for, when it was adopted, and how to tell it from the flags that look like it.

Test yourself: US state flags quiz

New England 6 symbols

Mid-Atlantic 3 symbols

South 16 symbols

Midwest 12 symbols

West 8 symbols

Pacific 5 symbols

About uS state flags

The flag of every US state as the state’s own law describes it, with what its seal, colours and stars stand for, when it was adopted, and who designed it where the record says. Most state flags are a seal or coat of arms on a blue field, so each page says what tells that flag from its neighbours.

Flags that look alike

Alabama’s law makes its flag a crimson cross of St Andrew on a field of white, the bars at least six inches broad. Florida’s has red bars across a white field too, each a fifth of the hoist wide, running from the corners to the rim of the state seal in the centre; Alabama’s has nothing in the middle.

Texas’s flag is the 1839 national flag of the Republic of Texas: a blue stripe at the pole with a white star, and white over red. Its likeness to Chile’s flag is often pointed out. North Carolina’s has the same blue union and red and white bars, with the letters N and C either side of its star.

New flags of the 2020s

Mississippi’s new flag was signed into law in January 2021: a magnolia ringed by twenty white stars, for the twentieth state, and a gold star of diamond shapes significant to the Choctaw, after more than 71 percent of voters approved it in November 2020. Minnesota’s statute adopts the design certified by the State Emblems Redesign Commission, a dark blue shape of the state with a white eight-pointed star beside a bright blue field. Utah’s new flag became official on 9 March 2024; its law keeps the 1913 design as the historic state flag.

Sources

  1. Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1979, Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1979, “Emblems, Honors and Historical Review: The State Flag” (Internet Archive full text), Alabama Department of Archives and History, via the Internet Archive, The State Flag, pp. 23–24
  2. The 2026 Florida Statutes: Chapter 15, The 2026 Florida Statutes, Title IV, Chapter 15 (Secretary of State), ss. 15.0301 and 15.031, The Florida Legislature, s. 15.012 (state flag); s. 15.03 (state seal); s. 15.0301 (state motto)
  3. Texas H.B. No. 2812 (77th Legislature, 2001), enrolled: Government Code Chapter 3100 (State Flag), Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420 (H.B. 2812), Article 7, § 7.001, adding Gov’t Code §§ 3100.001–3100.002; effective September 1, 2001, Texas Legislature, Article 7, § 7.001: Gov’t Code §§ 3100.001–3100.002
  4. Blanco, azul y rojo (Óscar Barrientos, CIPER), Óscar Barrientos, “Blanco, azul y rojo”, CIPER Chile, column, 15 September 2022, CIPER Chile, Column text, paragraph 3
  5. North Carolina General Statutes § 144-1 (State flag), N.C. Gen. Stat. § 144-1, North Carolina General Assembly, § 144-1
  6. Mississippi governor signs law for flag without rebel sign (AP, January 2021), Associated Press, “Mississippi governor signs law for flag without rebel sign”, 11 January 2021, as published by WLOS, Associated Press (via WLOS), Article text
  7. Minnesota Statutes, section 1.141 (state flag), Minnesota Statutes 2025, section 1.141, State flag, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Subd. 1, 2, 5, 7; History
  8. The New Official Flag and Great Seal (State Emblems Redesign Commission, 2024), The New Official Flag and Great Seal: Report of the Minnesota State Emblems Redesign Commission to the Minnesota Legislature and Governor, January 1, 2024, Minnesota State Emblems Redesign Commission (via Minnesota Legislative Reference Library), Background; The New Minnesota Flag; Anatomy and Origins; Construction Sheet
  9. Utah Code § 63G-1-501 (State flag), Utah Code § 63G-1-501, State flag -- Description -- Image -- Display (effective 9 March 2024), Utah State Legislature, § 63G-1-501(1)–(5) and history line
  10. Utah Code § 63G-1-503 (Historic state flag), Utah Code § 63G-1-503, Historic state flag -- Description -- Image -- Display (effective 1 May 2024), Utah State Legislature, § 63G-1-503(1)–(6)
  11. Flag (Utah's Online Public Library, State Symbols), Utah’s Online Public Library, State Symbols, “Flag”, Utah State Library Division (Utah's Online Public Library), Whole page

Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 14, 2026. How we research