Hoosier ( ) is the official demonym for a resident of the U.S. State of Indiana. Although residents of most U.S. states typically adopt a derivative of the state name, e.g., Indianan or Indianian, natives of Indiana prefer to avoid these demonyms. The State of Indiana adopted the nickname "Hoosier State" more than 150 years ago. "Hoosiers" is also the mascot for the Indiana University athletic teams and the title of an award-winning 1986 movie Hoosiers starring Gene Hackman, based on the story of the Milan High School basketball team and its road to winning the state championship. The word Hoosier is sometimes used in the names of Indiana-based businesses. In other parts of the country, the word has been adapted for other uses (see Other uses).

Origin

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the etymology of the word is unknown, but it has been in use since at least 1826. According to Bill Bryson, there are many suggestions for the derivation of the word "Hoosier," but none is universally accepted.

It first came into general usage in the 1830s. John Finley of Richmond, Indiana wrote a poem, The Hoosier's Nest, which was used as the "Carrier's Address" of the Indianapolis Journal, January 1, 1833. As it came into common usage, the debates about the term's origin began..

Jacob Piatt Dunn was the most serious historian to look into the origin of the term "Hoosier" as a term used to describe the citizens of Indiana.

Frontier banter

This idea suggests the term was a greeting. When approaching a man's home in those early frontier days, you shouted from afar, "Hello, the cabin!" to avoid being shot. The inhabitants would then shout back "Who'sh 'ere?" (who's there). As it got slurred together over time, the country folk came to be called Hoosiers.

A variant of this story combines "Who's" and "your", such as in "Who'sh yer 'pa?". Additionally, the poet James Whitcomb Riley facetiously suggested that the fierce brawling that took place in Indiana involved enough ear biting that the expression "Whose ear?" was common enough to be notable.

Pugilistic boatmen

Indiana rivermen were so spectacularly successful in trouncing or "hushing" their adversaries in the brawling that was then common that they became known as "hushers."

Mr. Hoosier's men

A contractor reportedly named Samuel Hoosier preferred to hire workers from Indiana during the construction of the Louisville and Portland Canal (1826-1831) in Louisville. His employees became known as "Hoosier's men" and finally just "Hoosiers."

This story is reported by Dunn (1907:16-17) as being told in 1901 by a man who heard this story from a Hoosier family member while traveling in southern Tennessee. However, Dunn's research could find no-one in southern Tennessee who had heard the story, nor could he find any family of that name in any directory in the region. In spite of Dunn's skepticism, this version has been accepted by Evan Bayh, who has served as Indiana governor and senator, and by Senator Vance Hartke, who introduced this story into the Congressional Record (1975), according to Graf.