Which State Has The Longest Name Now?

PROVIDENCE, RI — This week, Rhode Island voters made a historic decision at the polls — besides choosing who will be the next president, voters also decided to shorten the state's official name, dropping "and Providence Plantations" from the title once and for all. With Little Rhody no longer leading the pack in the longest state names, Patch wanted to know: what state has the longest name now?

Before Tuesday, Rhode Island's official name was "The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations," a mouthful with 41 letters. (For the purposes of this story, Patch did not count "the" in state name letter totals.) With "Providence Plantations" gone, it drops to the middle to the pack with just 18.

Related: Just 'Rhode Island': Voters Ax Providence Plantations

You don't have to look far, geographically, to find the new frontrunner. Ringing in at 27 letters, "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts," right next door, squeaked out a victory with just one more letter than "The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." Kentucky and Virginia, both commonwealths as well, are tied for third place with 22 letters each. An honorable mention goes to U.S. territory "The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands," which would be a strong contender if it was classified as a state.

As for the shortest name? It's a three-way tie between The States of Ohio, Iowa and Utah.

You can find a full list of official state names here.