List of Maryland state symbols

This is a list of symbols of the U.S. state of Maryland. Most of the items in the list are officially recognized symbols created by an act of the Maryland General Assembly and signed into law by the governor. However, two of the more famous symbols of Maryland, the state motto and the state nicknames, were never made official by the state government. While the state seal derives from the colonial heritage of the state, the majority of official state symbols were designated in the last few decades.

Insignia

Type	Symbol	Description	Year	Image	Source
Flag	The Flag of Maryland	Arms of the Calvert and Crossland families. While 1904 was the official date of adoption, the flag has colonial roots. Calvert was the surname of the Lords Baltimore, proprietors of the Maryland colony, and Crossland was the maiden name of the mother of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore.	1904		^[1]
Motto	Fatti maschii, parole femine Literally: manly deeds, womanly words Officially: strong deeds, gentle words	The state motto has never been formally adopted, though it was the motto of the Calvert family upon the founding of Maryland in 1634 and appears on the Great Seal of Maryland.	Traditional	—	^[2]^[3]
Nicknames	The Old Line State	The Old Line State might have originated as a nickname given by George Washington during the Revolutionary War to the Maryland line of troops.	Traditional	—	^[4]
Nicknames	The Free State	The Free State originated from an editorial in the Baltimore Sun in 1923 on how Maryland should be free by seceding from the Union rather than prohibiting alcohol.	Traditional	—	^[4]
Seal	The Great Seal of Maryland	The obverse side shows Lord Baltimore as a knight on a charging horse. The reverse side shows the Calvert seal, a plowman, a fisherman, the state motto and a Latin text that translates as "You have crowned us with the shield of your goodwill."	1969		^[2]^[3]
Coat of arms	The coat of arms of Maryland	The Calvert seal, a plowman, a fisherman, the state motto and a Latin text that translates as "You have crowned us with the shield of your goodwill."			^[2]^[3]

Species

Type	Symbol	Description	Year	Source
Bird	Baltimore oriole Icterus galbula	The male's black and orange feathers are similar to the Calvert seal. This led to the bird receiving its name of Baltimore.	1947	^[5]
Cat	Calico cat	The calico has tri-color fur of orange, black and white, which is the same colors as the Calvert seal.	2001	^[6]
Crustacean	Blue crab Callinectes sapidus	The blue crab is found in the Chesapeake Bay and is the most valuable species harvested from the bay.	1989	^[7]
Dinosaur	Astrodon Astrodon johnstoni	In 1958, the first Astrodon fossils were found in Maryland. They lived in what is now Maryland from 130 to 95 million years ago.	1998	^[8]
Dog	Chesapeake Bay Retriever	Named after the Chesapeake Bay, the retriever was developed in the United States to recover waterfowl for hunters. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County's mascot is a retriever.	1964	^[9]
Fish	Rock fish Morone saxatilis	The rockfish, also called striped bass, is found in abundance in Maryland.	1965	^[10]
Flower	Black-eyed susan Rudbeckia hirta	A daisy with yellow petals and a dark purple center.	1918	^[11]
Horse	Thoroughbred horse Equus caballus	The Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown of thoroughbred racing is held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.	2003	^[12]
Insect	Baltimore checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas phaeton)	The butterfly has orange and black colorings, which is the same colors as the Calvert seal.	1973	^[13]
Reptile	Diamondback terrapin Malaclemys terrapin	The terrapin were abundant and easy to catch and became a gourmet food until over-harvesting depleted terrapin stocks. The University of Maryland's nickname is the "terrapins".	1994	^[14]
Tree	White oak Quercus alba	A long-lived and one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of America. It is also the state tree of Illinois and Connecticut. The Wye Oak was believed to be the largest and oldest white oak, being 540 years old until it fell during a thunderstorm in 2002.^[15]	1941	^[16]

Geology

Type	Symbol	Description	Year	Image	Source
Fossil	Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae	The shell of an extinct snail that is commonly found throughout Maryland.	1994		^[17]
Gem	Patuxent River stone an agate	A yellow and red, almost an orange hue, quartz found only in Maryland. It is named after the Patuxent River.	2004		^[18]

Culture

Type	Symbol	Description	Year	Image	Source
Boat	Skipjack	Skipjacks would dredge the Chesapeake Bay for oysters.	1985		^[19]
Dessert	Smith Island Cake	A cake with eight to fifteen layers and chocolate frosting between each layer. The recipe originated from Smith Island, Maryland.	2008		^[20]
Drink	Milk		1998		^[21]
Exercise	Walking		2008	—	^[22]
Folk dance	Square dance	A folk dance with four couples arranged in a square. As of 2011, it is the official state dance for 21 states.	1994		^[23]
Liquor	Rye whiskey	Rye whiskey was first produced along the Chesapeake Bay in colonial times, and became popular during the American Civil War. Maryland was once the fifth largest liquor producer in the United States, but prohibition led to the industry's steady decline until the closure of Maryland's last distillery in 1972. Rye distilling would not return to the state until 2014.^[24]	2023		^[24]
Song (former)	From 1939 to 2021, "Maryland, My Maryland", which set lyrics from a poem written by James Ryder Randall to the tune of "O Tannenbaum", was the Maryland state song. It was repealed and replaced by an act of the Maryland general assembly in 2021.^[25]		1939–2021^[25]		^[26]
Sport (individual)	Jousting	Jousting tournaments in the form of ring tournaments have been held in Maryland since colonial times. The Maryland State Jousting Championship has been held annually since 1950 and is sponsored by the Maryland Jousting Tournament Association^[27]	1962		^[28]
Sport (team)	Lacrosse	Lacrosse is the oldest known sport to be played in America. Maryland is home to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum.	2004		^[28]
Summer theater	Olney Theatre Center	Olney Theatre was founded in 1938 and offers include the Summer Shakespeare Festival and summer training programs for High School students.	1978	—	^[29]
Theater	Center Stage	Center Stage was founded in 1963 and is Maryland's largest theater company.	1978	—	^[29]

References

General

"Maryland State Symbols". Maryland At A Glance. Maryland State Archives. Retrieved June 26, 2007.
"Title 13. Emblems; Commemorative Days". Maryland State Code. State of Maryland. Retrieved June 26, 2007.

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