Historical reference · Verified sources
Appalachia was proposed as a national name. It was never officially adopted.
In 1839, Washington Irving proposed Appalachia or Alleghania as a distinctive name for the United States. Edgar Allan Poe later advocated specifically for Appalachia. The surviving evidence supports a published proposal and public argument—not an official government selection.
What Washington Irving proposed
In his essay National Nomenclature, Irving argued that the republic needed a designation more distinctive than America, a word used for the continents as a whole. He proposed keeping The United States while substituting Appalachia or Alleghania for America. Irving stated that he preferred Alleghania.
What Edgar Allan Poe advocated
Poe later argued specifically for Appalachia. His published argument treated the word as distinctive, rooted in an Indigenous name, connected to a major geographic feature, and preferable in sound. Advocacy by a prominent writer strengthens the historical record of public debate; it does not create an official decision.
A name with an older map history
The Library of Congress traces an early form of the name to the 1562 Gutiérrez map, where Apalchen appears in the Southeast. Later maps applied related forms to the region and mountains. This older cartographic history helps explain how the name could carry wider national meaning by the nineteenth century.
What remains unverified
The remembered National Geographic paper cutout is still being sought. Until its publication, issue, page, caption, and surrounding text are documented, this site will not quote or attribute its exact wording. Current claims rely on the primary and institutional sources listed below.
Sources open for verification
Read the record directly.
One region · Three public functions