You would think that residents of Indiana would be known as Indianans or Indianians.

Nope!

We're called Hoosiers.

But what does this Midwestern moniker mean?

And where did it come from?

>> The word is two centuries old at least.

And in the early days, it sometimes meant an uncouth person, a kind of wild and crazy guy out here in pioneer Indiana.

>> However, by the 1830s, the word began to take on a new, more flattering meaning.

>> We see it in print in a newspaper in 1833, a poem called "The Hoosier's Nest," which is a wonderful poem.

>> The immigrant is soon located in Hoosier life initiated, erects a cabin in the woods, wherein he stows his household goods.

>> It's a very -- a very positive statement of the Hoosier's nest, the log cabin in which these so-called uncouth people actually build a good life, a family, a work ethic, and all the other values that we want to adore.

>> So by the mid-1800s, Hoosier was a common term for Indiana's upstanding residents.

But where did this term come from in the first place?

>> And the answer is, nobody knows.

And lots and lots of people, over a century plus have spent a lot of time trying to find the origin of the word, and we failed and failed and failed.

>> Though, there are many theories, such as early pioneers answering a knock on the cabin door with who's here?

Poet James Whitcomb Riley wrote a story about spectators of a frontier brawl picking up a severed ear and asking, who's ear?

And a recent Indiana House bill claimed that the state got its nickname from 18th century Methodist Minister Harry Hoosier.

>> None of them are verifiable.

None of them have documentation that a scholar, a historian would accept.

>> But how in the Hoosier is it possible that we don't know where such a widely used word comes from?

>> If we knew, we could make a million dollars.

From urban legends to historical legends, they just pop up, and sometimes they're based in fact.

Someone tells a story and it's true, and it just gets passed on and people forget the actual events, and they only remember the history.

>> The word Hoosier stuck around because it filled a need.

>> We were trying to make a cohesive group of people.

And I think that's what the word Hoosier does for us.

Okay.

We're gonna come together.

We're gonna be calling ourselves as one unified name, and it's no longer the hyper local.

It becomes coming together as a state.

>> Despite all that history, Indianan and not Hoosier was the state's official demonym right up until 2016.

>> If you've ever had to correct somebody who has called you an Indianan, today's the day to celebrate.

>> That's when Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly and then State Representative Todd Young convinced the United States government publishing office to make Hoosier the official term for all Indiana residents.

>> It's not just a classic movie.

It's not just the nickname for IU Athletics.

It's who we are.

>> Representative Young ran for and won a United States Senate seat in 2016.

He is currently serving his second term as a Hoosier senator.

>> Well, it was important, candidly, because we wanted to make sure that the language used to describe the people of Indiana was reflective of the language that Hoosiers actually use.

I'm always asked, but what is it?

It's somebody from Indiana.

Drop the mic.

End of story.

That's all you need to know.

>> And that's likely all that we'll ever know.

Hoosiers are Hoosiers, and that's just how it is.

>> I like the mystery of the meaning of the word Hoosier.

If anyone tells you they know, you ought to count your spoons because they're up to something.

We don't know, and I think that mystery makes us special.

I think that mystery is wonderful.