Virginia Fun Facts
Information About Virginia, Virginia Geography,
and Virginia Schools

Virginia is abbreviated VA. Richmond is the capital and the largest city of Virginia is Virginia Beach. Residents of Virginia are referred to as "Virginians."

Virginia has the unofficial nicknames of "Old Dominion," "Ancient Dominion," "Mother of States," "Mother of Presidents," "Mother of Statesmen," and "Cavalier State." The state song is "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia." The state of Virginia is named after the Ute tribe.

Virginia state motto is "Sic Semper Tyrannis," Latin for, "Thus Always to Tyrants." Virginia was named in 1584 in honor of Queen Elizabeth of England, who was popularly called the "Virgin Queen." The name Virginia is the feminine form of the Latin word Virginius.

The state bird of Virginia is the Cardinal. The state flower and tree is the American Dogwood.

Virginia is ranked 12th in population and received its statehood June 25, 1788.

Bordering Virginia are Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay are major bodies of water within Virginia.

The major industries of Virginia are farming (tobacco, peanuts, corn, sweet potatoes, poultry, and ham), tourism, US Navy warships, mining (coal), lumber (for paper and furniture) and government workers.

There were 1,096,093 K12 students in the Virginia public schools in 1996. Out of those students 91,234 were first grade students. There were also 74,526 K12 public school teachers in the Virginia public schools system. There were a total of 1,895 Virginia public schools in 1996. (Source: IES National Center for Education Statistics)