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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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".
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]
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]
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]
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]
^ abc"Great Seal of Maryland". Maryland at a Glance. Maryland State Archives. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
^"Nicknames". Maryland at a Glance. Maryland State Archives. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
^"Maryland State Drink - Milk". Maryland at a Glance. Maryland State Archives. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2011.