Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory and admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. In 2008, the Census Bureau estimated the state's population at 6,549,224 people.
The state is named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. Residents are called "Washingtonians" (emphasis on the third syllable, pronounced as tone). Washington is often called Washington state or the State of Washington to distinguish it from the District of Columbia (which is usually called Washington, D.C.). However, Washingtonians generally refer to the state as "Washington" and Washington, D.C. as "D.C."
