State Nickname of Utah
The Beehive State
UT is the Two-letter or Postal Abbreviation and Utah is the Traditional or Standard Abbreviation for the State of Utah. It’s nickname, “The Beehive State” became the official state
emblem on March 4, 1959. Utahans relate the beehive symbol to industry and the pioneer virtues of thrift and
perseverance. The beehive was chosen as the emblem for the provisional State of Deseret in 1848 and was maintained on the seal of the State of Utah when Utah became a state in 1896.
Between 1847 and 1848, nearly 5,000 Mormons settled in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah. Seeking formal recognition from the federal government in 1849, they proposed calling themselves the “State of Deseret” a word borrowed from the Book of Mormon meaning “honeybee.”