L'Étoile du Nord

L'Étoile du Nord is a French phrase meaning "The Star of the North".

It was chosen by the state's first governor, Henry Hastings Sibley, and adopted in 1861, three years after Minnesota's admission to the union.

The Minnesota North Stars ice hockey team chose the English translation for their name.

In the northern hemisphere, the North Star (Polaris) is a part of the tip of the handle and the brightest star of the constellation Ursa Minor (known also as Little Bear and as the Little Dipper).

Ursa Minor has traditionally been important for navigation, because Polaris is the star closest to the North Celestial Pole.