List of Maryland state symbols
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.
Insignia
| Type | Symbol | Description | Year | Image | Source |
| Flag | The Flag of Maryland | Banner of the 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. | 1904 | ||
| Motto | Fatti maschii, parole femine Literally: manly deeds, womanly words Officially: strong deeds, gentle words | 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. | Traditional | — | |
| Nicknames | The Old Line State | The Old Line State might have originated as a nickname given by George Washington during the Revolutionary War to the Maryland line of troops. | Traditional | — | |
| Nicknames | The Free State | 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. | Traditional | — | |
| Seal | The [Seal of Maryland|Great Seals of the U.S. states|Seal of Maryland] | 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." | 1969 | ||
| Coat of arms | The coat of arms of Maryland | The Calvert arms, a plowman, a fisherman, the state motto and a Latin text that translates as "You have crowned us with the shield of your goodwill." |
Species
| Type | Symbol | Description | Year | Image | Source |
| Bird | Baltimore oriole Icterus galbula | The male's black and orange feathers are similar to the Calvert seal. This led to the bird receiving its name of Baltimore. | 1947 | ||
| Cat | Calico cat | The calico has tri-color fur of orange, black, and white, which are the same colors as the Calvert seal. | 2001 | ||
| Crustacean | Blue crab Callinectes sapidus | The blue crab is found in the Chesapeake Bay and is the most valuable species harvested from the bay. | 1989 | ||
| Dinosaur | Astrodon Astrodon johnstoni | In 1958, the first Astrodon fossils were found in Maryland. They lived in what is now Maryland from 130 to 95 million years ago. | 1998 | ||
| Dog | Chesapeake Bay Retriever | 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. | 1964 | ||
| Fish | Rock fish Morone saxatilis | The rockfish, also called striped bass, is found in abundance in Maryland. | 1965 | ||
| Flower | Black-eyed susan Rudbeckia hirta | A daisy with yellow petals and a dark purple center. | 1918 | ||
| Horse | Thoroughbred horse Equus caballus | The Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown of thoroughbred racing is held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. | 2003 | ||
| Insect | Baltimore checkerspot butterfly | The butterfly has orange and black colorings, which are the same colors as the Calvert seal. | 1973 | ||
| Reptile | Diamondback terrapin Malaclemys terrapin | 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". | 1994 | ||
| Tree | White oak Quercus alba | 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. | 1941 |
Geology
| Type | Symbol | Description | Year | Image | Source |
| Fossil | Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae | The shell of an extinct snail that is commonly found throughout Maryland. | 1994 | ||
| Gem | Patuxent River stone an agate | A yellow and red, almost an orange hue, quartz found only in Maryland. It is named after the Patuxent River. | 2004 | ||
| Mineral | Chromite | A crystalline mineral first discovered in the Bare Hills area of Baltimore County in 1808 by Isaac Tyson Jr. | 2025 |