Maureen Groppe

USA TODAY

It’s official. The residents of Indiana are no longer "Indianians." Or even "Indianans." Call them what they call themselves: Hoosiers.

So says the federal government — on page 95 of the updated U.S. Government Publishing Office’s style manual released Thursday.

The change came at the request of Sen. Joe Donnelly and former senator Dan Coats, who argued Indiana residents have proudly called themselves Hoosiers for more than 180 years, even if no one is sure where the term came from.

It’s only non-Hoosiers who use the term “Indianian.”

“In fact,” Donnelly and Coats wrote in a letter last year, “we find it a little jarring to be referred to in this way.”

The senators had good timing. Their request was made as the GPO was working on the 31st edition of the manual that has served as the style guide for federal documents since 1894. It’s also widely used as an editorial guide by people in the private sector.

The updated version gives “Hoosier” as the term to designate a native of Indiana, on the list that starts with Alabamian and ends with Wyomingite.

Donnelly said he’s pleased the federal government “will now call us what we call ourselves.”

“This is a welcome and long overdue change,” he said.

Sen. Todd Young, who succeeded Coats, also praised the move.

"We aren't achieving world peace here, but it's nice to be recognized by the federal government as Hoosiers,” he said. “It's not just a classic movie. It’s not just the nickname for IU athletics. It’s who we are.”

Donnelly and Coats had noted the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Hoosier as “a native or resident of Indiana.” Amtrak’s Hoosier State line carries passengers through the Indiana countryside.

References to Hoosiers have been found in private correspondence, travel reminiscences and local newspapers as early as 1826. The term gained popularity after Richmond poet John Finley wrote “The Hoosier’s Nest,” which included these lines:

“The emigrant is soon located, In Hoosier life initiated; Erects a cabin in the woods, Wherein he stows his household goods.”

Coats and Donnelly said the poem, which was widely circulated throughout the country and even abroad in the 1830s, defined and solidified Indiana’s identity and instilled pride in the citizens of the still-young state.

“Whether we are cheering for the Indiana Hoosiers on the basketball court, hiking the Hoosier National Forest, or inviting friends over for some Hoosier hospitality,” they wrote the GPO last year, “we have always called ourselves Hoosiers.”

Read more:

Indiana's senators to feds: Make it official. Call us Hoosiers.

Sen. Dan Coats to critic: We're not Indianans!