What the state of West Virginia was first refered to apon becoming a state, but they chose West Virginia instead, overlooking the fact Virginia juts out about 50 to 70 miles west of WVA. Kanawha is the name of the river that cuts through the state all the way to the Ohio and which begins in the western North Carolina mountains.
It is also the name of the largest county, where the capitol is located, as well as it's airport.
Not only should the name of the State be changed back to this, but so should the capitol city, Charleston, to "Kanawha City."

Birthplace of Brad Dourif the voice of Chucky from Child's Play
Also the birthplace of John Nash Jr (a Beautiful Mind was based on him, he won a nobel peace prize in 1994)

The film version of "Silent Hill" took place here.

Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, a holistic doctor, founded the "Gesundheit!" Institute in the Hillsboro area of this state.

Daniel Johnston grew up here

Others
Steve Harvey, Jennifer Garner, Bob Denver (Gilligan), Don Knotts, Chris Sarandon

Also home to the annual Mothman festival (held in the the town of Point Pleasant where the Kanawha River feeds into the Ohio), and it's namesake , as well as the alien robot refered to as the flatwoods monster or the Braxton County Monster.

Most of the Stained Glass in the USA comes from this state.
They should have ket the name Kanawha. It's much more original and much less confusing. Same thing with the Capitol City of "Charleston".
by Miskatonic Jack 2 October 17, 2006
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The old name, and current name of a West Virginian county. Commonly mispronounced by idiotic people living outside of state. Pronounced (kuh - naw).
John: Did you hear that idiotic Texan pronouncing Kanawha?
James: I know, fucking hilarious.
by Kylithium December 3, 2021
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