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Maryland state symbols

Maryland has 31 official state symbols. The oldest is the Great Seal, readopted in 1874; the newest is the megalodon, which became the nation's first state shark on October 1, 2026. Maryland was also the first state to name an official sport and an official exercise. It has no state song since repealing "Maryland, My Maryland" in 2021.

31 official designations · every law checked October 23, 2026

The Bay at the center

Maryland’s symbols are dominated by the Chesapeake Bay. The Maryland blue crab, the state’s most valuable commercial fishery, became the state crustacean in 1989. The striped bass, called rockfish in Maryland, became the state fish in 1965; when its numbers collapsed, the state halted the rockfish harvest entirely from 1985 to 1989. The diamondback terrapin, a turtle of the Bay’s salt marshes and the mascot of the University of Maryland, became the state reptile in 1994. The Chesapeake Bay retriever, bred around the Bay to fetch ducks from icy water, became the state dog in 1964.

The skipjack, the state boat since 1985, honors the Bay’s watermen. These sail-powered oyster dredgers are the last working sailboats in the United States; fewer than three dozen were still working when Maryland adopted them.

Black and gold

Several symbols echo the black and gold of the Calvert family, the Lords Baltimore. The Baltimore oriole, whose male is orange and black, became the state bird in 1947; Maryland protected it by law as early as 1882. The Baltimore checkerspot, an orange-and-black butterfly that has become rare in Maryland, is the state insect. Even the calico cat, adopted in 2001, was chosen partly because its orange, black and white echo the bird and the insect.

Firsts

Maryland has a habit of naming symbols no state had named before. In 1962 it adopted jousting as the first official state sport. Maryland’s jousting is a ring tournament: riders gallop down an 80-yard course and try to spear small hanging rings with a lance. Lacrosse, which has deep roots in Maryland, became the state team sport in 2004. In 2008 walking became the first official state exercise in the country. And on October 1, 2026, the megalodon, an extinct shark whose giant fossil teeth wash out of Calvert Cliffs, became the nation’s first state shark.

Fossils and stones

Maryland’s state dinosaur is Astrodon johnstoni, known from two teeth found in 1858 near Muirkirk in Prince George’s County, the state’s first dinosaur discovery; the name means “star tooth,” from the star pattern seen when a tooth was cut in cross section. The state fossil shell is Ecphora, an extinct sea snail found at Calvert Cliffs. The Patuxent River stone, an agate found only in Maryland whose red and yellow recall the state flag, became the state gem in 2004, and chromite the state mineral in 2025.

A taste of Maryland

Smith Island cake, a cake of eight to ten thin yellow layers with chocolate frosting from Maryland’s last inhabited offshore island, became the state dessert in 2008. Maryland rye whiskey is the state spirit, and the orange crush, a drink first mixed at an Ocean City bar in 1995, the state cocktail.

The main symbols

The flag, the Baltimore oriole and the black-eyed Susan each have their own page.

1 1870s 1890s 1 1 1910s 1930s 2 1950s 3 3 1970s 2 5 1990s 6 1 2010s 5 2020s
Official symbols adopted per decade. The busiest decade was the 2000s, with six.

Flag, seal, song, motto and nickname

Animals

Plants and fungi

Earth and sky

Food and drink

Culture and history

Places and institutions

Questions about Maryland's symbols

What is the Maryland state animal?
Maryland has no state mammal. Its official animals include the Chesapeake Bay retriever (dog), the calico cat (cat), the Thoroughbred (horse), the blue crab (crustacean), the diamondback terrapin (reptile) and the Baltimore oriole (bird).
What is the Maryland state sport?
Jousting, adopted in 1962, the first official state sport in the country. Lacrosse became the state team sport in 2004.
What is Maryland's state shark?
The megalodon, an extinct giant shark whose fossil teeth are found at Calvert Cliffs. Maryland adopted it in 2026, the first state to name a state shark.
Does Maryland have a state song?
No. "Maryland, My Maryland" was the state song from 1939 until 2021, when the legislature repealed it without choosing a replacement.
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