text: where/how did texas get its name?   according to sites in our texas category, the name of texas comes from the indian words "teysha" or "tejas." these words mean either "hello friend" or "friendly" -- which makes sense, because texans can be very friendly people! early in texas history, people from this area were called "texians." did you know that six different flags have flown over texas in its history? first spain, then france, mexico, the confederacy, and the republic of texas each ruled the region before texas became part of the united states in 1845. yee-haw!