The official nickname for Kansas is "The Sunflower State." The sunflower is also the official state flower of Kansas and appears on the state flag and the Kansas quarter.
Kansas is also called The JayHawker State,The Wheat State, and The Breadbasket of the World.

The motto of Kansas, "Ad Astra per Aspera" is Latin for "to the stars through difficulties." John James Ingalls coined the motto in 1861 stating, "The aspiration of Kansas is to reach the unattainable; its dream is the realization of the impossible." According to the Office of the Governor of Kansas: "This motto refers not only to the pioneering spirit of the early settlers, but also the difficult times Kansas went through before becoming a state. The anti-slavery forces and slavery proponents waged battles in the electoral process as well as on the battlefield. Kansas earned the nickname "Bloody Kansas" because of the war regarding slavery, much of which was fought on Kansas' soil."