The name comes from the Ojibwe word mishigami, meaning "large water" or "large lake".

Although Michigan is often called the "Wolverine State", its more common nickname is the "Great Lakes State". This name comes from the fact that Michigan is the only state in the U.S. that borders four of the five Great Lakes.

Detroit's nickname, "Motor City" or "Motown", stems from the early 20th century, when it was the global center of the automotive industry.

Michigan has 3,288 miles of shoreline, more than any other state except Alaska.

Grand Rapids, Michigan is the childhood home of U.S. President Gerald Ford, who is buried with his wife Betty on the grounds of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in the city. Grand Rapids' main airport and one of its freeways are also named after him.

The Native American Haudenosaunee called the eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) the "Tree of Peace". It was designated the official state tree in 1955 as a symbol of Michigan's rich logging history.

Because the legal boundaries between Michigan and several adjoining states and Canadian provinces are in the middle of lakes Michigan, Superior, and Huron, 41.5% of Michigan's total area is water. This is the highest percentage of any U.S. state, although Hawaii comes in a close second with 41.2%.

Michigan is the only state to consist of two peninsulas. The Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Upper Peninsula is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, a five-mile (8 km) channel that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan.

The Mackinac Bridge, commonly called "Big Mac" or "Mighty Mac", is the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere. It connects the city of St. Ignace on the north end with the village of Mackinaw City on the south.

Residents of the Upper Peninsula are sometimes referred to as "Yoopers", a name derived from the abbreviation of the region, the "U.P." Residents of the Lower Peninsula are called Trolls (see the Norwegian fairy tale of the "Three Billy Goats Gruff") because they live below the Mackinac Bridge which connects the two peninsulas.