Maine

Not to be confused with the French traditional province.

Maine
Country	United States
Adopted	February 23, 1909
Designed by	Maine State Legislature (?)
Proportions	26:33

The flag of Maine is blue with a stylized version of the Maine state coat of arms, located in the center of the flag.

Symbolism

The state coat of arms emblems represent the state of Maine. The symbolism of the blue background is unknown, but the blue is the same blue as on the flag of the United States.

The motto, Dirigo, means "I lead" in Latin.

The pine tree in the shield represents Maine's nickname, the Pine Tree State.

Flag redesign

On November 5, 2024, the state held a referendum on whether to restore the 1901 State Flag of Maine, which consists of a buff background, a blue star in the top left corner, and a pine tree in the center, or keep the current one. 400 designs were submitted for the contest. On August 5, 2024, Design #1295, designed by Adam Lemire, was chosen as its winning design. The referendum had initially been scheduled for 2023, but the Maine Legislature delayed it until 2024. The Legislature then attempted a further delay until 2026, which was vetoed by Governor Janet Mills.

The referendum was rejected, with 55.4% voting to keep the current flag, and 44.6% voting to change it to the pine tree design.

Symbolism

The tree has 16 branches, which represents the state's 16 counties.

History

Maine
(1901-1909)

Maine
(1909-present; current flag)

Maine
(2022-present; variant)

Nickname

• Dirigo

See Also

• Maine/Municipalities and Counties