A few weeks ago I wrote a column about a notable New Hampshirite, Horace Greeley, one of the 19th century’s most famous and finest journalists and a passionate supporter of the Abolitionist cause in the antebellum era. A friend called to take me to task for the column, not because of Horace Greeley (“Sort of an interesting guy,” was his description), however, as for the description of Greeley as a New Hampshirite. “Call him a Granite Stater,” my friend said. “It doesn’t sound as dorky, and it makes you sound at least a little more local.”

That hurt. After all, I’ve been local for the last nine months. I’ve already caught the tail end of mud season, been to Lake Winnipesaukee, ridden the cog railway up Mt. Washington, taken a fall leaf drive through the North Country, bought a set of snow tires, endured minus-13 temperatures and over two feet of snow. I’ve even thought about ice fishing. My time in New Hampshire may be brief, but I believe I’ve gotten pretty darned immersed in my home state’s culture during that time.

The last thing I want to do, though, is to sound “wrong.” Of course I don’t sound like I’m from Boston — no one from Atlanta does — but I’ve observed that a lot of Granite Staters/New Hampshirites don’t either. But I’m eager to avoid the cultural lapses that clearly mark me as a flatlander (bearing in mind that Atlanta has a higher elevation and more hills than a lot of locales in southern New Hampshire).

The matter of naming residents of states can get tricky. Easy enough for Georgians, Virginians, Californians and Texans. Pretty easy for Montanans and Oklahomans. But what, for instance, about the folks in Illinois? And for heaven’s sake, New England is practically a case study unto itself. In addition to New Hampshire, you have Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts. No wonder they wind up as Nutmegers, Mainers and — well, I dunno, Massholes?

Anyhow, I’ve been doing some reading about New Hampshire here and there, and in addition to learning a little more history I’ve concluded — nothing scientific, of course — that Granite Stater seems to be a preferred designation. Both terms appear to get a decent amount of usage, but my highly unofficial survey shows that New Hampshirite appears more often in a serious or scholarly work, while Granite Stater is found more often in casual, pop references. The magazine “New Hampshire,” in fact, has an “insider’s edition” that advises newcomers that using Granite Stater makes you seem a little more cool.

Therefore, I have decided that I will henceforth use the term Granite Stater instead of New Hampshirite — unless I’m writing something seriously, in which case I’ll refer to New Hampshirites in defiance of the possibility of being labeled uncool. That way, I hope, I can demonstrate not only an insider’s knowledge of my home state but a scholarly appreciation for the finer points of speech as well. Just call me a Granite Stater. Unless you want to call me a New Hampshirite. I’m happy to respond to either.