Why Sister States / Circuits / Cities and Not Brothers?

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 12.20.2021 6:25 PM

My friend Josh Bornstein asked me a question related this, and I realized I knew the custom but not the reason. At least in court decisions, states are always "sister states" and never "brother states," and likewise with circuit courts—except, as it happens, in Louisiana, where "brother circuits" and "brethren circuits" does appear (though still much less often than "sister circuits"). Likewise, in popular usage we have "sister cities" but almost never "brother cities."

But why? I assume it flows from broader customs, perhaps the historical references to nations as "she." But where did that come from? I crave enlightenment.

Eugene Volokh is the Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA and a Visiting Fellow (Senior Fellow starting May 2024) at the Hoover Institution (Stanford). Naturally, his posts here (like the opinions of the other bloggers) are his own, and not endorsed by any educational institution.