What states are commonwealths? Here are the 4 in the US, plus other commonwealth territories

• Commonwealth states originally had language in their constitutions defining them as commonwealths.
• Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Pennsylvania have legal names containing "commonwealth."
• There are also commonwealths elsewhere in the United States and around the world.

Maybe you first came across the term on a US history test or while watching a documentary.

But have you ever stopped to ponder what the word "Commonwealth" really means and why it's applied to some states and territories but not others?