Georgia the country has about half the land of Georgia the state in the US, and Georgia the country has about half the population of Atlanta alone (even less population when compared to the entire US state of Georgia). I think that huge difference in popularity contributes largely to why "Georgia" often refers to the the US state on this site
What makes one more “real” than another?
Maybe because the country took/got the name almost 800-900 years before the state of Georgia existed.
I thought that Georgians called their country Sakartvelo?
The real question is if there are any Georgian Georgists.
yes. there are dozens of us.
"Georgia" is based on the Persian name of the country, and its similarity to the name of the US state is coincidental. For some reason, the Persian name became more popular around the world than the native Sakartvelo. Or the Greek "Iberia", which shares its etymology with "Georgia".