50 Places With Native American Names

By Grant Suneson Updated Jan 11, 5:09PM EST · Published Sep 28, 5:43PM EDT

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

50 Places With Native American Names — © Ian Anderson / iStock

Across the United States, many places have Native American names. While some colonists opted to name their newfound homes after their homeland, like New York, many adopted the Native American names used for the area or words from Native languages for geographical features nearby.

Of the places with Native American names, almost none are pronounced or spelled as they would have in their origin Native language. Language barriers between colonists and the inhabitants warped the spellings and pronunciations. Over time, the names became those we use today. In some places, like Arkansas, the proper pronunciation and spelling were hotly contested until the government finally stepped in and declared the one proper way to refer to the state in 1881 — the way we use to this day.

Close to half of all states and many major towns derive their names from a word or phrase in one of the many Native languages spoken across the country hundreds of years ago. In honor of Indigenous People’s Day, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the history of many parts of this country to find some of the places with names that have origins in Native American languages.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed media outlets like Thought Catalog and Mental Floss, as well as local and state historical societies, to find 50 places with Native American names.

This list is in no way comprehensive. There are hundreds of places that we know get their names from Native American tribes, words, and historical figures. Beyond that, many more etymologies are unknown but still likely come from the indigenous people of America.

To find 50 places with Native American names, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed media outlets like Thought Catalog and Mental Floss, as well as local and state historical societies.

Click here to see 50 places with Native American names.

1. Alabama
> Origin of name: Albaamaha
> Definition of name: Plant gatherers or clears the thicket

[in-text-ad]

2. Alaska
> Origin of name: Aleut
> Definition of name: That which the sea breaks against or peninsula

[recirclink id=488456]

3. Arizona
> Origin of name: Tohono O’odham
> Definition of name: Small springs

4. Arkansas
> Origin of name: Quapaw
> Definition of name: Wind people

[in-text-ad-2]

5. Chattanooga, Tennessee
> Origin of name: Creek
> Definition of name: Rock rising to a point

6. Cheyenne, Wyoming
> Origin of name: Lakota
> Definition of name: People of different speech

[in-text-ad]

7. Chicago, Illinois
> Origin of name: Algonquian
> Definition of name: Stinky onion

[recirclink id=488594]

8. Connecticut
> Origin of name: Mohegan
> Definition of name: Beside the long tidal river

9. Hackensack, New Jersey
> Origin of name: Achkinckeshacky
> Definition of name: Stony ground

[in-text-ad-2]

10. Hawaii
> Origin of name: Polynesian
> Definition of name: Homeland

11. Illinois
> Origin of name: Algonquian
> Definition of name: The men

[in-text-ad]

12. Indiana
> Origin of name: Iroquois Confederacy
> Definition of name: Land of the Indians

[recirclink id=488561]

13. Iowa
> Origin of name: Ioway
> Definition of name: The beautiful land or sleepy ones

14. Kansas
> Origin of name: Sioux
> Definition of name: People of the south wind

[in-text-ad-2]

15. Kentucky
> Origin of name: Iroquoi Nation
> Definition of name: Possibly “Land of tomorrow,” “prairie,” or “river of blood”

16. Kokomo, Indiana
> Origin of name: Miami
> Definition of name: The diver

[in-text-ad]

17. Lake Erie, Ohio
> Origin of name: Eries
> Definition of name: Named for the Erie people

[recirclink id=488514]

18. Lake Tahoe, California
> Origin of name: Washoe
> Definition of name: Big water

19. Malibu, California
> Origin of name: Chumash
> Definition of name: Named for a Chumashan village

[in-text-ad-2]

20. Manhattan, New York
> Origin of name: Munsee Delaware
> Definition of name: Place for gathering the wood to make bows

21. Massachusetts
> Origin of name: Massachusett
> Definition of name: Near the great hill

[in-text-ad]

22. Miami, Florida
> Origin of name: Myaamia
> Definition of name: Downstream people

[recirclink id=488498]

23. Michigan
> Origin of name: Ojibwe
> Definition of name: Big lake

24. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
> Origin of name: Potawatomi
> Definition of name: Rich and beautiful land

[in-text-ad-2]

25. Minneapolis, Minnesota
> Origin of name: Sioux
> Definition of name: Water city

26. Minnesota
> Origin of name: Dakota
> Definition of name: White water or sky-tinted water

[in-text-ad]

27. Mississippi
> Origin of name: Ojibwa
> Definition of name: The father of waters

[recirclink id=488094]

28. Missouri
> Origin of name: Sioux
> Definition of name: Town of the large canoes

29. Mobile, Alabama
> Origin of name: Mauvilla
> Definition of name: Boat paddlers

[in-text-ad-2]

30. Nebraska
> Origin of name: Otoe
> Definition of name: Flat water

31. North and South Dakota
> Origin of name: Sioux
> Definition of name: Friends or allies

[in-text-ad]

32. Norwalk, Connecticut
> Origin of name: Algonquin
> Definition of name: Point of land

[recirclink id=488247]

33. Ohio
> Origin of name: Iroquois Confederacy
> Definition of name: Great river

34. Oklahoma
> Origin of name: Choctaw
> Definition of name: Red persons

[in-text-ad-2]

35. Oshkosh, Wisconsin
> Origin of name: Menominee
> Definition of name: Named for Menominee chief Oskosh

36. Pontiac, Illinois
> Origin of name: Ottawa
> Definition of name: Named for Odana chief

[in-text-ad]

37. Roanoke, Virginia
> Origin of name: Algonquian
> Definition of name: Shell money

[recirclink id=488174]

38. Saratoga, New York
> Origin of name: Mohawk
> Definition of name: Place of swift water

39. Savannah, Georgia
> Origin of name: Shawnee
> Definition of name: Named for Shawnee people

[in-text-ad-2]

40. Seattle, Washington
> Origin of name: Duwamish
> Definition of name: Named for Chief Seathl

41. Tampa, Florida
> Origin of name: Calusa
> Definition of name: Sticks of fire

[in-text-ad]

42. Tennessee
> Origin of name: Cherokee
> Definition of name: Winding river

[recirclink id=487977]

43. Texas
> Origin of name: Caddo
> Definition of name: Friends or allies

44. Tippecanoe River, Indiana
> Origin of name: Miami
> Definition of name: Buffalo fish

[in-text-ad-2]

45. Tucson, Arizona
> Origin of name: Tohono O’odham
> Definition of name: Black base – refers to the Sentinel Mountains

46. Utah
> Origin of name: Ute
> Definition of name: People of the mountains

[in-text-ad]

47. Wheeling, West Virginia
> Origin of name: Delaware
> Definition of name: Head or skull

[recirclink id=487572]

48. Wisconsin
> Origin of name: Miami
> Definition of name: River running through a red place

49. Wyoming
> Origin of name: Delaware
> Definition of name: Mountains and valleys alternating or large plains

[in-text-ad-2]

50. Yankton, South Dakota
> Origin of name: Sioux
> Definition of name: People of the end village

About the Author Grant Suneson →

Grant Suneson is a senior editor at 24/7 Wall St. He was previously a digital content creator at Newsy and a reporter at NPR member station KBIA, where he contributed to their Edward R. Murrow Award-winning coverage. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism.

Grant’s work has been published and referenced in many major outlets such as MSN, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, Detroit Free Press, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Austin American-Statesman, The Tennessean, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Indianapolis Star, The Clarion-Ledger, WSB-TV, Des Moines Register, Asbury Park Press, KMGH-TV, and many others.