Native American Place Names

River Rat

River Rat

Super Moderator
Staff member
Jan 6, 2006
20,846
2,534
SE Louisiana
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, Ace 250 & Ace 400
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Indian place names, as originally applied, tend to be descriptive. Usually they refer to terrain features such as rivers, mountains, lakes or wildlife which characterize an area. Copied from Louisiana Conservationist...these are names in Louisiana. To learn more about other areas of the USA, please add names from your area. This will be educational as well as fun to learn. The list for my area is long, so I will be continuously adding names to this thread.

Abita Springs (Town) Choctas, From ibetap, meaning "fountain", "source" or "head of a water course".

Adois (Bayou Adois) Caddo. From hadai "Brushwood." From the name for Adai tribe of the Caddo Confederacy. Bayou Adai means "Brushwood creek." In Shreveport, the name is simply "Brush Bayou".

Atchafalaya (Bay, River, Swamp) From Choctaw, meaning "Long river".

Ponchatoula (Town) From the Indian word for "Falling hair", referring to Spanish moss which is prevalent in the area.
 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!
Upvote 0
The susquehannock tribe of maryland Delaware and Pennsylvania name means people of the falls or muddy water people.
 

The susquehanna river starts about 40 miles northeast of me, in otsego lake, cooperstown ny---lots of history---muddy waters is a fact----i finally have some time to post some points ive found along the susquehanna, ill put them on shortly---no new finds due to our sucky weather--tom
 

Cane-Tuck-ee (Kentucky): Iroquois name meaning "meadow lands"
Ken-tah-ten (Kentucky): Iroquoian name meaning "land of tomorrow"

Eskalapia (Esculapia Springs): Shawnee name meaning long extended area, soggy terrain

Sheltowee Trace: Shawnee name meaning "big turtle". Daniel Boone was captured by the Shawnee and given the name "Sheltowee"
 

Bayou Bushley (River) Choctaw. "Cut-off creek". From bashli, meaning "cut" or "incision".

Bayou Funny Louis (River) Choctaw. From fani, "squirrel" and lusa "black". "Black squirrel creek".

Bayou Chicot (lake, river, state park) This names comes to us via French from the Choctaw word bok or bayuk, meaning "stream" or "creek". Chicot is the French spelling for the Choctaw word meaning "sluggish".

Bayou Goula (Town) "Creek people" From Choctaw, bok for "Creek" and okla for "people". Their tribal emblem was the alligator.

Bayou Louis (River) "Black creek".

Bogalusa (River, town) The Indian word is from bok and lusa and means "Black creek" or "black stream". The Bogalusa flows into the Pearl River at Louisiana's border with Mississippi. Bogalusa (Cassidy Park) is the site of the Louisiana Museum of Indian history.
 

Virginia

From an Indian word meaning "land of few arrowheads!" Hahahaha sorry I couldn't help it, the crappy weather is gettin to me
 

Bogue Chitto (River) Choctaw "large stream". From bok and chito, "large".

Bogue Falaya (Park, river) "long creek', from Choctaw bok and falaia meaning '"long".

Mississippi (River) Algonquian for "large river". From misi, "big", and sipi, "river". Because of the prevalence of Indian trade from and to the north, the Algonquian name came into widespread use throughout the south, and in time displace the names for the river used by local tribes.

Natalbany (River, town) "lone bear"

Natchitoches (parish, town) The name means "chinquapin eaters", "chestnut eaters", or "pawpaw eaters", and was given to a tribe of Caddo Indians. It is pronounced Nak-a-tush. It is named for the local Indian tribe who lived in the area when the firts French trading post was established b the French Canadian, Louis Juchereau de Dt. Denis in 1714.

Natchez (town) "Timber land", or timber forest". The origin of this name is obscure. Some experts believe it stems from the Caddo Na'ctcha for "forest wood", and from da'htcha'hi, for "timber".

Opelousas (town) Choctaw. For "black hair", or "black legs (leffings)". This was the name for a small tribe inhabiting the area around St. Landry Parish.
 

Killbuck village, and Killbuck creek here in north central Ohio.

Not exactly a Native American word, but named by them.

The story goes.....One of the earliest settlers in our area was returning empty handed from a hunt, when he was observed by several natives in a small village as he entered a large clearing.

As they were watching, a large buck stood up out of the grass, but too far away for a shot. The pioneer raised his rifle to the shock of the natives and took a very long off hand shot.

The buck dropped in his tracks, and the men started jumping up and down cheering "kill-um-buck, kill-um-buck".....and as the local story goes, the name stuck to the village, and the creek.

said to be true.....a good story anyway.:dontknow:
 

Last edited:
Oklahoma~ "land of the Red Man"...it would be easier to name the places not influenced by Native American names around here, and I think it's true for most of the country, appropriately so! ;) Interesting thread River Rat.. (hmmmm I wonder what 'River Rat' would translate to in a Sioux language?)
 

The name Chattanooga, in fact, is the Creek Indian word for Lookout Mountain
The word form, Tanasqui-Tennessee was also the name of two Cherokee towns, which survived to later times. One of these villages was located on the Hiwassee River.

 

Indiana ; land of the Indian
 

Tangipahoa (Parish, river, town) "Cornstalk gatherers". From Choctaw tanchapi, "cornstalk" or "cob" and agua, "gather".

Tchefuncte (River) Choctaw. From hacho fakti, meaning "chinquapin". The Tchefuncte people were "chinquapin eaters".

Tensas (Parish, river) The Taensa were a small tribe who once lived in the vicinity of Tensas Parish. The original meaning for this name has been lost.

Tickfaw (River, town) "Piney rest", or "piney retreat". Believed to stem from the Choctaw tiak for "pine" and foha for "rest".
 

Last edited:
Hey RR, good thread, and all others contributing....it is getting real interesting and if I don't watch out I may even learn a thing or two.

The Brazos River is the longest in Texas and has much history up and down its' entire length.

The early Spanish gave it the name..."Rio de los Brazos de Dios" (the river of the arms of God) It has since been shortened to The Brazos River.

Oh, yeah almost forgot...

What is commonly considered the first of the Comanche bands to enter Texas...the Penetaka Band or "honey eaters"
 

Last edited:
From northern Vt.

Abanaki: "People of the Dawn

Winooski River: "River of onions", Algonquin, named for the wild ramps that are found along the banks.

Sunganeetook, "fish weir " river, Algonquin name for Lewis Creek in Addison county.
'
 

Some more names from my neck of the woods in Vt.:
( most of these listed can be seen, or are in the close proximity of my house, and visited often)

Ko-zo-ap-skwa: "stoney point" name for Thompsons Point

Pa-won- bowk: " dish shaped pond", name for Charlotte cove

Topbsqua: "split rock" promitory in Lake Champlain

Oh-no-wa-ra-ke: "at the place of turtles" Site od Algonkian and Mohawk fishing camp until the late 1880s, one of my favorite fishing spots!

Pe-koan-tuck: " crooked river" The Otter creek

Wo-no-ka-kee took: " the Little Otter Creek

Pe-ton-bowk: " waters that lie between" Lake Champlain, the dividing waters between the Mohawk and Abnaki nations


Che-non-de-ro-ga: "Conflux of two rivers, or two currants", Ticonderoga
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Look at this!!

⬅️ Previous Thread

this really needs to stop...

Next Thread ➡️

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Metal Detecting Stuff

Latest Discussions

Back
Top