Native American Place Names

[River Rat]

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.

 

[Edmundruffin]

I grew up in Cotaco, Alabama. Attended Cotaco Elementry School. Cotaco Creek started there with a series of large springs forming a creek. The mouth of Cotaco Creek produced some fantastic artifacts and thousands of them. The ARPA act was passed in 1986 and truned several of us into criminals as the mouth of Cotaco Creek was located within the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge. Today the site lies under several feet of rip-rap. The farm fields along the creek produced some fine artifacts, those that survived the plow.

 

[GatorBoy]

Haulover inlet Florida
A thin strip of land between two bodies of water where dugout canoes we're literally hauled over land from one body of water to the other. Florida is full of Native American names.. just thought that one was interesting

 

[bravowhiskey]

pecan...of Algonquin origin...used to describe "all nuts requiring a stone to crack"

It is speculated that pecans were used to make "Powcohicora"...a fermented intoxicating drink (where the word "hickory") comes from

 

[digging440yrs]

HERES A LITTLE NEW YORK HISTORY-------IROQUOIS-HAUDENOSAUNEE--PEOPLE OF THE LONG HOUSE-----ALSO KNOWN AS THE IROQUOIS LEAGUE OR LEAGUE OF PEACE AND POWER------------THE IROQUOIS LEAGUE OF 6 NATIONS CONSISTED OF 6 TRIBES IN UPSTATE NY [CENTRAL AND NORTHERN NY ]---[1]-SENECA [ONONDOWAHGAH] PEOPLE OF THE GREAT HILL--[2] CAYUGA [GUYOHKOHNYOH] PEOPLE OF THE GREAT SWAMP--[3] ONONDAGA [ONONDA GEGA] PEOPLE OF THE HILLS--[4] ONEIDA [ONAYOTEKAONO] PEOPLE OF STANDING STONE--[5] MOHAWK [KANIEN KEHA KA] PEOPLE OF THE GREAT FLINT--------[6] TUSCARORA [SKA RUH REH] HEMP GATHERERS---JOINED THE LEAGUE LAST IN 1722----------MORE INFO AT IROQUOIS LEAGUE OF NATIONS----------------ENJOY--------------- ------THERE WAS MORE TRIBES IN NY THAT WERE NOT IN THE LEAGUE------THE ERIE [ BUFFALO NY], THE DELAWARE [NY CITY AREA] ARE 2.

 

[homestead-hunter]

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.

Lots of Choctaw there, My choctaw tribe was from Mississippi

 

[RGINN]

Interesting post. Lots of tribal place names in Oklahoma. For example, Bokchito, meaning this place we camped. Talihina-this other place we camped. Nashoba-that place down there where we camped. Yanush-that other place over there where we camped. Boktuklo-that place we camped and didn't catch any fish. Tuskahoma-that place we won't camp again cause camping fees too high and campground host a real d**k. Lots of French influence particulary in the Choctaw nation. Poteau-that place we camped and the Indians didn't have crap to trade. Leflore- that other place we camped and on top of not much to trade millions of buffalo gnats. I'm kidding. Bokchito-big creek. Talihina-hard or iron road, railroad. Nashoba-wolf. Yanush-buffalo. Boktuklo-two creeks. Tuskahoma-red warrior. Poteau-post, like a fence post or marker post. Leflore- the flower. I was born in the red dirt country of Oklahoma out west of Lookeba in Caddo County. Lookeba sounds like an Indian name, but it ain't. (By the way, where Boktuklo creek runs into the Mountain Fork River is an excellent place to fish. Y'all check it out.)

 

[homestead-hunter]

Interesting post. Lots of tribal place names in Oklahoma. For example, Bokchito, meaning this place we camped. Talihina-this other place we camped. Nashoba-that place down there where we camped. Yanush-that other place over there where we camped. Boktuklo-that place we camped and didn't catch any fish. Tuskahoma-that place we won't camp again cause camping fees too high and campground host a real d**k. Lots of French influence particulary in the Choctaw nation. Poteau-that place we camped and the Indians didn't have crap to trade. Leflore- that other place we camped and on top of not much to trade millions of buffalo gnats. I'm kidding. Bokchito-big creek. Talihina-hard or iron road, railroad. Nashoba-wolf. Yanush-buffalo. Boktuklo-two creeks. Tuskahoma-red warrior. Poteau-post, like a fence post or marker post. Leflore- the flower. I was born in the red dirt country of Oklahoma out west of Lookeba in Caddo County. Lookeba sounds like an Indian name, but it ain't. (By the way, where Boktuklo creek runs into the Mountain Fork River is an excellent place to fish. Y'all check it out.)

MOUNTAIN FORK!!!! AWESOME! I have fished there alot! Big cat. water is clear and pure. Little river is good. Hugo dam is awesome. I loves McCurtain County, I would walk out of my back door into the woods and there are SO many streams I would find a new spot with BIG bass everytime. Wish I was into prospecting then!

 

[rickn1]

Head-smashed-in, buffalo jump. In southern Alberta

 

[111110100011001]

Yashau creek is supposed to mean "white sand," it's also in McCurtain Co., near Boktuklo.

 

[newnan man]

Fug-ow-wee When an Indian was lost he would climb a tall tree, look all around and say......where in the fug ow wee?

 

[scepter1]

Washington Stae Ferry names:

Name - language and/or tribe: meaning

Cathlamet**- Kathlamet: "stone."

Chelan*-*Chelan Tribe, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation: "deep water."

Chetzemoka*- Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe: 1850s chief.

Chimacum*- Honors the Chemakum tribe's gathering place, which is now the present day town of Chimacum near Port Townsend.*

Elwha*-**Chinook dialect: "elk."

Hyak*-*Chinook dialect: "fast, speedy."

Issaquah*-*Sammamish/Snoqualmie Tribes, Lushootseed dialect: "place of the Squak People."

Kaleetan*-*Chinook dialect: "arrow."*

Kennewick*- Sah-ap-tin, Plains dialect: "winter paradise, winter haven, grassy place, grassy slope"

Kitsap*-*Suquamish Tribe, Lushootseed: Chief of the Suquamish Tribe in the 1800s.

Kittitas*-*A Central Washington tribe, part of the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation.

Klahowya*-*Chinook dialect: "greetings."

Puyallup*-*Puyallup, Lushootseed:*"generous people."

Salish*- From Salishan: a group of people in the northwestern U.S. and lower mainland Canada who speak a common language.*

Samish*- Samish: "giving people."

Sealth*-*Duwamish/Suquamish Tribes: 1850s chief (Chief Seattle).

Spokane*-*Spokane, interior Salish: "children of the sun."

Tacoma*-*Southern Lushootseed: "snowy mountain."

Tokitae*-*Coast Salish dialect: "nice day, pretty colors."

Tillikum*-*Chinook dialect: "friends, relatives."

Walla Walla*-*Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Nation: "place of many waters."

Wenatchee*-*Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation: "river flowing from canyon."

Yakima*-*Yakama: "to become peopled; black bears; runaway; people of the narrow river."
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Hiyu - Chinook dialect: "plenty." This ferry was retired from the fleet in 2017.

 

[unclemac]

how about Kalkala? my wife's grandfather was the fleet comodore...he said that one was a beast from the day it entered the fleet and never ran just right.

 

[scepter1]

how about Kalkala? my wife's grandfather was the fleet comodore...he said that one was a beast from the day it entered the fleet and never ran just right.

Yes, you would think that the state would remember their own list LOL. The Kalakala should be on the list. It ran the Bremertion - Seattle route when I was a kid. Taking the turns through Rich's pass it would just about shake itself to death...

 

[ghp95134]

A lot of names that are thought to be Indian are really French. Some in this thread.

I had always presumed that Ponchatrain was an Indian word -- found out two weeks ago it is French:

Lake Pontchartrain is named for Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain. He was the French Minister of the Marine, Chancellor, and Controller-General of Finances during the reign of France's "Sun King", Louis XIV, for whom the colony of La Louisiane was named.

I was researching the lyrics to the song The Lakes of Ponchatrain; I really like the Irish group "Planxty" and it is one of their songs.


--Guy