26 States That Were Named By Native Americans

Question

Many of us are unaware that over half the states known as the United States are actually Native American words for the land or the people that settlers simply adopted as they spread across the West.  Check out the list.  And then there's this one also.

Answer 1

Thank you for sharing, very interesting.  There are so many cities, mountains, and counties that are from Native words also.

Comments

Indeed!  That would encompass a book to list all of them!!

---

Yes, most of these names may be derived from Native American words, but don't trust those translations.

---

Hi Kathie!  If you've got other information, it would be great to share it here.  I just found it interesting and thought others might enjoy it.  This site has other/additional information.

---

it's fun to read and certainly worth reminding people that the Americas were inhabited and named long before their "discovery" by Europeans, but except for the states whose names correlate with actual tribes like Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, or Utah most of the word meanings are just guesses.  People try to reverse-engineer Native American words and names all the time but in almost all cases there is simply no way to know what the actual original word was.  What we have was recorded by Europeans who most certainly didn't speak the languages in question and many of those languages have since been lost.

---

A few other names: Pontiac was an Odawa war chief, Winnebago is a tribe, Chicago means place of stinking onions (more or less, I might be paraphrasing). Minneapolis is a combination of Ojibwe for waterfall and Greek for city. Tacoma gets its name from the native name for Mount Ranier. Cheyenne, Peoria, Omaha and Wichita are tribes, the list goes on.

Answer 2

Very interesting!

Answer 3

Thank you, very interesting. I live in Mattapoisett “resting place”, Massachusetts.

Answer 4

Doing research on WikiTree in 2022 or early 2023, I came across a white man who lived with Native Americans I think in Mackinac Island, Michigan, then spent time in the Chicago area and negotiated treaties to cede their lands. Unfortunately I don't remember his name right now or the particular source, but one of the things that was mentioned was that he created several place names in the north Illinois, south Wisconsin area that sounded like Indian words but were just gibberish. Why he would do that I have no idea, since he apparently knew at least one native language.

Also, some words and names came from the English and French first talking to competing tribes, and may not cast them in the best light. For instance, the Sioux (as in Sioux Falls, South Dakota) actually go by the name Dakota or Lakota (meaning friend or ally). The word "Sioux" came from the Ojibwe word for little snakes, referring to their old enemy.

Answer 5

In my estimation both Hawai'i and Oklahoma are unique when it comes to how these states were named.  Both had direct involvement from inhabitants who were speakers of the language providing the word.  I have more knowledge of the origin of Oklahoma as a Choctaw from the state.  It was a Choctaw who suggested the term that was adopted.  Chief Allen Wright proposed the name in 1866, which is the combining of two Choctaw words "okla" and "humma" and had also been the name of a previous Chief Oklahoma in the old lands before the Trail of Tears.  The word "okla" means people, tribe or nation.  The word "humma" has various spellings and 27 meanings.  Most references choose the noun that when used alone means red.  However, when combined with okla the meanings which reference 'people' apply, such as courageous, brave or honorable.  So the name of the state we call Oklahoma means "a brave people" or "honorable nation" and stands proudly in that definition.  I'm certain that native Hawai'ian Islanders feel the same about their state named for them.

See this blog: No, "Oklahoma" does't mean "red people"

Comments

Thank you for telling us about that.  I found it really interesting!!