List of placenames of Indigenous origin in the Americas

Many places throughout North, Central, and South America take their names from the languages of the indigenous inhabitants of the area. The following list, organized by country, includes settlements, geographic features, and political subdivisions whose names are derived from indigenous languages.

Argentina

See list of Mapudungun placenames for the respective placenames in Argentina

Bolivia

Brazil

Alagoas State

Ceará State

Minas Gerais State

Pará State

Paraná State

Pernambuco State

Caruaru

Rio de Janeiro State

Santa Catarina State

Itajai

São Paulo State

Canada

Canada itself is a name derived from a Laurentian Iroquois word meaning "village"^[1]^[2] (c.f. Mohawk kaná:ta’).^[3]^[4] See Canada's name for more details. Aboriginal names are widespread in Canada - for a full listing see List of place names in Canada of aboriginal origin. Those listed here are only well-known, important or otherwise notable places.

Province and territory names

Ontario
Quebec - from Míkmaq kepék, "strait, narrows"^[5]
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Nunavut
Yukon

British Columbia

NB Too many settlements, lakes, rivers, mountains and other items in British Columbia have indigenous names for all of them to be included here. Only major or relatively notable items are listed.

Regions

Cities and towns

Rivers and lakes

Mountain ranges

Alberta

Kananaskis
Athabasca
Wetaskiwin - from the Cree word wītaskīwin-ispatinaw (ᐑᑕᐢᑮᐏᐣ ᐃᐢᐸᑎᓇᐤ), meaning "the hills where peace was made".

Saskatchewan

Saskatoon - from Cree misāskwatōmin, "saskatoon berry."^[6]

Manitou Lake Little Manitou Lake Manitou | North American Indian religion

Manitoba

Winnipeg—a transcription of a western Cree word meaning "muddy waters"
Manitoba -- "where the spirit (manitou) speaks"

Ontario

- Adjala-Tosorontio:Tosorontio is derived from the Huron (Wyandot) word meaning "beautiful mountain", and Adjala was the name of the wife of Chief Tecumseh.
- Algonquin Provincial Park: Named after the Algonquin (Anishinaabeg) people of Ontario.
- Almaguin Highlands: Derived from the words Algonquin and Magnetawan.
- Assiginack
- Algoma District
- Atikokan: Ojibwe for "caribou bones."
- Attawapiskat: "People of the parting of the rocks" from the Swampy Cree (Omushkegowuk) chat-a-wa-pis-shkag.
- Brantford: Named after Joseph Brant, a Mohawk leader.
- Cataraqui River
- Cayuga: Named for the Cayuga people of Ontario.
- Chinguacousy
- Couchiching: Derived from the Ojibwe gojijiing, meaning "inlet."
- Deseronto: Named for Captain John Deseronto, a native Mohawk leader who was a captain in the British Military Forces during the American Revolutionary War.
- Eramosa: Thought to be derived from the word un-ne-mo-sah (possibly meaning "black dog", "dead dog", or simply "dog").
- Esquesing Township: Mississauga Anishinaabe word ishkwessin, meaning "that which lies at the end", which was the original name for Bronte Creek.
- Etobicoke: "The place where the alders grow" from the word wadoopikaang in the Ojibwe language.
- Fort Erie: Iroquoian, erige, meaning "cat".
- Gananoque: Origin unknown, thought to be derived from Native languages for "place of health" or "meeting place" or "water running over rocks."
- Garafraxa: Possibly derived from the word for "panther country".
- Iroquois Falls: Named for the Iroquois people of Ontario.
- Kakabeka Falls: From the Ojibwe word gakaabikaa, "waterfall over a cliff".
- Kaministiquia River: Derived from gaa-ministigweyaa, an Ojibwe word meaning "(river) with islands".
- Kanata: Mohawk word meaning "village" or "settlement."
- Kapuskasing: Of Cree origin, possibly meaning "bend in river."
- Kawartha Lakes: An Anglicization of the word ka-wa-tha (from ka-wa-tae-gum-maug or gaa-waategamaag), a word coined in 1895 by Martha Whetung of the Curve Lake First Nation, meaning "land of reflections" in the Anishinaabe language. The word was subsequently changed by tourism promoters to Kawartha, with the meaning "bright waters and happy lands."
- Keewatin: Algonquian for "north wind." Derived from either kīwēhtin in Cree or giiwedin in Ojibwe.
- Madawaska: Named after an Algonquian band of the region known as Matouweskarini, meaning "people of the shallows".
- Magnetawan: Derived from the word for "swiftly flowing river."
- Manitoulin Island: Manitoulin is the English version, via French, of the Old Odawa name Manidoowaaling, which means "cave of the spirit".
- Manitouwadge: From manidoowaazh in Ojibwe, meaning "cave of the spirit."
- Manitowaning
- Manotick: Derived from Algonquin for "island."
- Matachewan
- Matawatchan
- Mattawa: "Meeting of the waters" in Ojibwe.
- M'Chigeeng
- Michipicoten: "Big bluffs" in Ojibwe.
- Missinaibi Provincial Park: Cree for "pictured waters," thought to refer to the pictographs found on rock faces along the river.
- Mississauga: Named for the native tribe of the Mississaugas
- Mississippi Mills: May originate from Mazinaa[bikinigan]-ziibi, Algonquian for "[painted] image river", referring to the pictographs found on Mazinaw Lake.
- Moosonee: Derived from the Cree word moosoneek, meaning "at the Moose (River)".
- Muskoka: Named for a First Nations chief of the 1850s, Chief Yellowhead or Mesqua Ukie.
- Napanee
- Nassagaweya: Derived from the Mississauga word nazhesahgewayyong, meaning "river with two outlets."
- Neebing
- Niagara: Iroquois in origin, meaning uncertain.
- Nipigon: May have originated from the Ojibwe word animbiigoong, meaning "at continuous water" or "at waters that extend [over the horizon]."
- Nipissing: From the Anishinaabe term nibiishing, meaning "at (some) water".
- Nottawasaga River: Derived from the Algonquin words for "Iroquois" and "river outlet".
- Ohsweken
- Oneida Nation of the Thames
- Onondaga
- Ontario
- Opasatika, "river lined with poplars".
- Oshawa: from the Ojibwe term aazhaway, meaning "crossing to the other side of a river or lake" or just "(a)cross".
- Otonabee: From the Ojibwe term "Odoonabii-ziibi" (Tullibee River). Otonabee comes from the words ode which means "heart" and odemgat that comes from "boiling water". It translates into "the river that beats like a heart in reference to the bubbling and boiling water of the rapids along the river"
- Ottawa: "To buy" from the word adaawe in the Anishinaabe language; adapted as the name of the Odawa people.
- Penetanguishene: believed to come from either the Wyandot language or from the Abenaki language via the Ojibwa language, meaning "land of the white rolling sands".
- Petawawa: From Algonquin meaning "where one hears the noise of the water"
- Powassan: From the word for "bend."
- Pukaskwa National Park
- Saugeen: Ojibwa language, Zaagiing, meaning outlet
- Shawanaga
- Scugog: Derived from the Mississauga word sigaog, which means "waves leap over a canoe."
- Shuniah: named after the Ojibwa word "zhooniyaa" for "money" or "silver"
- Sioux Narrows
- Sioux Lookout
- Tecumseh
- Tehkummah
- Temagami: from the Anishinaabe word dimiigami, "deep water(s)".
- Timiskaming: from the Algonquin language Temikami or Temikaming, meaning "deep waters".
- Toronto: from an Iroquoian language, but of uncertain derivation. Another story says it is derived from the Mohawk word "tkaronto" meaning "trees standing in the water".
- Tuscarora
- Tyendinaga: Derived from a variant spelling of Mohawk leader Joseph Brant's traditional Mohawk name, Thayendanegea.
- Wahnapitae: from the Anishinaabe waanabide, "be shaped like a hollow tooth".
- Wasaga Beach: Derived from "Nottawasaga," as above.
- Wawa
- Wawanosh
- Wikwemikong: from the Anishinaabe wiikwemikong, "Bay of Beavers" from Nishnaabe word "Amik" meaning beaver.
- Wyoming: derived from the Munsee name xwé:wamənk, meaning "at the big river flat."

Quebec

Regions

Towns and villages

Nunavut

Northwest Territories

Aklavik
Tuktoyaktuk
Inuvik
Somba K'e - alternate official name, in the Dogrib language, of Yellowknife

Yukon

Caribbean

Bahamas

Cuba

Dominican Republic

Grenada

Carriacou

Haiti

Gonaïves -from Gonaibo
Gonâve Island -from Guanabo
Grand-Goâve -from Aguava
Jacmel
Léogâne -from Yaguana
Petit-Goâve -from Aguava

Puerto Rico

Saint Christopher and Nevis

Mount Liamuiga

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Trinidad

Arima
Aripo
Arouca
Carapo
Caroni
Chacachacare
Cachipa
Caura
Chaguanas
Chaguaramas
Couva
Cunupia
Curucaye
Guaico
Guanapo
Guaracara
Guayaguayare
Icacos
Iere
Macoya
Mayaro
Naparima
Nariva
Oropuche
Ortoire (disambiguation)
Paria
Salybia
Siparia
Tamana
Tumpuna
Tunapuna
Yarra

Chile

List of Mapudungun placenames

Non-Mapudungun Placenames:

Colombia

Arauca Department
Bogotá - from former main Muisca settlement Bacatá
Cali - from Calima
Cúcuta
Duitama - from Tundama
Ibagué - from Pijao cacique Ibagué
Maicao
Nemocón
Sogamoso - from Suamox
Tunja - from former Muisca settlement Hunza
Zipaquirá - Muysccubun: "land of the zipa" or "city of our father"
Cundinamarca Department - Quechua: “Condors nest”
Boyacá Department - Muysccubun: "Near the cacique"
Tolima Department - from Panche language
Cesar Department - from Chimila language
Quindío Department - from Quimbaya
Chocó Department
Cauca Department - from Emberá
Valle del Cauca Department - from Emberá
La Guajira Department - from Wayuu
Putumayo Department - from Quechua
Huila Department - from Paéz
Caquetá Department
Amazonas Department
Guaviare Department
Vaupés Department
Guainía Department
Meta Department
Vichada Department
Inírida - from Puinave language
Yopal
Mitú
Popayán
Quibdó
Funza
Machetá
Firavitoba
Ráquira
Tequendama
Sumapaz
Ubaté
Lake Guatavita
Chivor
Tipacoque
Sugamuxi
Boavita
Zetaquirá
Duitama
Tutazá
Firavitoba
Tota
Chivatá
Gachancipá
Tocancipá
Guanentá
Chipatá
El Guacamayo
Zapatoca
Ayapel
Tubará
Guatapé - Quechua: ”Stones and water”
Chimá
Tuchín
Guataquí
Popayán - Quechua: “Pampayán”
Pasto
Güicán
El Cocuy
Siecha Lakes
Guasca

Ecuador

El Salvador

Guatemala

The country name comes from Nahuatl Cuauhtēmallān, "place of many trees", a translation of Kʼicheʼ K’ii’chee’, "many trees" (="forest").^[7]

Nahuatl Placenames:

Chichicastenango
Chimaltenango
Chiquimula
Escuintla
Huehuetenango- from Nahuatl, the original Mayan name was Xinabahul
Jalapa
Jutiapa
Lake Atitlán
Mazatenango
Quetzaltenango- from Nahuatl, the original Mayan name was Xelajú
Zacapa

Mayan Placenames:

Lake Petén Itzá

Guyana

Honduras

Mexico

The name of Mexico is the Nahuatl name for the island in the middle of Lake Texcoco where the Aztecs had their capital, its etymology is opaque.

States

Chiapas- Believed to derive from the ancient city of Chiapan, which means "the place where the chia sage grows" in Náhuatl.
Chihuahua- May come from "dry place" in an unknown Indian language.^[8]
Coahuila- possibly from the Nahuatl word Cuauhillan - "Place of trees"
Guanajuato- Means "hill of frogs" in the Purépecha language ^{[citation needed]}
Michoacán- Translates to "the place of the fishermen" from the Nahuatl word michhuahcan.
Nayarit- derived from the endonym of the Cora people "naayarite"
Oaxaca-Comes from the Nahuatl word huaxyácac or "place of the guaje trees".
Querétaro- Could come from the Otomi meaning "the great ball game"^{[citation needed]} or the Purépecha language meaning "place of stones".^{[citation needed]}
Tamaulipas- derives from tamaholipa a Huastec term that could mean "place where high hills".
Tlaxcala- Means "Place of Maize tortilla". in Nahuatl
Zacatecas- Named after the Zacatec; an indigenous nation in the area. It means "inhabitants of the grassland" in Nahuatl.

Chiapas

Tuxtla Gutiérrez

Guerrero

Mexico City

Michoacán

Quintana Roo

Sinaloa

Sonora

State of Mexico

Veracruz

Yucatán

Chicxulub (both the town and the impact crater)
Izamal
Oxkutzcab
Tekax
Ticul
Tizimín

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Suriname

United States

Uruguay

Tacuarembó

Venezuela

References

^ Trigger, Bruce G.; Pendergast, James F. (1978). "Saint-Lawrence Iroquoians". Handbook of North American Indians Volume 15. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. pp. 357–361. OCLC 58762737.
^ Rayburn, Alan (2001). Naming Canada: stories about Canadian place names (2nd ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 13. ISBN 0-8020-8293-9.
^ Bright (2004:78)
^ Mithun, Marianne (1999). The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 312. ISBN 0-521-29875-X.
^ Afable, Patricia O. and Madison S. Beeler (1996). "Place Names". In "Languages", ed. Ives Goddard. Vol. 17 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 191
^ "Saskatoon". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
^ Campbell (1997:378 n. 10)
^ Bright (2004:99)

Bibliography

Bright, William (2004). Native American Place Names of the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
Campbell, Lyle (1997). American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
O'Brien, Frank Waabu (2010). "Understanding Indian Place Names in Southern New England". Colorado: Bauu Press. [1]

[1] Trigger, Bruce G.; Pendergast, James F. (1978). "Saint-Lawrence Iroquoians". Handbook of North American Indians Volume 15. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. pp. 357–361. OCLC 58762737.

[2] Rayburn, Alan (2001). Naming Canada: stories about Canadian place names (2nd ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 13. ISBN 0-8020-8293-9.

[3] Bright (2004:78)

[4] Mithun, Marianne (1999). The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 312. ISBN 0-521-29875-X.

[5] Afable, Patricia O. and Madison S. Beeler (1996). "Place Names". In "Languages", ed. Ives Goddard. Vol. 17 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 191

[6] "Saskatoon". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2007-03-31.

[7] Campbell (1997:378 n. 10)

[8] Bright (2004:99)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

Argentina

Bolivia

Brazil

Alagoas State

Ceará State

Minas Gerais State

Pará State

Paraná State

Pernambuco State

Rio de Janeiro State

Santa Catarina State

São Paulo State

Canada

Province and territory names

British Columbia

Regions

Cities and towns

Rivers and lakes

Mountain ranges

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Ontario

Quebec

Regions

Towns and villages

Nunavut

Northwest Territories

Yukon

Caribbean

Bahamas

Cuba

Dominican Republic

Grenada

Haiti

Puerto Rico

Saint Christopher and Nevis

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Trinidad

Chile

Colombia

Ecuador

El Salvador

Guatemala

Guyana

Honduras

Mexico

States

Chiapas

Guerrero

Mexico City

Michoacán

Quintana Roo

Sinaloa

Sonora

State of Mexico

Veracruz

Yucatán

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Suriname

United States

Uruguay

Venezuela

See also

References

Bibliography