The United States of America contains 50 states, and 27 state names are based in American Indian languages: Alabama (Choctaw), Alaska (Aleut), Arizona (O’odham), Arkansas (Illinois), Connecticut (Algonquian), Hawaii (from the indigenous language of Hawai’i), Idaho (Apache), Illinois (Algonquian language group, probably
What state is named after Native Americans?
IOWA: From an Indian tribe, “Ah-hee-oo-ba,” meaning “sleepy ones” or “drowsy ones.” They lived in the valley of the State’s principal river, which they named for their tribe; and, in turn, the name was applied to the State.
How many states have native names?
So here are the 26 states with names of Native American origin and the meaning behind each of them. To learn more about Native American tribes in your state, please visit our map of Native Americans in the United States. Comments and questions are welcome!
What cities have Native American names?
California
- Azusa – from Tongva village “Azucsagna”
- Malibu – from Ventureño “Umalibu, perhaps reflecting [(hu)maliwu], “it (the surf) makes a loud noise all the time over there”.
- Pismo Beach – from Chumash “Pismu” for “tar”
- Poway – from Kumeyaay language.
- Temecula – from Luiseño “Temeekunga”
Is Arizona an Indian name?
Arizona –Spanish version of Pima Indian word for “little spring place,” or Aztec arizuma, meaning “silver-bearing.”
Is Tennessee an Indian name?
In fact, the name “Tennessee” comes from the Native American word “Tanasi.” Settlers came to Tennessee to take advantage of its abundant natural resources, so it seems fitting to begin by describing the land of Tennessee.
Is Ohio an Indian name?
Did you know the name “Ohio” is an Iroquoian Indian word? It came from the Seneca name for the Ohio River, Ohiyo, which means “it is beautiful.” The Senecas were not the original inhabitants of Ohio, however.
Is Kentucky a Native American name?
Kentucky comes from the Kentucky river.
The name has origins in a Native American Iroquois or Shawne word meaning “meadow.”
Is Mississippi an Indian name?
14. Mississippi. From the Choctaw word meaning “Great water” or “Father of Waters.”
Is Arkansas a Native American name?
The word “Arkansas” came from the Quapaw Indians, by way of early French explorers. At the time of the early French exploration, a tribe of Indians, the Quapaws, lived West of the Mississippi and north of the Arkansas River. The Quapaws, or OO-GAQ-Pa, were also known as the “people who live downstream,” or UGAKHOPAG.
Is Florida a Native American word?
The state takes its name from the river and bay. Famed Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon may not have found the fountain of youth, but he is credited with naming Florida, as the first European to reach it. The region was named by de Leon in 1513 and it comes from the Spanish word “florido,” which means “full of flowers.”
What state has the most Native American named cities?
States leading with the most cities/towns named for chiefs are:
- Illinois and Indiana = 22.
- Michigan = 17.
- Wisconsin = 15.
- Oklahoma = 14.
- Iowa = 12.
- Ohio and Pennsylvania = 7 each.
- Minnesota, Nebraska and New York = 6 each.
- Alabama, Kansas, and New Jersey = 5 each.
What US city is named after an Indian chief?
The city of Ouray was named after the highly respected Chief Ouray of the Ute tribe.
How did Wyoming get its name?
The territory was named after the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. Thomas Campbell wrote his 1809 poem “Gertrude of Wyoming”, inspired by the Battle of Wyoming in the American Revolutionary War. The name ultimately derives from the Lenape Munsee word xwé:wamənk (“at the big river flat”).
How did Tennessee get its name?
The name Tennessee derives from that of the Cherokee village Tanasi. The Cherokee developed warm relations with English traders from Virginia and South Carolina and were initially their allies in the French and Indian War of the 1750s and ’60s.
How do Native Americans get their names?
Native American names are drawn from Nature, which provides the child with a strong sense of being part of the natural environment. Names drawn from nature, like Lily, Rose, and Violet, were dropped almost completely as women entered the western workforce.
What does Idaho mean in Native American?
Gem of the Mountains
In 1860 when Colorado needed a name, mining lobbyist George M. Willing presented the name “Idaho” to Congress, claiming it was a Native American Shoshone word meaning “Gem of the Mountains.”
What does Minnesota mean in Native American?
sky-tinted waters
The name Minnesota comes from the Dakota (Sioux) words mnisota, meaning “sky-tinted waters” or “sky-blue waters.” There are numerous Indian origin place names throughout the state, many beginning with mni or minne, meaning water.
How did the Choctaw get their name?
The anthropologist John R. Swanton suggested that the Choctaw derived their name from an early leader. Henry Halbert, a historian, suggests that their name is derived from the Choctaw phrase Hacha hatak (river people).
Is Cincinnati a Native American name?
Cincinnati got its name from the 5th-century BC Roman soldier and hero, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus.
What states have Indian reservations?
Explore this article
- Alaska, Arizona and California.
- Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi and Montana.
- Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Utah.
- Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
