List of placenames of indigenous origin in the Americas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Contents |
[edit] Brazil
Main article: List of Brazil state name etymologies
[edit] Canada
Main article: List of place names in Canada of aboriginal origin
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.
[edit] Province and territory names
Main article: Canadian provincial name etymologies
- Ontario
- Quebec - from Míkmaq kepék, "strait, narrows"[5]
- Manitoba
- Saskatchewan
- Nunavut
- Denendeh
- Yukon
[edit] British Columbia
NB Too many settlements, lakes, rivers, mountains and other items in British Columbia have indiegenous names for all of them to be included here. Only major or relatively notable items are listed.
[edit] Regions
- Chilcotin
- Cariboo
- Okanagan
- Kootenay
- Lillooet Country
- Nicola Country
- Stikine Country
- Nechako Country
- Cowichan Valley
- Shuswap Country
- Omineca Country
- Atlin Country
- Slocan Valley
- Haida Gwaii
[edit] Cities and towns
- Nanaimo
- Chilliwack
- Coquitlam
- Squamish
- Qualicum Beach
- Saanich
- Sooke
- Ucluelet
- Kitimat
- Keremeos
- Spuzzum
- Bella Coola
- Bella Bella
- Kamloops
- Sicamous
- Osoyoos
- Skookumchuck
- Lillooet
- Penticton
- Kelowna and West Kelowna
- Spallumcheen
- Malakwa
- Slocan City
[edit] Rivers and lakes
- Chilcotin River
- Omineca River
- Kechika River
- Lillooet River
- Okanagan Lake & Okanagan River
- Similkameen River
- Skeena River
- Nass River
- Homathko River
- Nechako River
- Squamish River
- Klinaklini River
- Stikine River
- Alsek River
- Tatshenshini River
- Tagish Lake
- Atlin Lake
- Taku River
- Cheakamus River
- Elaho River
- Nimpkish River
[edit] Mountain ranges
- Shulaps Range
- Cayoosh Range
- Lillooet Ranges
- Chilcotin Ranges
- Stikine Ranges
- Cassiar Mountains
- Cariboo Mountains
- Kitimat Ranges
- Omineca Mountains
- Muskwa Ranges
[edit] Alberta
- Kananaskis
- Athabasca
- Wetaskiwin - from the Cree word wītaskīwin-ispatinaw (ᐑᑕᐢᑮᐏᐣ ᐃᐢᐸᑎᓇᐤ), meaning "the hills where peace was made".
[edit] Saskatchewan
- Saskatoon - from Cree misāskwatōmin, "saskatoon berry."[6]
[edit] Manitoba
- Winnipeg -- a transcription of a western Cree word meaning "muddy waters"
- Manitoba -- "where the spirit (manitou) speaks"
[edit] Ontario
- Toronto
- Ottawa - from Ojibwe "Odaawaa", refers to the dialect Odawa which comes from "daawaa" or to trade
- Mississauga - dialect group of Ojibwe whose name "Mishi-zaagii" means Great River mouth
- Oshawa
[edit] Quebec
[edit]
[edit] Northwest Territories/Denendeh
- Aklavik
- Tuktoyaktuk
- Inuvik
- Somba K'e - alternate official name, in the Dogrib language, of Yellowknife
[edit] Yukon
[edit] Caribbean
Main article: List of indigenous names of Eastern Caribbean islands
[edit] Chile
Main article: List of place names in Chile of Aboriginal origin
[edit] Guatemala
The country name comes from Nahuatl Cuauhtēmallān, "place of many trees", a translation of K'iche' K’ii’chee’, "many trees" (="forest").[7]
[edit] Mexico
The name of Mexico comes from Mexica in Nahuatl, name that the Aztecs called themselves.
- 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- Named after an Indian tribe living in the region called Coahuiltecos.
- Guanajuato- Means "hill of frogs" in the Tarascan language
- México- Named after the Mexica or Aztecs.
- Michoacán- Translates to "the place of the fishermen" from the Nahuatl word michamacuan.
- Nayarit- Náhuatl for "Son of God who is in heaven and in the sun".
- Oaxaca-Comes from the Nahuatl word huaxyácac or "place of the guaje trees".
- Querétaro- Could come from the Otomi meaning "the great ball game" or the Tarasco/Purépecha language meaning "place of stones".
- Tamaulipas- derives from tamaholipa a Huastec term that could mean "place where high hills".
- Tlaxcala- Means "Place of Maize Corn Bread".
- Zacatecas- Named after the Zacatec; an indigenous nation in the area. It means "inhabitants of the land were the shrubs are abundant" in Nahuatl.
[edit] United States
[edit] See also
[edit] 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. ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 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 052129875X.
- ^ 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. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Saskatoon. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ^ Campbell (1997:378 n. 10)
- ^ Bright (2004:99)
[edit] 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.
