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

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

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

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

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

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

Non-Mapudungun Placenames:

Colombia

Ecuador

El Salvador

Guatemala

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

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

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

  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)

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.
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