List of Mapudungun placenames

The following is a listing of placenames from the Mapudungun language, generally from Chile and southwestern Argentina.

Note: this list includes only currently used placenames that have a Mapudungun etymology for at least part of their name

A

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Abtao	end/limit of the territory	Los Lagos	channel, island
Achao	sandy and protected harbour	Los Lagos	beach, channel, city/town
Aconcagua	place of heathers	Mendoza, Valparaíso	mountain, river
Allipén		Araucanía, Bío-Bío	river
Ancud	to dry	Los Lagos	city/town, gulf
Anticura	sun stone	Los Lagos	river, village
Antihue	sunny place	Los Lagos	hamlet
Antillanca	sun/light green quartz	Los Lagos	volcano
Antimahuida	sun/light mountain	Los Lagos	village
Antuco	sun and water	Bío-Bío	volcano

B

Buchupureo Big Wave Limit between VII & VIII Regions, Chile)

Type	Comments
Bariloche	from Furiloche: people from the other side of the mountain	Los Lagos, Río Negro	city/town, mountain pass
Bío-Bío		Araucanía, Bío-Bío	river
Boldo	from folo, a shrub (Peumus boldus)	La Araucanía
Bucalemu	big forest	Valparaíso
Butacura	big stone	Los Lagos	hamlet

C

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Caburgua	dug with a spoon	Araucanía	lake, waterfall
Calafquén	lake like a sea	Araucanía, Los Ríos	lake
Calbuco	blue waters	Los Lagos	channel, city/town, peninsula, volcano
Caleufú		Neuquén	river
Callaqui		Bío-Bío	volcano
Calle-Calle	lot of Iridaceaes	Los Ríos	river	once called Guadalfquén
Carahue	the city that was	Araucanía	city/town
Carelmapu	green territory	Los Lagos	headland
Carirriñe	green chusquea coleou cane	Los Ríos, Neuquén	mountain pass, river
Carrenleufú		Chubut	city/town
Catirai	callyíi, to cut, and raigheii, the flower of the trees, meaning short flowers	Bío-Bío	valley
Cau-Cau	kawkaw 'seagull'	Los Ríos	river
Chacay	Discaria serratifolia	Atacama	valley
Chacao	protected harbour	Los Lagos	bay, channel, village
Chapelco	chapel (a local bush) water	Neuquén	mountain, river
Chillán		Bío-Bío	city
Chiloé	chille 'small seagull' and -we 'place'	Los Lagos	archipelago, island
Chimbarongo	crooked head or place between fogs	O'Higgins	city/town
Choshuenco	yellow water	Los Ríos	city/town, volcano
Cochamó	confluence/estuary	Los Lagos	bay, river, village
Conguillío	water with Araucaria araucana pine nuts	Araucanía	lake
Copahue		Bío-Bío	volcano
Colhué Huapi	red island	Chubut	lake
Concón	place of owls	Valparaíso	city/town
Coñaripe	way of the warrior	Los Ríos	city/town
Cucao	Pteroptochus	Los Lagos	bay, lake, river
Curarrehue		Araucanía	city/town
Curicó	kurü 'black' and ko 'water'	Maule	city/town
Curiñanco	kurü 'black' and ñamko 'red-backed hawk'	Los Ríos	beach, village

D

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Dalcahue	place of canoes	Los Lagos	city/town
Dollinco	mussel water	Los Lagos	river

F

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Futalafquén	big lake	Chubut	lake
Futaleufú	big river	Chubut, Los Lagos	river
Futrono	from Futronhue: place of smoke	Los Ríos	town/city

G

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Guafo	from Wafün: tusk	Los Lagos	island

H

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Hornopirén	snow oven	Los Lagos	village, volcano	once called Quechucaví; five districts
Huahum		Los Ríos, Neuquén	mountain pass, river
Huapi	island	Los Ríos	island
Huechuraba	clay birthplace	Santiago	commune/city
Huerquehue	place of messengers	Araucanía	mountains
Huilo-Huilo		Los Ríos	waterfall

L

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Lácar	place of landslides	Neuquén	lake
Lebu	river	Bío-Bío	city
Licán Ray	rock flower	Araucanía	city/town
Limay	clear/clean	Neuquén, Río Negro	river
Liquiñe		Los Ríos	town, river, hot springs
Llaima	blood veins	Araucanía	volcano
Llanquihue	hidden place	Los Lagos, Los Ríos	city/town, lake, river
Lolol	land of crabs and holes	O'Higgins	commune/town
Loncoche	head of an important person	Araucanía	city/town
Loncomilla	gold of the lonco	Maule	river
Lonquimay	summit	Araucanía	city/town, volcano

M

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Máfil	hugged between rivers	Los Ríos	town
Maihue	wooden glass	Los Ríos	lake
Maipo		Mendoza, Santiago	river, valley, volcano
Malalcahuello		Araucanía	hot springs
Mamuil Malal	corral of wooden sticks	Araucanía, Neuquén	mountain pass, village
Mapocho	river of the Mapuche	Santiago	river
Melipeuco		Araucanía	city/town
Melipulli	four hills	Los Lagos	city/town
Mulchén	people of the west	Bío-Bío	city/town, river

N

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Nahuelbuta	big puma	Araucanía, Bío-Bío	mountain range
Nahuelhuapi	island of the puma	Neuquén, Río Negro	lake
Nahuel Rucá	house of the puma	Buenos Aires	city/town
Neuquén	sweep away	Neuquén, Río Negro	city/town, river

P

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Panguipulli	hill of the puma	Los Ríos	city/town, lake
Pellaifa		Los Ríos	lake
Peñalolén	fraternal meeting place	Santiago	city/town
Pichilemu	little forest	O'Higgins	city/town
Pillanleufú	river of the devil/spirit	Los Ríos	river
Pilolcura	hollow stone	Los Ríos	beach, bay
Pirihueico	snowy curvy water	Los Ríos	lake
Pucón	entrance	Araucanía	city/town
Puduhuapi	island of the pudu	Los Lagos	island
Puelo	east	Chubut, Los Lagos	lake, river
Pullinque		Los Ríos	lake, river
Puyehue	place of sweet water fishes	Los Lagos, Los Ríos, Neuquén	lake, mountain pass, volcano
Punucapa	black/fertile earth for legumes	Los Ríos	village

Q

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Quellón	from Queldon; Aristotelia chilensis	Los Lagos	city/town
Quemchi	red/pottery earth	Los Lagos	city/town
Quetrupillán	sleeping pillán	Araucanía, Los Ríos	volcano
Quiapo	originally Cuyapu or Cuyamapu, meaning cuya, weasel and mapu land	Bio-Bio	hill/river
Quilicura	three stones	Santiago	commune/city

R

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Rahue	place of gray clay	Los Lagos, Neuquén	city/town, river, village
Rancagua	place of canes	O'Higgins	city/town
Ranco		Los Ríos	city/town, lake
Reloncaví	valley district	Los Lagos	estuary, sound
Riñihue	place of Chusquea coleou	Los Ríos	city/town, lake
Rupanco	shaked waters	Los Lagos	lake

T

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Talca	thunder	Maule	city/town
Talcahuano	from tralcam wenu; thundering sky	Bío-Bío	city
Temuco	Blepharocalyx cruckshanksii water	Araucanía	city/town
Tinguiririca	round/shining quartz	O'Higgins	city/town, river, volcano
Tolhuaca		Araucanía	volcano
Traful		Neuquén	lake
Tralcan	thunder	Los Ríos	mountain
Tromén		Neuquén	lake, volcano
Tucapel	take by force	Bío-Bío	town

V

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Vitacura	big stone	Santiago	city/town

Y

Placename	Meaning	Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina)	Type	Comments
Yelcho	carry foam	Los Lagos	lake, river

See also

• Araucanization
• Mapuche
• Huilliche
• Picunche

Sources

• Guiaverde - diccionarios (Spanish)
• Mapudungun.cl
• Francisco Solano Asta-Buruaga y Cienfuegos, Diccionario geográfico de la República de Chile (Geographic dictionary of the Republic of Chile), SEGUNDA EDICIÓN CORREGIDA Y AUMENTADA, NUEVA YORK, D. APPLETON Y COMPAÑÍA, 1899.
• DICCIONARIO MAPUCHE
• Diccionarios Ser Indigena, Lenguas Originarias de Chile
  • Español - Mapudungun
  • Mapudungun - Español