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List of placenames of Indigenous origin in the Americas

(Redirected from List of Native American Place Names)

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

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 edit

Bolivia edit

Brazil edit

Main article: List of Brazil state name etymologies

Alagoas State edit

Ceará State edit

Minas Gerais State edit

Pará State edit

Paraná State edit

Pernambuco State edit

Rio de Janeiro State edit

Santa Catarina State edit

São Paulo State edit

Canada edit

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.

Province and territory names edit

Main article: Canadian provincial name etymologies

British Columbia edit

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 edit

Cities and towns edit

Rivers and lakes edit

Mountain ranges edit

Alberta edit

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

Saskatchewan edit

Manitou Lake Little Manitou Lake Manitou | North American Indian religion

Manitoba edit

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

Ontario edit

Quebec edit

Regions edit

Towns and villages edit


Nunavut edit

Northwest Territories edit

Yukon edit

Caribbean edit

Main article: List of indigenous names of Eastern Caribbean islands

Bahamas edit

Cuba edit

Dominican Republic edit

Grenada edit

Haiti edit

Puerto Rico edit

Saint Christopher and Nevis edit

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines edit

Trinidad edit

Chile edit

Main article: List of place names in Chile of Aboriginal origin

Non-Mapudungun Placenames:

Colombia edit

Main article: List of Muisca toponyms

Ecuador edit

El Salvador edit

Guatemala edit

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

Nahuatl Placenames:

Mayan Placenames:

Guyana edit

Honduras edit

Mexico edit

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 edit

Chiapas edit

Guerrero edit

Mexico City edit

Michoacán edit

Quintana Roo edit

Sinaloa edit

Sonora edit

State of Mexico edit

Veracruz edit

Yucatán edit

Nicaragua edit

Panama edit

Paraguay edit

Peru edit

Suriname edit

United States edit

Main article: List of place names in the United States of Native American origin

Uruguay edit

Venezuela edit

See also edit

References edit

  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 edit

  • 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]
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