American Indian names in your state (how much, suburbs, land)

[skippercollector]

I am reading a lot of the same syllables here, such as "wa" and "nee." Does anyone know what they mean?

[Lifeshadower]

There are plenty of place names in California that are erroneously thought of as Spanish names, but are Native American in origin. Here's a whole 1916 piece on it:
http://soda.sou.edu/awdata/030731c1.pdf

Just a sampling:

Anacapa (Channel Island, Santa Barbara County)
Aptos (Santa Cruz County)
Arcata (Humboldt County)
Azusa (Los Angeles County)
Cahuenga (Los Angeles County)
Carquinez (Contra Costa County)
Castaic (Los Angeles County)
Cayucos (San Luis Obispo County)
Cholame (San Luis Obispo County)
Chualar (Monterey County)
Coloma (El Dorado County)
Colusa (Colusa County)
Consumnes (Sacramento County)
Cotati (Sonoma County)
Hemet (Riverside County)
Inyo (Inyo County)
Invapah (San Bernardino County)
Jamacha (San Diego County)
Klamath (Siskiyou/Del Norte Counties)
Lompoc (Santa Barbara County)
Malibu (Los Angeles County)
Marin (Marin County)
Modoc (Modoc County)
Mojave (Kern/San Bernardino Counties)
Mokelumne (Sacramento County)
Mono (Mono County)
Morongo (Riverside County)
Napa (Napa County)
Natomas (Sacramento County)
Nipomo (San Luis Obispo County)
Ojai (Ventura County)
Otay (San Diego County)
Pacoima (Los Angeles County)
Petaluma (Sonoma County)

Amongst others. It's pretty much all there in the above link. Many of these Native American names were Hispanicized, since they first came into contact with the Spanish first, giving the illusion that these are Spanish place names instead of Native American.

[Arm&Hammer]

Connecticut: From an Indian word (Quinneh-tuk-qut) meaning “beside the long tidal river”


Mohegan

Pequot

Nipmunks

Sequin

Tunxis

Poquonnuc

Podunk

Wangunk

Machimoodus

Hammonasset

Quinnipiac

Matabesec

Pootatuck

Weawaug

Unocwa

Siwanoy

Unquachog

Wampano

Naugatuck

Mohican (parts of north western coner of CT.. Mostly in New York)

Metoac

Niantic

Munsee (south western corner of CT.. mostly in New York)

[ironcouger]

Seattle, Tacoma

[Verseau]

Some aboriginal names in New Hampshire:

Ammonoosuc
Amoskeag
Androscoggin
Ashuelot
Chocorua
Cocheco
Contoocook
Coös
Kancamagus
Merrimack
Massabesic
Massasecum
Moosilauke
Monadnock
Nashua
Nubanusit
Opechee
Osceola
Ossipee
Passaconaway
Paugus
Pawtuckaway
Pemigewasset
Penacook
Piscataqua
Saco
Souhegan
Squam
Sunapee
Suncook
Umbagog
Wickwas
Winnipesaukee
Winnisquam
Wonalancet
Waukewan

[Jeromeville]

NY has two distinct types of Indian placenames - upstate ones are generally from Iroquois languages while downstate ones are from non-Iroquois.

There are different names which represent the same words, but are just transliterated differently. Hence, the need to stress to visitors that "Cayuga" and "Keuka" are two different lakes.

[wscottling]

It's not *my* state, but it's my current state of residence. Mississippi (state and river): from an Indian word meaning "Father of Waters."

Then there's the Natchez Trace where the Natchez highway gets its name which starts in Natchez, MS and goes to Tennessee.

And, according to this book "Biloxi. Tunica. Pascagoula. Yazoo. Tishomingo. Yalobusha. Tallahatchie. Itta Bena. Yockanookany. Bogue Chitto ... and hundreds of other place names of Native American origin are scattered across the map of Mississippi."

I'm pretty sure that Egypt and Starkville are not of Native American origin though...

[blkgiraffe]

Texas:

Anadarko
Anahuac
Angelina
Apache
Ayish
Bedias
Bois d'Arc
Bowles
Caddo
Cherokee
Comache
Delaware
Nacogdoches
Navasota
Quanah
Seminole
Shawnee
Tahoka
Tehuacana
Waco
Wichita

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by wscottling

It's not *my* state, but it's my current state of residence. Mississippi (state and river): from an Indian word meaning "Father of Waters."

Then there's the Natchez Trace where the Natchez highway gets its name which starts in Natchez, MS and goes to Tennessee.

And, according to this book "Biloxi. Tunica. Pascagoula. Yazoo. Tishomingo. Yalobusha. Tallahatchie. Itta Bena. Yockanookany. Bogue Chitto ... and hundreds of other place names of Native American origin are scattered across the map of Mississippi."

I'm pretty sure that Egypt and Starkville are not of Native American origin though...

Is "Tchoutacabouffa" an Indian name?

[chiatldal]

Originally Posted by blkgiraffe

Texas:

Anadarko
Anahuac
Angelina
Apache
Ayish
Bedias
Bois d'Arc
Bowles
Caddo
Cherokee
Comache
Delaware
Nacogdoches
Navasota
Quanah
Seminole
Shawnee
Tahoka
Tehuacana
Waco
Wichita

Isn't Waxahachie native American?

Also Watauga, Saginaw, West Tawakoni