- Native Americans -
States with Native American Names
Did you know that about half of America's states owe their names to Native American origin?
- Alabama – Named for the Alibamu, a tribe whose name derives from a Choctaw phrase meaning "thicket-clearers" or "plant-cutters" (from albah, "(medicinal) plants", and amo, "to clear"). The modern Choctaw name for the tribe is Albaamu.
- Alaska – Alaxsxix, which is a name from the Aleut language. This name means "place the sea crashes against."
- Arizona – Arizonac, which is a Spanish corruption of a local Indian name-- possibly the Tohono O'odham word alishonag, which means "little spring."
- Arkansas – from the Illinois rendering of the tribal autonym kką:ze (see Kansas, below), which the Miami and Illinois used to refer to the Quapaw.
- Connecticut – Quinnitukqut, which is the Mohegan Indian name for the Connecticut River. Literally the name means "long river."
- Illinois – liniwek, which is the tribal name of the Illini tribe. Literally the name means "best people."
- Iowa – Ayuhwa, which is one of the tribal names of the Ioway Indian tribe. Literally the name means "sleepy ones."
- Kansas – Kansa, which is the name of the Kansa Indian tribe. Literally the name means "south" and is a shortened form of their own tribal name for themselves, People of the South Wind.
- Kentucky – Kentake, which is an Iroquois placename meaning "meadow land."
- Massachusetts – from an Algonquian language of southern New England, It is a Wampanoag Indian name meaning "by the range of hills."
- Michigan – from Ottawa mishigami, "large water" or "large lake".
- Minnesota – Mnisota, which is the native name of the Minnesota River in the Dakota Sioux language. Literally the name means "cloudy water."
- Mississippi – from an Algonquian language, probably Ojibwe, meaning "greatriver"
- Missouri – Missouria is the name of an Indian tribe native to the state. Their tribal name came from the word mihsoori, which means "big canoe people."
- Nebraska – Nibthaska or Nibrathka, which are the native names for the Platte River in the Omaha-Ponca and Otoe languages. Both names mean "flat river."
- New Mexico – the name "Mexico" comes from Nahuatl Mēxihco. It literally means "city of the Aztecs."
- North and South Dakota – dakhóta comes from the Sioux word for "friend" or "ally".
- Ohio – from Seneca ohi:yo’, "beautiful river".
- Oklahoma – invented by Chief Allen Wright as a rough translation of "Indian Territory"; in Choctaw, okla means "people", "tribe", or "nation", and homa- means "red", thus: "Red people"
- Tennessee – Derived from the name of a Cherokee village, Tanasi.
- Texas – ultimately from Caddo táyshaʔ, "friend".
- Utah –Derived from the Ute Indian word “Yuta” meaning “people who live high in the mountains.”
- Wisconsin – originally "Mescousing", from an Algonquian language, most likely from the Miami word Meskonsing meaning "it lies red". (c.f. Ojibwe miskosin).
- Wyoming – from Munsee Delaware xwé:wamənk, "at the big river flat".
