Many places throughout the state of Indiana take their names from Native American indigenous languages. This list includes rivers, lakes, counties, townships and towns. Some of the names have been anglicized, while others have been translated into English or French.
The primary Native American languages in Indiana are
Miami-Illinois and
Potawatomi; the largest number of place names on this list are from these two languages. Some place names are derived from other native languages, such as
Kickapoo,
Shawnee, and the Delaware languages
Munsee and
Unami. These are all
Algonquian languages.
This list also includes names of ultimate Native American origin even if they were not used by Native Americans as place names in Indiana, such as Osceola and Wanatah, which were named by white settlers in honor of Seminole and Dakota leaders respectively.
The name of Indiana means 'land of the Indians' or "Indian Land."[1]
Baugo is a shortening of "Baubaugo", which is claimed by some local historians to be a Potawatomi word meaning "devil" or "devil river", referring to the intensity of its floods.[7][8]
Elkhart - from "Elks-heart", translation of Potawatomi mzewəodeʔig ("at the elk heart"), borrowed in turn from
Miami-Illinoismihšiiwiateehi ("elk's heart").[12] The name dates to at least the mid-18th century but may be considerably older.[13]
Eel River (White River tributary) is a translation of the Miami-Illinois kineepikomeekwa siipiiwi, which may have referred to a historic band of Miami known as "Eels" who at one time lived on the Eel River.[14]
Iroquois - During the
Beaver Wars the
Iroquois Confederation campaigned in Indiana and Illinois. In 1680,
La Salle labeled the confluence of the Kankakee and Iroquois rivers as La Fourche des Iroquois ("the Forks of the Iroquois"), likely indicating some association between that spot and the Iroquois raid on the
Grand Kaskaskia Village in 1680.[17]
Kankakee River - From a Miami-Illinois word teeyaahkiki, meaning: "Open country/exposed land/land in open/land exposed to view", in reference to the area's prior status as a marsh.[19]
Kewanna - Named for Kee-Wau-Nay, a Potawatomi chief.[20] The name means "
prairie chicken",[21] and in modern Potawatomi is written giwani.[22]
Kokomo - Probably borrowed from the Miami-Illinois personal name mahkookima ("bear chief").[23]
The
Maumee River, historically also known as the "Miami" in United States treaties with Native Americans, is an anglicized spelling of the Ottawa or
Odawa name for the Miami people, (o)maamii.[24] An Odawa village was located near the mouth of the Maumee in present-day Ohio. The Miami in their turn called the river the "Odawa river" taawaawa siipiwi.[25]
Lake Maxinkuckee is from the Miami-Illinois term meenkahsenahkiki ("it is big-stone country").[26] The Potawatomi version of the name was recorded by
Jacob Piatt Dunn as Mŏgsĭ́nkiki, which appears to be a borrowing from Miami-Illinois, as it does not correspond to any known Potawatomi words.[26]
Metea is named for the Potawatomi warrior and leader
Metea (1778–1827), whose name in Potawatomi means "to sulk".[27]
Miami - named for the
Miami, a
Native American people, many of whom still live in this area.[28]
Michigan, borrowed via French from names meaning "great water" in one or more
Algonquian languages, likely with particularly heavy influence from Old Potawatomi *mesigam.[29]
Mississinewa River - from the Miami-Illinois name for this river, nimačihsinwi ("it lies on an incline").[30][31]
Mishawaka - from Potawatomi and Miami-Illinois placenames meaning "firewood-tree land", referring to the large number of standing dead trees in the area.[13]
Mongo - shortened from Mongoquinong, representing maankwahkionka ("in the loon land"), which was the name of one of the Miami signatories of the 1840
Treaty of the Wabash.[32]
Monon first landed on the map as the name of Big Monon Creek, a tributary of the
Tippecanoe River. The creek's name is also recorded in early 19th-century sources as Metamonoung and Old Woman's River.[33] The name may derive from the Old Potawatomi term mdamənəg ("at the corn", modern Potawatomi mdamnəg), which may have been a Potawatomi re-analysis of the
Kickapoo place name metemooheki ("at the old woman's place").[34] The Kickapoo lived in the area near the creek in the 18th century.[34]
Patoka River is likely from the Miami-Illinois word paatohka, "Comanche", which appears as a personal name in some historical records.[39] It may also be from the
Munseepéhtakəw ("it thunders"), referring to the noisy waterfall at
Jasper, Indiana.[39]
Salamonie is from the
Miami-Illinoisoonsaalamooni ("yellow ocher"), which referred either to
limonite or to the
bloodroot plant that grew along the Salamonie River.[40][41][42]
Vermillion - Likely translated from Piankashaw (Miami-Illinois) *oonsaalamooni ("yellow ocher" or
limonite) via French le grand vermillon jaune ("the big yellow ocher [river]").[51]
Wabash - Named after the Wabash River, from a
Miami Indian word, waapaahšiiki, meaning "it shines white", "pure white", or "water over white stones"[52]
Wanatah - named after the
Dakota chief
Wanata, meaning "He who Charges His Enemies" or "The Charger".[57]
Wapahani was once believed to be the Delaware name for the White River, but is actually an ungrammatical combination of two
Unami language words, and was described by a native speaker of Unami as "a made-up word".[3]
Wea is from the Miami speaking group of native peoples living along the
Wabash River around
Lafayette, Indiana. The French spelling is Oui, see
Ouiatenon above.
White River (Indiana) is a translation of the Miami-Illinois waapikaminki ("at the white waters"), possibly a reference to the rapids at
Broad Ripple.[60]
^Hodgin, Cyrus (1903). "The Naming of Indiana" (PDF transcription). Papers of the Wayne County, Indiana, Historical Society. 1 (1): 3–11. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
^Tanner, Helen Horbeck; Cartography by Miklos Pinther; Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History, The Civilizations of American Indian Series, The Newberry Library; University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, (27th printing);1987
^McCafferty, Michael (April 29, 2018). "Native American Place Names of Indiana". University of Illinois Press. Retrieved April 29, 2018 – via Google Books.
^McDonald, Daniel (1908). A Twentieth Century History of Marshall County, Indiana (
https://book s.google.com/books?id=w0PWAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA36). Lewis Publishing Company. p. 36
^Jyoti A. Verderame (2021).
"Monon Trail". Retrieved 2023-05-06.
^C.C. James (1905).
"The Origin of 'Napanee'"(PDF). Papers and Records. 6. Ontario Historical Society: 47–49.
^Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States (
https://books.google. com/books?id=5XfxzCm1qa4C&pg=PA344). University of Oklahoma Press. p. 344.
ISBN978-0-8061-3598-4. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
Many places throughout the state of Indiana take their names from Native American indigenous languages. This list includes rivers, lakes, counties, townships and towns. Some of the names have been anglicized, while others have been translated into English or French.
The primary Native American languages in Indiana are
Miami-Illinois and
Potawatomi; the largest number of place names on this list are from these two languages. Some place names are derived from other native languages, such as
Kickapoo,
Shawnee, and the Delaware languages
Munsee and
Unami. These are all
Algonquian languages.
This list also includes names of ultimate Native American origin even if they were not used by Native Americans as place names in Indiana, such as Osceola and Wanatah, which were named by white settlers in honor of Seminole and Dakota leaders respectively.
The name of Indiana means 'land of the Indians' or "Indian Land."[1]
Baugo is a shortening of "Baubaugo", which is claimed by some local historians to be a Potawatomi word meaning "devil" or "devil river", referring to the intensity of its floods.[7][8]
Elkhart - from "Elks-heart", translation of Potawatomi mzewəodeʔig ("at the elk heart"), borrowed in turn from
Miami-Illinoismihšiiwiateehi ("elk's heart").[12] The name dates to at least the mid-18th century but may be considerably older.[13]
Eel River (White River tributary) is a translation of the Miami-Illinois kineepikomeekwa siipiiwi, which may have referred to a historic band of Miami known as "Eels" who at one time lived on the Eel River.[14]
Iroquois - During the
Beaver Wars the
Iroquois Confederation campaigned in Indiana and Illinois. In 1680,
La Salle labeled the confluence of the Kankakee and Iroquois rivers as La Fourche des Iroquois ("the Forks of the Iroquois"), likely indicating some association between that spot and the Iroquois raid on the
Grand Kaskaskia Village in 1680.[17]
Kankakee River - From a Miami-Illinois word teeyaahkiki, meaning: "Open country/exposed land/land in open/land exposed to view", in reference to the area's prior status as a marsh.[19]
Kewanna - Named for Kee-Wau-Nay, a Potawatomi chief.[20] The name means "
prairie chicken",[21] and in modern Potawatomi is written giwani.[22]
Kokomo - Probably borrowed from the Miami-Illinois personal name mahkookima ("bear chief").[23]
The
Maumee River, historically also known as the "Miami" in United States treaties with Native Americans, is an anglicized spelling of the Ottawa or
Odawa name for the Miami people, (o)maamii.[24] An Odawa village was located near the mouth of the Maumee in present-day Ohio. The Miami in their turn called the river the "Odawa river" taawaawa siipiwi.[25]
Lake Maxinkuckee is from the Miami-Illinois term meenkahsenahkiki ("it is big-stone country").[26] The Potawatomi version of the name was recorded by
Jacob Piatt Dunn as Mŏgsĭ́nkiki, which appears to be a borrowing from Miami-Illinois, as it does not correspond to any known Potawatomi words.[26]
Metea is named for the Potawatomi warrior and leader
Metea (1778–1827), whose name in Potawatomi means "to sulk".[27]
Miami - named for the
Miami, a
Native American people, many of whom still live in this area.[28]
Michigan, borrowed via French from names meaning "great water" in one or more
Algonquian languages, likely with particularly heavy influence from Old Potawatomi *mesigam.[29]
Mississinewa River - from the Miami-Illinois name for this river, nimačihsinwi ("it lies on an incline").[30][31]
Mishawaka - from Potawatomi and Miami-Illinois placenames meaning "firewood-tree land", referring to the large number of standing dead trees in the area.[13]
Mongo - shortened from Mongoquinong, representing maankwahkionka ("in the loon land"), which was the name of one of the Miami signatories of the 1840
Treaty of the Wabash.[32]
Monon first landed on the map as the name of Big Monon Creek, a tributary of the
Tippecanoe River. The creek's name is also recorded in early 19th-century sources as Metamonoung and Old Woman's River.[33] The name may derive from the Old Potawatomi term mdamənəg ("at the corn", modern Potawatomi mdamnəg), which may have been a Potawatomi re-analysis of the
Kickapoo place name metemooheki ("at the old woman's place").[34] The Kickapoo lived in the area near the creek in the 18th century.[34]
Patoka River is likely from the Miami-Illinois word paatohka, "Comanche", which appears as a personal name in some historical records.[39] It may also be from the
Munseepéhtakəw ("it thunders"), referring to the noisy waterfall at
Jasper, Indiana.[39]
Salamonie is from the
Miami-Illinoisoonsaalamooni ("yellow ocher"), which referred either to
limonite or to the
bloodroot plant that grew along the Salamonie River.[40][41][42]
Vermillion - Likely translated from Piankashaw (Miami-Illinois) *oonsaalamooni ("yellow ocher" or
limonite) via French le grand vermillon jaune ("the big yellow ocher [river]").[51]
Wabash - Named after the Wabash River, from a
Miami Indian word, waapaahšiiki, meaning "it shines white", "pure white", or "water over white stones"[52]
Wanatah - named after the
Dakota chief
Wanata, meaning "He who Charges His Enemies" or "The Charger".[57]
Wapahani was once believed to be the Delaware name for the White River, but is actually an ungrammatical combination of two
Unami language words, and was described by a native speaker of Unami as "a made-up word".[3]
Wea is from the Miami speaking group of native peoples living along the
Wabash River around
Lafayette, Indiana. The French spelling is Oui, see
Ouiatenon above.
White River (Indiana) is a translation of the Miami-Illinois waapikaminki ("at the white waters"), possibly a reference to the rapids at
Broad Ripple.[60]
^Hodgin, Cyrus (1903). "The Naming of Indiana" (PDF transcription). Papers of the Wayne County, Indiana, Historical Society. 1 (1): 3–11. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
^Tanner, Helen Horbeck; Cartography by Miklos Pinther; Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History, The Civilizations of American Indian Series, The Newberry Library; University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, (27th printing);1987
^McCafferty, Michael (April 29, 2018). "Native American Place Names of Indiana". University of Illinois Press. Retrieved April 29, 2018 – via Google Books.
^McDonald, Daniel (1908). A Twentieth Century History of Marshall County, Indiana (
https://book s.google.com/books?id=w0PWAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA36). Lewis Publishing Company. p. 36
^Jyoti A. Verderame (2021).
"Monon Trail". Retrieved 2023-05-06.
^C.C. James (1905).
"The Origin of 'Napanee'"(PDF). Papers and Records. 6. Ontario Historical Society: 47–49.
^Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States (
https://books.google. com/books?id=5XfxzCm1qa4C&pg=PA344). University of Oklahoma Press. p. 344.
ISBN978-0-8061-3598-4. Retrieved April 11, 2011.