List of Indiana placenames of Native American origin facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Indiana is a state in the United States. Many places in Indiana get their names from the languages of Native American people. These names can be found on rivers, lakes, counties, townships, and towns. Some names were changed a little to sound more English (this is called anglicized). Others were simply translated into English or French.

The main Native American languages in Indiana are Miami-Illinois and Potawatomi. Most of the place names on this list come from these two languages. Other names come from languages like Kickapoo, Shawnee, and the Delaware languages Munsee and Unami. All these languages are part of a larger group called Algonquian languages.

Sometimes, places were named after Native American leaders, even if those leaders weren't from Indiana. For example, Osceola and Wanatah were named by settlers to honor Seminole and Dakota leaders. The name "Indiana" itself means "land of the Indians" or "Indian Land."

Native American Tribes of Indiana
Places with Native American Names
See also

Native American Tribes of Indiana

Many different Native American tribes lived in or moved through the area that is now Indiana. Here are some of them:

Miami
Wea – The Wea people spoke a language similar to Miami-Illinois.
Piankeshaw – The Piankeshaw people are part of the Miami Indians.
Potawatomi – The Potawatomi call themselves Neshnabé.
Kickapoo – The Kickapoo people also speak an Algonquian language.
Mascouten
Shawnee – They arrived in the area after 1794.
Delaware – They arrived after 1818.

Places with Native American Names

This section lists places in Indiana that have names from Native American languages or people.

Names Starting with A

Anderson

Anderson was named after a Delaware leader named Chief William Anderson. He lived in the area.

Aubbeenaubbee

Aubbeenaubbee was an important Potawatomi leader. He lived near Lake Maxinkuckee. He helped with important talks for the 1826 Treaty of Mississinewas. He was born in 1760.

Aubbeenaubbee Township, Fulton County, Indiana is named after him.
There was also a Potawatomi village called Aubenaubee in Elkhart County.
The Aub-ben-naub-Bee Reserve was a special land area near Lake Maxinkuckee.

Names Starting with B

Baugo

Baugo is a shorter version of "Baubaugo." Some local historians say this is a Potawatomi word. It might mean "devil" or "devil river." This name likely came from how strong its floods could be.

Baugo Creek is in Elkhart County.
Baugo Township, Elkhart County, Indiana is also named Baugo.

Names Starting with C

Cayuga

Cayuga, Indiana, in Vermillion County, is named after Cayuga, New York. Cayuga, New York, got its name from the Cayuga people.

Cedar Creek

Cedar Creek (Indiana) is a translation of the Potawatomi name mskwawak-zibə.

Names Starting with D

Delaware

Delaware is named for the Delaware people. They moved to central Indiana in the late 1700s.

Delaware County, Indiana is named after them.

Names Starting with E

Elkhart

Elkhart comes from "Elks-heart." This is a translation of the Potawatomi word mzewəodeʔig. That word was borrowed from the Miami-Illinois word mihšiiwiateehi, which also means "elk's heart." The name has been around since at least the mid-1700s.

Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart County, Indiana
Elkhart Township, Noble County, Indiana
Elkhart River

Eel River

Eel River (White River tributary) is a translation of the Miami-Illinois name kineepikomeekwa siipiiwi. This name might have referred to a group of Miami people called "Eels." They once lived along the Eel River.

Erie Township

Erie Township, Miami County, Indiana is named for the Erie people. They originally lived in the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York areas.

Names Starting with F

Fish Lake

Fish Lake, Indiana is a translation of kiteepihkwanonki. This means "at the buffalo fish." It probably came through the French name Lac Tipiconeau, which means "buffalo fish lake."

Names Starting with H

Huron

Huron, Indiana is named after Huron, Ohio. That name comes from the Huron people.

Names Starting with I

Iroquois

The Iroquois Confederation was a powerful group of Native American tribes. They traveled and fought in Indiana and Illinois during the Beaver Wars. In 1680, a French explorer named La Salle called the meeting point of the Kankakee and Iroquois rivers La Fourche des Iroquois. This means "the Forks of the Iroquois." It probably showed a connection between that spot and an Iroquois attack in 1680.

Iroquois River was named after these "Forks of the Iroquois" in 1683.
Iroquois Township, Newton County, Indiana is named for the Iroquois River.

Names Starting with K

Kankakee River

The Kankakee River gets its name from a Miami-Illinois word, teeyaahkiki. This word means "open country" or "land exposed to view." It refers to the area's past as a large marsh.

Kewanna

Kewanna is named for Kee-Wau-Nay, a Potawatomi chief. His name means "prairie chicken." In modern Potawatomi, it is written giwani.

Kokomo

Kokomo likely comes from the Miami-Illinois personal name mahkookima. This name means "bear chief."

Kokomo, Indiana
Indiana University Kokomo

Names Starting with M

Maumee River

The Maumee River was also known as the "Miami" in old treaties. Its name is an English spelling of the Ottawa or Odawa name for the Miami people, (o)maamii. An Odawa village was once near the mouth of the Maumee River in Ohio. The Miami people, in turn, called this river the "Odawa river" (taawaawa siipiwi).

Lake Maxinkuckee

Lake Maxinkuckee comes from the Miami-Illinois term meenkahsenahkiki. This means "it is big-stone country." The Potawatomi version of the name, recorded by Jacob Piatt Dunn, seems to be borrowed from Miami-Illinois.

Metea

Metea is named for the Potawatomi warrior and leader Metea (1778–1827). His name in Potawatomi means "to sulk."

Miami

Miami is named for the Miami. They are a Native American group. Many Miami people still live in this area today.

Michigan

Michigan comes from French. It was borrowed from names meaning "great water" in one or more Algonquian languages. The Old Potawatomi word *mesigam likely had a strong influence.

Mississinewa River

The Mississinewa River gets its name from the Miami-Illinois name for this river, nimačihsinwi. This means "it lies on an incline."

Mishawaka

Mishawaka comes from Potawatomi and Miami-Illinois place names. These names mean "firewood-tree land." This refers to the many dead trees that once stood in the area.

Mongo

Mongo is a shorter version of Mongoquinong. This name comes from maankwahkionka, which means "in the loon land." This was the name of one of the Miami leaders who signed the 1840 Treaty of the Wabash.

Monon

Monon first appeared on maps as the name of Big Monon Creek. This creek flows into the Tippecanoe River. The creek's name was also known as Metamonoung and Old Woman's River in the early 1800s. The name might come from an Old Potawatomi term, mdamənəg, meaning "at the corn." This might have been a Potawatomi way of saying the Kickapoo place name metemooheki, which means "at the old woman's place." The Kickapoo people lived near this creek in the 1700s.

Monon Bell
Monon, Indiana
Monon Township, White County, Indiana
The Monon Railroad was named because people wrongly thought "monong" meant "swift running" or "carry" in Potawatomi.
Monon Trail

Muncie

Muncie was originally called Munsee Town. It was named after the Munsee Delaware people. Their name comes from the Munsee word mənʼsi·w.

Names Starting with N

Nappanee

Nappanee, Indiana is named after Napanee, Ontario in Canada. That name comes from the Napanee River (originally Appenee), but its exact meaning is not clear.

Names Starting with O

Ohio River

The Ohio River gets its name from the Seneca language, Ohi:yo'. This means "Good River."

Osceola

Osceola, Indiana was named after Osceola, a famous leader of the Seminole people.

Ouiatenon

Ouiatenon (in Miami-Illinois: waayaahtanonki) was a place where members of the Wea tribe lived.

Fort Ouiatenon is located along the Wabash River.

Names Starting with P

Patoka River

The Patoka River likely comes from the Miami-Illinois word paatohka, which means "Comanche." This word appears as a personal name in some old records. It might also come from the Munsee word péhtakəw, meaning "it thunders." This could refer to a noisy waterfall near Jasper, Indiana.

Pottawattamie Park

Pottawattamie Park, Indiana is named for the Potawatomi people. They lived in this area when settlers arrived.

Names Starting with S

Salamonie

Salamonie comes from the Miami-Illinois word oonsaalamooni. This means "yellow ocher." It referred to either a yellow mineral or a plant called bloodroot that grew along the Salamonie River.

Salamonie River
Salamonie Township, Huntington County, Indiana is named for the Salamonie River.

Shawnee

Shawnee is named after the Shawnee people.

Shawnee Township, Fountain County, Indiana

Shipshewana

Shipshewana is named after Potawatomi Chief Shipshewana.

Names Starting with T

Tippecanoe

Tippecanoe comes from the Miami-Illinois word for buffalo fish. This word is thought to be *kiteepihkwana.

Tippecanoe County, Indiana
Tippecanoe Lake, in Kosciusko County.
Tippecanoe River
Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana is named for Tippecanoe River.
Tippecanoe Township, Carroll County, Indiana is named for Tippecanoe River.
Tippecanoe Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana is named for Tippecanoe River.

Trail Creek

Trail Creek is a translation of the Potawatomi name myewes-zibiwe. It might have come through the French name Rivière du Chemin.

Trail Creek (Lake Michigan)
Trail Creek, Indiana is named after the creek.

Names Starting with V

Vermillion

Vermillion was likely translated from the Piankashaw (Miami-Illinois) word *oonsaalamooni. This means "yellow ocher" or a mineral called limonite. It probably came through the French phrase le grand vermillon jaune, meaning "the big yellow ocher [river]."

Vermilion River (also spelled Vermillion)
Vermillion County, Indiana is named after the river.
Vermillion Township, Vermillion County, Indiana is named after the river.

Names Starting with W

Wabash

Wabash is named after the Wabash River. Its name comes from a Miami Indian word, waapaahšiiki. This word means "it shines white," "pure white," or "water over white stones."

Wabash, Indiana
Wabash County, Indiana
Wabash Township, Fountain County, Indiana is named for the Wabash River.
Wabash Township, Jay County, Indiana is named for the Wabash River.
Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana is named for Wabash River.

Wakarusa

Wakarusa, Indiana is named after the Wakarusa River in Kansas.

Wanatah

Wanatah is named after the Dakota chief Wanata. His name means "He who Charges His Enemies" or "The Charger."

Wapahani

Wapahani was once thought to be the Delaware name for the White River. However, it's actually a mix of two Unami language words that don't quite fit together. A native Unami speaker described it as "a made-up word."

Wapahani High School

Lake Wawasee

Lake Wawasee is named for Miami chief Wawasee (Wau-wuh-see). He was the brother of Miami chief Papakeecha, whose name means "Flat Belly."

Wea

Wea comes from the Miami-speaking group of Native Americans. They lived along the Wabash River near Lafayette, Indiana. The French spelling of their name is Oui. You can see this in Ouiatenon above.

Wea Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana

White River

White River (Indiana) is a translation of the Miami-Illinois word waapikaminki. This means "at the white waters." It might refer to the fast-moving water (rapids) at Broad Ripple.

Winamac

Winamac, Indiana is named for Winamac, a Potawatomi chief. His name is said to mean "catfish."

Wyandot or Wyandotte

Wyandot or Wyandotte comes from the Wyandot people. They were also known as the Huron.

Wyandot, Indiana
Wyandotte Cave
Wyandotte, Indiana took its name from Wyandotte Cave.

Names Starting with Y

Yellow River

Yellow River (Indiana) is a translation of the Miami-Illinois name oonsasiipi ("yellow river") or the Potawatomi name wezawgəməg ("at the yellow water").