List of Ohio placenames of Native American origin facts for kids
Many places in the state of Ohio have names that come from the languages of Native American tribes. These names often describe the land, rivers, or important features of the area, or they honor the people who lived there long ago. Learning about these names helps us understand the rich history and culture of Ohio's first inhabitants.
Contents
Ohio's Native American Place Names
State Names
- Ohio – The name of our state comes from the Seneca language. The word ohi:yo’ means "beautiful river."
- Ohio River – This important river shares its name with the state, meaning "beautiful river."
County Names
- Ashtabula County – This name comes from the Lenape language. Ashtepihəle means 'always enough fish to share' or 'a place where fish were always plentiful.'
- City of Ashtabula
- Ashtabula River
- Coshocton County – This name comes from the Unami language, a dialect of Lenape. Koshaxkink means 'where there is a river crossing,' suggesting a place where people often crossed the river.
- Cuyahoga County – The name originally came from the Mohawk language. Cayagaga means 'crooked river,' likely describing the winding path of the Cuyahoga River.
- Erie County – This county is named after the Erie people, a Native American tribe who lived near Lake Erie.
- Geauga County – From the Onondaga language jyo’ä·gak or Seneca language jo’ä·ka’, meaning 'raccoon.' It was originally the name for the Grand River.
- Hocking County – Named after the Hocking River, which has a Native American origin.
- Licking County – Named after the Licking River, which was likely named for salt licks that attracted animals.
- Mahoning County – From the Shawnee language Mshkikwam, meaning 'swampy ground.'
- Miami County – Named after the Miami people, a Native American tribe.
- Muskingum County – From the Shawnee language Mshkikwam, meaning 'swampy ground' or 'earth of the swamp.'
- Ottawa County – Named after the Ottawa people, a Native American tribe.
- Pickaway County – Named after the Pekowi, one of the main groups of the Shawnee people.
- Sandusky County – From the Wyandot language saandusti, meaning 'water within water-pools' or 'cold water.'
- City of Sandusky
- Sandusky Bay
- Sandusky River
- Scioto County – From the Wyandot language skɛnǫ·tǫ’, meaning 'deer.'
- Seneca County – Named after the Seneca people, a Native American tribe.
- Tuscarawas County – Named after the Tuscarora people, an Iroquoian tribe who once had a settlement along the river.
- Wyandot County – Named after the Wyandot people, a Native American tribe.
Town and City Names
- Catawba Island – Named after the Catawba people, a Native American tribe from North Carolina.
- Chickasaw – Named after the Chickasaw people, a Native American tribe from Kentucky and Tennessee.
- Chillicothe – From the Shawnee language. Chalakatha was the name of one of the main groups of the Shawnee.
- Chippewa Lake – Named after the Ojibwe people, also known as Chippewa.
- Choctaw Lake – Named after the Choctaw people, a Native American tribe from Mississippi.
- Conneaut – This name has Native American origins, likely referring to a place with many fish.
- Guyan – A shortened version of the French name for the Guyandotte, an Iroquoian Native American tribe from West Virginia.
- Metamora – This name comes from a play about a Native American leader from the Wampanoag people of New England.
- Mingo Junction – "Mingo" is a common nickname for the Ohio Seneca people. It comes from Mingwe, a name the Lenape people used for the related Susquehannock Indians.
- Mississinawa – From the Miami language nimacihsinwi, meaning "it lies on a slope," referring to a river tributary.
- Montezuma – Named after Moctezuma II, who was the last great leader (Tlatoani) of the Aztec Empire.
- Nimishillen – From the Lenape language, possibly meaning 'waters of the black alder' (a type of tree).
- Ontario – Named after Lake Ontario. The word comes from the Huron language and means 'lake.'
- Pataskala – This name has Lenape language origins, though its exact meaning is not fully known.
- Piqua – From the Shawnee language Pekowi, the name of one of the five main groups of the Shawnee.
- Pusheta – Named after a local Shawnee Chief.
- Pusheta Creek
- Powhatan Point – Named after the Powhatan people, an Algonquian tribe from Virginia.
- Shawnee – Named directly for the Shawnee people.
- Shawnee Hills (Greene County)
- Shawnee Hills (Delaware County)
- Texas – Named for the state of Texas, which gets its name from taysha in the Caddoan languages, meaning 'friend.'
- Tontogany – Named after a local Chief, most likely of Wyandot language origin.
- Tymochtee – From the Wyandot language, said to mean 'stream around the plains.'
- Wabash – Named after the Wabash people, a Native American tribe from Indiana.
- Wapakoneta – From the Shawnee language Wa·po’kanite, meaning 'Place of White Bones.'
- Wauseon – Named after a Chief among the Potawatomi people, from the Odawa language.
Rivers and Lakes
- Kinnikinnick Creek – This name comes from Algonquian languages. It refers to a plant called kinnikinnick (also known as bearberry), which Native American tribes used for various purposes.
- Kokosing River – From the Lenape language Gokhos + -ing, which generally translates to "Owl, here."
- Lake Erie – Named after the Erie people, a Native American tribe.
- Lake Mohawk – Named after the Mohawk people, a tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy.
- Mahoning River – From the Lenape language. It may mean "upon here is a deer lick" or "there is the path."
- Mahoning Valley
- Maumee River – "Maumee" is a nickname or different spelling for the Miami people.
- Mohican River – Named after the Mohican people, an Algonquian tribe from New York.
- Olentangy River – From the Lenape language, said to mean 'river of red paint.'
- Pymatuning Lake – From the Lenape language, possibly meaning 'sweating oneself' or 'where facilities for sweating oneself are located,' perhaps referring to a type of lodge.
- Shenango River – From the Seneca language gesho:ne:gwa:h, which means something like "It's right behind me."
- Walhonding River – This name comes from the Lenape language, but its exact meaning is not fully known.
See also
- List of place names in the United States of Native American origin
- List of placenames of indigenous origin in the Americas
- List of Indiana placenames of Native American origin
- List of Michigan placenames of Native American origin
- List of place names of Native American origin in Pennsylvania
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List of Ohio placenames of Native American origin Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.