List of place names of Native American origin in Michigan
Many places throughout the state of Michigan take their names from Native American indigenous languages. This list includes counties, townships, & settlements whose names are derived from indigenous languages in Michigan. The primary Native American languages in Michigan are Ojibwe, Odawa, & Potawatomi, all of which are dialects of Algonquin. Some other places names in Michigan are found to be derived from Sauk, Oneida, Wyandot, Abenaki, Shawnee, Mohawk, Seneca, Seminole, Iroquois, and Delaware, although many of these tribes are not found in Michigan.
The name of Michigan itself is derived from Ottawa "mishigami" meaning "large water" or "great water" in reference to the Great Lakes.[1][2]
Counties
- Cheboygan County – Ojibwe word "zhaabonigan" meaning "sewing needle" or "chabwegan" meaning "a place of ore".[3][4]
- Chippewa County – after the Ojibwe tribe.
- Genesee County – Seneca word "jenishiyeh" meaning "beautiful valley"[5]
- Gogebic County – either Ojibwe word "bic" meaning rock, or after Lake Agogebic, later Lake Gogebic.[6][7]
- Kalamazoo County – see Etymology of Kalamazoo.
- Keweenaw County – Ojibwe word "gakiiwe-wewaning" meaning "portage" or "where portage is made".[8]
- Mackinac County – Odawa word "michilimaciknac" meaning "great turtle", in reference to Mackinac Island.[9]
- Manistee County – after the Manistee River, originally called "ministigweyaa" in Ojibwe meaning "river with islands at its mouth".[10][11]
- Mecosta County – after Potawatomi chief Mecosta.
- Menominee County – after the Menominee people who inhabited the region.
- Missaukee County – after Chief Nessaukee, which also means "large mouth of the river" in Odawa.[12][13]
- Muskegon County – after the Muskegon River, called "mashkig" by the Ojibwe, meaning "swamp" or "marsh".[14]
- Newaygo County – named either for an Ojibwe leader who signed the Saginaw Treaty of 1819 or for a Ojibwe word meaning "much water".
- Ogemaw County – Ojibwe word "ogimaa" meaning "chief"[15]
- Ontonagon County – after the Ontonagon River, called "nantounaging" meaning "my bowl is lost"[16]
- Osceola County – after Chief Osceola of the Seminole.
- Otsego County – Mohawk word meaning "clear water".[17]
- Ottawa County – after the Odawa (Ottawa) people who inhabited the region.
- Saginaw County – Ojibwe word "sagenong" meaning "place of the outlet".[18][19]
- Sanilac County – Chief Sanilac of the Wyandot people.[20]
- Washtenaw County – Ojibwe word "washtenong" meaning "far away waters".[21]
Schoolcraft neologisms
Ten counties in Michigan have names created by Henry Schoolcraft, who combined Native American words with roots from Greek, Arabic, and Latin. Schoolcraft's made-up words have disputed sources.[22] While he was a devotee of Native American words and culture, some of his words may have originated with tribes from other areas of the country, such as New York or the Northeast, from which many settlers to Michigan came from. Real Native words were eradicated, and he substituted made-up words, sometimes with a kernel of Indian language or sound in them.[23][24][25] Below are the ten counties with names Schoolcraft has created and their meanings:
- Alcona County – "the good plain"[26][27]
- Allegan County – "the front" or "the mound builders"
- Alpena County – "the good partridge country".[28][29][30][31]
- Arenac County – "a sandy place for good footing".[32]
- Iosco County – Unknown Meaning
- Kalkaska County – after Schoolcraft's family name, Calcraft (K's added later).[33]
- Leelanau County – after a Native American woman in Schoolcraft's writings, meaning "delight of life".[34]
- Lenawee County – "man".[35][36]
- Oscoda County – "pebbly prairie".[14]
- Tuscola County – "flat lands".[37]
Former county names
Many counties in Central and Northern Michigan have former names that were either Native Americans or Schoolcraft neologisms. Below are these former county names derived from Native American languages:
- Aischum County – Indian word with unknown origin, possibly neologism.
- Kanotin County – Indian word with unknown origin, possibly neologism.
- Kautawbet County – Potawatomi expression meaning "broken tooth".[38]
- Kaykakee County – Indian word with unknown origin, possibly neologism.
- Keskkauko County – After Chief Resh-kanko of the Ojibwe.[39][40]
- Mikenauk County – Indian word with unknown origin, possibly neologism.
- Meegisee County – Ojibwe word meaning "eagle".[38]
- Negwegon County – Ojibwe word meaning "little wing".[41]
- Notipeskago County – Indian word with unknown origin, possibly neologism.
- Okkuddo County – Indian word meaning "sickly water".
- Omeena County – Ojibwe expression "o-me-nah" meaning "is that so?".
- Shawano County – Ojibwe word "zhaawanong" meaning "southern".[42]
- Tonedagana County – Indian word with unknown origin, possibly neologism.
- Unwattin County – after Chief Unwattin of the local Ottawa people.[38][43]
- Wabbassee County – Indian word with unknown origin, possibly neologism.
- Wyandot County – after the Wyandot people.
Townships
Below are the townships in Michigan whose names are derived from Native American words. The counties whose names are derived from counties, settlements, or geographical features are not listed here.
- Onota Township, Alger County – after the Oneida people of nearby Wisconsin.
- Chikaming Township, Berrien County – Indian word "chickaming" meaning "lake"[44]
- Weesaw Township, Berrien County – after Chief Weesaw of the Potawatomi.[45]
- Ontwa Township, Cass County – after an Indian maiden who lived in Detroit.[46]
- Nunda Township, Cheboygan County – Seneca word meaning "where the valley meets the hill".
- Tuscarora Township, Cheboygan County – after the Tuscarora people.
- Waucedah Township, Dickinson County – Ojibwe word meaning "talking stream".[47]
- Oneida Township, Eaton County – after the Oneida people.
- Wawatam Township, Emmet County – after Wawatam, an Odawa chief.[48]
- Osceola Township, Houghton County – after Osceola, a Seminole chief.
- Onondaga Township, Ingham County – after the Onondaga people or Onondaga County, New York.
- Otisco Township, Ionia County – Indian word or unclear origin.[49]
- Sebewa Township, Ionia County – Indian word meaning "little creek".
- Chippewa Township, Isabella County – after the Isabella Chippewa Indian Reservation.
- Nottawa Township, Isabella County – Algonquin word meaning "Iroquois".[50]
- Oshtemo Township, Kalamazoo County – Potawatomi word meaning "headwaters".[51]
- Wakeshma Township, Kalamazoo County – Potawatomi word of unknown meaning.
- Seneca Township, Lenawee County – after the Seneca people.
- Cohoctah Township, Livingston County – Indian word meaning "many trees in water".[52]
- Oceola Township, Livingston County – after Osceola, a Seminole chief.
- Unadilla Township, Livingston County – Iroquois word meaning "meeting place".
- Chippewa Township, Mecosta County – after the Ojibwe people in the area.
- Kenockee Township, St. Clair County – Ojibwe word meaning "long-legged".[53]
- Nottawa Township, St. Joseph County – Algonquin word meaning "Iroquois".[50]
- Delaware Township, Sanilac County – after the Delaware people.
- Hiawatha Township, Schoolcraft County – after Hiawatha.
- Juniata Township, Tuscola County – Iroquois word meaning "standing rock".
Settlements
- Ahmeek – Ojibwe word "amik" meaning "beaver".
- Cheboygan – Ojibwe word "zhaabonigan" meaning "sewing needle" or "chabwegan" meaning "a place of ore".[3][4]
- Chesaning – Ojibwe word meaning "big rock place".
- Cohoctah – Indian word meaning "many trees in water".[52]
- Dowagiac – Potawatomi word "dewje'og" meaning "fishing waters".[54]
- Escanaba – Ojibwe word meaning "land of the red buck" or "flat rock".[55][56]
- Ishpeming – Ojibwe word "ishpiming" meaning "on air".[57]
- Kalamazoo – see Etymology of Kalamazoo
- Kawkawlin – Ojibwe word "ogohcawning" meaning "place of pike fish".[58]
- Mackinac Island, Mackinaw City – Odawa word "michilimackinac" meaning "land of the great snapping turtle".
- Manistee – after the Manistee River, originally called "ministigweyaa" in Ojibwe meaning "river with islands at its mouth".[10][11]
- Manistique – originally "Monistique", Indian word "onamanitikong" meaning "vermillion" or "yellow thunder" after the hue of the Manistique River.[59][60]
- Menominee – after the Menominee people who inhabited the area.
- Michigamme – Ojibwe word "mishigamaa" meaning "great water", also etymology for state of Michigan.[1][2]
- Munising – Ojibwe word "miinising" meaning "at the island".[61][62]
- Muskegon – after the Muskegon River, called "mashkig" by the Ojibwe, meaning "swamp" or "marsh".[14]
- Nahma – Ojibwe word "nami" meaning "sturgeon".
- Neahtawanta – Odawa word "neahtawauta" meaning "placid waters".[63]
- Negaunee – Ojibwe word "nigani" meaning "pioneer".
- Newaygo – named either for an Ojibwe leader who signed the Saginaw Treaty of 1819 or for a Ojibwe word meaning "much water".
- Nottawa – Algonquin word meaning "Iroquois".[50]
- Okemos – Ojibwe word "ogimaa" meaning "chief", also etymology of Ogemaw County.
- Omena – Ojibwe expression "o-me-nah" meaning "is that so?".
- Onaway – Indian word "onawa" meaning "awake".[64]
- Onekama – Ojibwe word "onigama" meaning "singing water".
- Onondaga – after the Onondaga people or Onondaga County, New York
- Ontonagon – after the Ontonagon River, called "nantounaging" meaning "my bowl is lost"[16]
- Oshtemo – Potawatomi word meaning "headwaters".[51]
- Ossineke – Indian word "zhingaabewasiniigigaabawaad" meaning "where the image stones stood".[65]
- Otsego – Mohawk word meaning "clear water".[17]
- Owosso – after Chief Wasso of the Ojibwe.[66]
- Petoskey – Odawa word "petosega" meaning "where the sun shines through the clouds".[67]
- Pewamo – after Chief Pewamo.[68]
- Pinconning – Ojibwe word "opinikaaning" meaning "place of potatoes".[69][70]
- Pokagon – after Chief Pokagon of the Potawatomi.
- Ponshewaing – Indian word meaning "peaceful waters" or "winter home".[71]
- Pontiac – after Chief Pontiac of the Odawa.
- Quinnesec – Ojibwe word "bekweneseg" meaning "smoky".[72]
- Saginaw – Ojibwe word "sagenong" meaning "place of outlet"[18][19]
- Sandusky – Wyandot word "saundustee" meaning "water"[73]
- Saranac – Abenaki word "zalônák:tégw" meaning "staghorn sumac cone river".[74]
- Saugatuck – Indian word "so'hktuk" meaning "river that pours out".[75]
- Sebewaing – Ojibwe wird "ziibiiweng" meaning "river place".
- Seneca – after the Seneca people.
- Tawas City and East Tawas – after Chief O-ta-was
- Tecumseh – after Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee.[76][77]
- Tekonsha – Potawatomi word "tekonsho" meaning "resembling caribou".
- Topinabee – after Chief Topinabee of the Potawatomi.[78]
- Wabaningo – Indian word of unknown origin.
- Wequetonsing – Odawa word meaning "at the head of the little bay".
- Zeba – Ojibwe word "ziibi" meaning "river"[79]
References
- 1 2 "Freelang Ojibwe Dictionary".
- 1 2 "Michigan in Brief: Information About the State of Michigan" (PDF). Michigan.gov. Retrieved November 28, 2006.
- 1 2 Michigan County names per the Michigan government. Archived July 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Compare History of the name "Sheboygan" Archived June 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. and List of Michigan county name etymologies.
- 1 2 "Bibliography on Cheboygan County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
- ↑ THE AMERICAN REVIEW; A WHIG JOURNAL DEVOTED TO POLITICS, LITERATURE, ART AND SCIENCE. VOL. VI NEW-YORK: GEORGE H. COLTON, 118 NASSAU STREET, Published 1847, Wiley and Putnam, p. 628.
- ↑ "Michigan Counties" from the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Archived July 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Bibliography on Gogebic County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Bibliography on Keweenaw County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Bibliography on Mackinac County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
- 1 2 County place names Archived March 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- 1 2 "Manistee County, Michigan". 50-State Learning Resource Guide. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
- ↑ Michigan History, Arts and Libraries on sources of County names. Archived March 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Missaukee County, Michigan". infomi.com.
- 1 2 3 Michigan History, Arts and Libraries on sources of County names.
- ↑ "Bibliography on Ogemaw County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
- 1 2 "Ontonagon River Assessment" (PDF).
- 1 2 Otsego County history page. Archived February 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- 1 2 "Clarke Home - Central Michigan University". cmich.edu.
- 1 2 Michigan Counties. DNR. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
- ↑ Michigan government on origin of county names
- ↑ Publications of the Historical Society of Grand Rapids, Vol. 1, Parts 1-7. 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2013. Ojibwe etymology of the word: Wash-ten-ong".
- ↑ Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Bibliography by county and region, including origin of county names
- ↑ Romig, Walter; Massie, Larry B (Designer) (1986). Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-1838-6.
- ↑ Vogel, Virgil J. (1986). Indian Names in Michigan. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. pp. 244, 8 B&W photographs & 3 maps. ISBN 978-0-472-06365-9.
- ↑ Powers, Perry F.; Cutler, H.G., assisting (1912). A History of Northern Michigan and its People. at Google books
- ↑ "Bibliography on Alcona County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- ↑ Powers, p. 94
- ↑ "Bibliography on Alpena County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- ↑ Romig, Walter (October 1, 1986) [1973]. Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities. Great Lakes Books Series (Paperback). Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 081431838X. ISBN 978-0814318386.
- ↑ Herron, Catherine (1962). Herron, Nelson R., ed. "A History of the Place Names of Alpena County". Wilderness Chronicle (published 1991–1992) (19–21). Archived from the original on July 15, 2004.
- ↑ "Michigan government on place names". Archived from the original on July 28, 2009. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
- ↑ "Arenac County Michigan History Information". outdoor-michigan.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010.
- ↑ Michigan History, County Names.
- ↑ "Bibliography on Leelanau County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
- ↑ "Bibliography on Lenawee County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
- ↑ Michigan History, Arts and Libraries on sources of County names. Archived July 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Henry R. Schoolcraft (1855). Information Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States:. p. 624.
- 1 2 3 Newberry Library. "Michigan: Individual County Chronologies". Atlas of County Historical Boundaries. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- ↑ Pioneer Collections, Volume 1. Report of the Pioneer Society of the State of Michigan. 1900 / 1876. p. 213. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ accessed September 3, 2016 Cutcheon, Henry Munson Utley Cutcheon M. (2013). pp. 270-1. Michigan As a Province, Territory and State, the Twenty-Sixth Member of the Federal Union (Vol. 3). London: Forgotten Books, as pdf pp. 287-8. (Original work published 1906).
- ↑ Newberry Library. "Michigan: Individual County Chronologies". Atlas of County Historical Boundaries. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- ↑ "Term: Shawano County (origin of place name)", Dictionary of Wisconsin History.
- ↑ <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border:0px" src="https://books.google.com/books?id=_idCAQAAMAAJ&lpg=PA794&ots=dMCWAImynK&dq=unwattin%20indian&pg=PA468&output=embed" width=500 height=500></iframe>
- ↑ "Origins - Old Place Names". Berrien County Genealogical Society. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ↑ "Berrien County Genealogical Society - Origins - Old Place Names". bcgensoc.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ↑ "History of Ontwa connected with natives - Leader Publications". Leader Publications. October 30, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- ↑ "townwauceda". genealogytrails.com. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- ↑ Cleland, Charles E., Rites of Conquest: The History and Culture of Michigan's Native Americans (The University of Michigan Press, 1992) p.138
- ↑ Beauchamp, William Martin (1907). Aboriginal Place Names of New York (New York State Museum Bulletin, Volume 108). New York State Education Department. pp. 148–149. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
- 1 2 3 Archives/THE HISTORY OF WASAGA BEACH.pdf "The History of Wasaga Beach" Check
|url=value (help) (PDF). - 1 2 "About Oshtemo | Oshtemo Township". www.oshtemo.org. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- 1 2 "Welcome to Cohoctah Township". www.cohoctahtownship.org. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ↑ "Geocaching with NaviCache - Cache Details: K is for Kenockee". www.navicache.com. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- ↑ Howard S. Rogers (1875). History of Cass County, from 1825 to 1875. W.H. Mansfield, Vigilant Book and Job Print. p. 113.
- ↑ "Escanaba Michigan History". Retrieved March 19, 2018.
- ↑ "Escanaba | Michigan, United States". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
- ↑ http://www.translateojibwe.com/en/dictionary-ojibwe-english/ishpiming
- ↑ R., L. N.; Stevens, James (1932-09). "The Saginaw Paul Bunyan". The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 19 (2): 309. doi:10.2307/1891506. ISSN 0161-391X. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "ID Not Found Lighthouse". LighthouseFriends. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ↑ "The Naming of the Ossawinamakee | Schoolcraft County Historical Society". Schoolcraft County Historical Society. June 4, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ↑ "Profile for Munising, Michigan, MI". ePodunk. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- ↑ "Ojibwe People's Dictionary, "minis"". University of Minnesota. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
- ↑ Walters, Christine. "Grand Traverse County Michigan History & Genealogy". genealogytrails.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ↑ Campbell, Mike. "User-submitted name Onawa". Behind the Name. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ↑ A History of the Place Names of Alpena County
- ↑ "Owosso, Michigan". City Data. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
- ↑ Vogel, Virgil J. (1986). Indian Names in Michigan, pp. 45–46. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-06365-0.
- ↑ Pewamo, Village of. "History". villageofpewamo.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ↑ Pinconning Township Main Page http://bjmi.us/bay/pinconning/index.html
- ↑ "City of Pinconning—Cheese Capital of Michigan: History".
- ↑ "Historic Community of Ponshewaing". Michigan Water Trails. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ↑ Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 116.
- ↑ Johnston, John (1858). Vocabularies of the Shawanoese and Wyandott Languages, etc. Wyandot.org. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ↑ Day, pp. 248-249.
- ↑ "SAUGATUCK". navy.memorieshop.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ↑ "Tecumseh". ePodunk. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
- ↑ Elliott, Michael A. (2008). Custerology: The Enduring Legacy of the Indian Wars and George Armstrong Custer. University of Chicago Press. p. 75.
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=T5d5wS7so14C&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=topinabee+%2B+1881&source=bl&ots=VbLdtZRosy&sig=dgvZyN7LDgAZurzFzV6XLWfomx4&hl=en&ei=Fa81Su3jIZ_cM_aOlJ4K&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7
- ↑ 100 Years of History: L'Anse/Skanee Centennial. Ishpeming, Michigan: Baraga County Historical Society Pageant Division. 1971.
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