List of Michigan placenames of Native American origin
Many places throughout the state of Michigan take their names from Native American indigenous languages. This list includes counties, townships, and settlements whose names are derived from indigenous languages in Michigan.
![](../I/NW_Native_Tribes%252C_1792.png.webp)
Map of Native American populations of the Northwest Territory. Most of Michigan's Native American-derived place names come from the languages spoken in these groups.
The primary Native American languages in Michigan are Ojibwe, Odawa, and 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.
Municipalities
State
Michigan – derived from Ottawa "mishigami" meaning "large water" or "great water" in reference to the Great Lakes.[1][2]
- Village of Michigan Center
- Lake Michigan
Counties
- Alcona County – "the good plain".[3][4]
- Allegan County – "the front" or "the mound builders".[5][6][7]
- Alpena County – "the good partridge country".[8][9][10][11]
- Arenac County – "a sandy place for good footing".[12]
- Township of Arenac
- Cheboygan County – Ojibwe word "zhaabonigan" meaning "sewing needle" or "chabwegan" meaning "a place of ore".[13][14]
- City of Cheboygan
- Cheboygan River
- Cheboygan State Park
- Cheboygan Point
- Chippewa County – after the Ojibwe tribe.
- Chippewa Township in Chippewa County
- Chippewa Township in Isabella County
- Chippewa Township in Mecosta County
- Chippewa River
- Chippewa Nature Center
- Genesee County – Seneca word "jenishiyeh" meaning "beautiful valley".[15]
- Gogebic County – Native American word "agogibing" meaning "water-mold lake".[16]
- Huron County – named after the Huron people.
- Lake Huron
- Little Huron River
- Huron River (Lower Peninsula)
- Huron River (Upper Peninsula)
- Iosco County – "water light".
- Kalamazoo County – see Etymology of Kalamazoo.
- City of Kalamazoo
- Kalamazoo River
- Keweenaw County – Ojibwe word "gakiiwe-wewaning" meaning "portage" or "where portage is made".[17]
- Leelanau County – after a Native American woman in Schoolcraft's writings, meaning "delight of life".[18]
- Township of Leelanau
- Lenawee County – from the Shawnee word lenawai, meaning "man".[19][20]
- Mackinac County – Odawa word "michilimaciknac" meaning "great turtle", in reference to Mackinac Island.[21]
- Manistee County – originally called "ministigweyaa" in Ojibwe meaning "river with islands at its mouth".[22][23]
- City of Manistee
- Township of Manistee
- Little Manistee River
- Manistee River
- Manistee Lake
- Mecosta County – after Potawatomi chief Mecosta.
- Menominee County – after the Menominee people who inhabited the region.
- City of Menominee
- Menominee River
- Missaukee County – after Chief Nessaukee, which also means "large mouth of the river" in Odawa.[24][25]
- Muskegon County – after the Muskegon River, called "mashkig" by the Ojibwe, meaning "swamp" or "marsh".[26]
- Newaygo County – named either for an Ojibwe leader who signed the Saginaw Treaty of 1819 or for an Ojibwe word meaning "much water".
- City of Newaygo
- Ogemaw County – Ojibwe word "ogimaa" meaning "chief".[27]
- Township of Ogemaw
- Village of Ogemaw Springs
- Ontonagon County – from "nantounaging" meaning "my bowl is lost".[28]
- Village of Ontonagon
- Ontonagon Township
- Ontonagon River
- Osceola County – after Chief Osceola of the Seminole.
- Township of Osceola (Houghton County).
- Township of Osceola Township
- Oscoda County – from the Ojibwa words ossin and muskoda, meaning "prairie of pebbles".[26]
- Otsego County – Mohawk word meaning "clear water".[29]
- City of Otsego
- Township of Otsego
- Township of Otsego Lake
- Village of Otsego Lake
- Otsego Lake
- Ottawa County – after the Odawa (Ottawa) people who inhabited the region.
- Ottawa River
- Lake Ottawa
- Saginaw County – Ojibwe word "sagenong" meaning "place of the outlet".[30][31]
- City of Saginaw
- Saginaw River
- Sanilac County – Chief Sanilac of the Wyandot people.[32]
- Shiawassee County – from the Chippewa word "shia-was-see" meaning "the river straight ahead."[33]
- Township of Shiawassee
- Village of Shiawasseetown
- Shiawassee River
- Tuscola County – portmanteau of the Chippewa word "desakamigaa" ("flat land"), and the Latin word colonia ("colony").[34]
- Washtenaw County – Ojibwe word "washtenong" meaning "far away waters".[35]
Other settlements
- Ahmeek – Ojibwe word "amik" meaning "beaver".
- Bay de Noc
- Algonquin – named after the Algonquin people.
- Algonquin Lake
- Algonquin Lake (Barry County)
- Aloha
- Village of Aloha
- Assinins – from the Ojibwe word "asiniinsikaajiigibiig".
- Chesaning – Ojibwe word meaning "big rock place".
- Shared with the township of Chesaning.
- Chikaming – Indian word "chickaming" meaning "lake".[36]
- Cohoctah – Indian word meaning "many trees in water".[37]
- Cohoctah in Livingston County
- Dowagiac – Potawatomi word "dewje'og" meaning "fishing waters".[38]
- Escanaba – Ojibwe word meaning "land of the red buck" or "flat rock".[39][40]
- Township of Escanaba
- Escanaba River
- Hiawatha – after Hiawatha.
- Ishpeming – Ojibwe word "ishpiming" meaning "on air".[41]
- Juniata Township, Tuscola County – Iroquois word meaning "standing rock".
- Kalamo
- Village of Kalamo
- Kawkawlin – Ojibwe word "ogaakaaning" meaning "place of pike fish".[42]
- Village of Kawkawlin
- Kawkawlin River
- Kentucky – named after the state of Kentucky.
- Kenockee – Ojibwe word meaning "long-legged".[43]
- Mackinaw City – Odawa word "michilimackinac" meaning "land of the great snapping turtle".
- Township of Mackinaw
- Manistique – originally "Monistique", Indian word "onamanitikong" meaning "vermillion" or "yellow thunder" after the hue of the Manistique River.[44][45]
- Meauwataka – Potawatomi word meaning "halfway", as the location is about halfway between Lake Mitchell and the Manistee River.[46]
- Michigamme – Ojibwe word "mishigamaa" meaning "great water", also etymology for state of Michigan.[1][2]
- Munising – Ojibwe word "miinising" meaning "at the island".[47][48]
- Township of Munising
- Mohawk – named after the Mohawk people.
- Nahma – Ojibwe word "name" meaning "sturgeon".
- Naubinway – from an Ojibwe phrase naabinwe meaning "it echoes".[49]
- Shared with Naubinway Island.
- Neahtawanta – Odawa word "neahtawauta" meaning "placid waters".[50]
- Negaunee – Ojibwe word "nigani" meaning "pioneer".
- Township of Negaunee
- Nottawa – Algonquin word meaning "Iroquois".[51]
- Nottawa Township in Isabella County
- Nottawa Township in St. Joseph County
- Nottawa Creek
- Nottawa Lake
- Nunda – Seneca word meaning "where the valley meets the hill".
- Oceola – after Osceola, a Seminole chief.
- Ocqueoc
- 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".[52]
- Oneida – named after the Oneida people.
- Onekama – Ojibwe word "onigama" meaning "singing water".
- Township of Onekama Township, Michigan
- Onondaga – after the Onondaga people or Onondaga County, New York.
- Township of Onondaga
- Onota – after the Oneida people of nearby Wisconsin.
- Ontwa – after an Indian maiden who lived in Detroit.[53]
- Oshtemo – Potawatomi word meaning "headwaters".[54]
- Shared with the township of Oshtemo in Kalamazoo County.
- Ossineke – Indian word "zhingaabewasiniigigaabawaad" meaning "where the image stones stood".[55]
- Township of Ossineke
- Otisco – Indian word or unclear origin.[56]
- Owosso – after Chief Wasso of the Ojibwe.
- Pokagon
- Village of Pokagon
- Petoskey – Odawa word "petosega" meaning "where the sun shines through the clouds".[57]
- Pewamo – after Chief Pewamo.[58]
- Pinconning – Ojibwe word "opinikaaning" meaning "place of potatoes".[59][60]
- Pokagon – after Chief Pokagon of the Potawatomi.
- Ponshewaing – Indian word meaning "peaceful waters" or "winter home".[61]
- Pontiac – after Chief Pontiac of the Odawa.
- Quinnesec – Ojibwe word "bekweneseg" meaning "smoky".[62]
- Sagola – derived from the local Indian word for "welcome"
- Village of Sagola
- Sandusky – Wyandot word "saundustee" meaning "water".[63]
- Saranac – Abenaki word "zalônák:tégw" meaning "staghorn sumac cone river".[64]
- Saugatuck – Indian word "so'hktuk" meaning "river that pours out".[65]
- Township of Saugatuck
- Scio
- Township of Scio Township
- Sciota
- Sebewa – Indian word meaning "little creek".
- Village of Sebewa
- Sebewaing – Ojibwe wird "ziibiiweng" meaning "river place".
- Township of Sebewaing
- Sebewaing River
- Seneca – after the Seneca people.
- Township of Seneca
- Tamarack
- Tamarack River
- Tamarack Lake (Lower Peninsula)
- Tamarack Lake (Upper Peninsula)
- Tawas City – after Chief O-ta-was.
- City of East Tawas
- Township of Tawas
- Tawas River
- Tawas Lake
- Tecumseh – after Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee.[66][67]
- Tittabawassee
- Tekonsha – Potawatomi word "tekonsho" meaning "resembling caribou".
- Topinabee – after Chief Topinabee of the Potawatomi.[68]
- Tuscarora – after the Tuscarora people.
- Unadilla – Iroquois word meaning "meeting place".
- Wabaningo – after Wabiwindego of the Grand River Odawa.
- Wakeshma – Potawatomi word of unknown meaning.
- Waucedah – Ojibwe word meaning "talking stream".[69]
- Wawatam – after Wawatam, an Odawa chief.[70]
- Weesaw – after Chief Weesaw of the Potawatomi.[71]
- Wequetonsing – Odawa word meaning "at the head of the little bay".
- Wick-A-Te-Wah
- Wyoming – from the Munsee Delaware phrase xwé:wamənk, meaning "at the big river flat".[72]
- Zeba – Ojibwe word "ziibi" meaning "river".[73]
Natural features
Bodies of water
- Aginaw Lake
- Canada Creek
- Caribou Lake
- Chicago Lake
- Chicagon Lake
- Copneconic Lake
- Gogomain River
- Goguac Lake
- Hugaboom Lake
- Kanause Lake
- Kitch-iti-kipi
- Lake Chemung
- Lake Macatawa
- Shared with the Macatawa River.
- Lake Manitou
- Lake Michigan
- Lake Minnewauken
- Lake Mitigwaki
- Lake Nepessing
- Lake Ponemah
- Lake Skegemog
- Misteguay Creek
- Mitchigan River
- Munro Lake
- Munuscong Lake
- Little Munuscong River
- Munuscong River
- Munuscong Island
- Muskallonge Lake
- Nawakwa Lake
- Peshekee River
- Potagannissing River
- Quanicassee River
- Saganing River
- Sauk River
- Shinanguag Lake
- Shupac Lake
- Siskiwit Lake
- Siskiwit River
- Big Siskiwit River
- Little Siskiwit River
- Siskiwit Falls
- Tacoosh River
- Tahquamenon River
- Tahquamenon Falls
- Tahquamenon Island
- Tepee Lake
- Tioga River
- Tonawanda Lake
- Wabasis Lake
- Waiska River
- Wegwaas Lake
Islands
- Iyopawa Island
- Katechay Island
- Neebish Island – Ojibwe word "aniibiish" meaning "leaf".[74]
- Mamajuda Island
- Manitou Island
- North Manitou and South Manitou Islands in Lake Michigan
- Naomikong Island
- Ojibway Island
- Ojibway Island (Sagniaw River)
- Squaw Island
- Waugoshance Island
Other
- Muscamoot Ridge
See also
- List of place names in the United States of Native American origin
- List of place names in Canada of Indigenous origin
- List of Illinois placenames of Native American origin
- List of Indiana placenames of Native American origin
- List of Minnesota placenames of Native American origin
- List of Ohio placenames of Native American origin
- List of Wisconsin placenames of Native American origin
References
Citations
- "Freelang Ojibwe Dictionary".
- "Michigan in Brief: Information About the State of Michigan" (PDF). Michigan.gov. Retrieved November 28, 2006.
- "Bibliography on Alcona County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- Powers, p. 94
- Romig, Walter (1986). Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-1838-6.
- Vogel, Virgil J. (1986). Indian Names in Michigan. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. pp. 244, 8 B&W photographs & 3 maps. ISBN 978-0-472-06365-9.
- Powers, Perry F. (1912). A History of Northern Michigan and Its People. Vol. 3. Chicago: Lewis Publishing – via Google Books.
- "Bibliography on Alpena County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- Romig, Walter (1986). 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. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. 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 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.
- "Bibliography on Cheboygan County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
- Skenandoah (December 1847). "Letters on the Iroquois". The American Review: A Whig Journal of Politics, Literature, Art and Science. Vol. 6, no. 6. New York: George H. Colton. pp. 626–630 – via Google Books.
- Kelton, Dwight H. (1884). Annals of Fort Mackinac. Library of Congress. pp. 146–147.
- "Bibliography on Keweenaw County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- "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
- "Bibliography on Mackinac County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
- County place names Archived March 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- "Manistee County, Michigan". 50-State Learning Resource Guide. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. 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.
- Michigan History, Arts and Libraries on sources of County names.
- "Bibliography on Ogemaw County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
- "Ontonagon River Assessment" (PDF).
- Otsego County history page. Archived February 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- "Clarke Home - Central Michigan University". cmich.edu.
- Michigan Counties. DNR. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
- Michigan government on origin of county names
- Han, Lila; Society, Shiawassee County Historical (May 15, 1987). "Echoes of Yesteryears: Bennington and Shiawassee Townships". Crest – via Google Books.
- Henry R. Schoolcraft (1855). Information Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States. p. 624. ISBN 9780665404498.
- Richmond, Rebecca L. (1907). "The Fur Traders of the Grand River Valley". Publications of the Historical Society of Grand Rapids. Vol. 1, no. 2. pp. 35–47. Retrieved January 23, 2013 – via Google Books. Ojibwe etymology of the word: Wash-ten-ong".
- "Origins - Old Place Names". Berrien County Genealogical Society. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- "Welcome to Cohoctah Township". www.cohoctahtownship.org. Retrieved August 31, 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.
- "Ojibwe-English translation :: Ishpiming :: Dictionary".
- R., L. N.; Stevens, James (September 1932). "The Saginaw Paul Bunyan". The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 19 (2): 309. doi:10.2307/1891506. ISSN 0161-391X. JSTOR 1891506.
- "Geocaching with NaviCache - Cache Details: K is for Kenockee". www.navicache.com. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- "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.
- Ettawageshik, Frank (December 4, 2015). "Old Indian Trail – Cadillac to Traverse City". Cadillac, Michigan Travel and Tourism Blog - Northern Michigan Outdoor Recreation Blog. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- "Profile for Munising, Michigan, MI". ePodunk. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- "Ojibwe People's Dictionary, "minis"". University of Minnesota. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
- Exploring The North (2021). "Upper Peninsula Lighthouses Open to the Public on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior". Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- Walters, Christine. "Grand Traverse County Michigan History & Genealogy". genealogytrails.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- "The History of Wasaga Beach" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2014.
- Campbell, Mike. "User-submitted name Onawa". Behind the Name. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- "History of Ontwa connected with natives - Leader Publications". Leader Publications. October 30, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- "About Oshtemo | Oshtemo Township". www.oshtemo.org. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- A History of the Place Names of Alpena County
- Beauchamp, William Martin (1907). "Aboriginal Place Names of New York". New York State Museum Bulletin. Vol. 108. New York State Education Department. pp. 148–149. ISBN 9781404751552. Retrieved June 6, 2015 – via Google Books.
- Vogel (1986), p. 45-46.
- 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. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
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ignored (help) - Day, pp. 248-249.
- "SAUGATUCK". navy.memorieshop.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- "Tecumseh". ePodunk. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. 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. ISBN 9780226201481.
- Vogel (1986), p. 127.
- "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
- "Berrien County Genealogical Society - Origins - Old Place Names". bcgensoc.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- Bright (2004), p. 576.
- 100 Years of History: L'Anse/Skanee Centennial. Ishpeming, Michigan: Baraga County Historical Society Pageant Division. 1971.
- Bright (2004), p. 120.
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