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List of Alabama placenames of Native American origin

February 15, 2024

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Many places throughout Alabama take their names from the languages of the indigenous Native American/American Indian tribes. The following list includes settlements, geographic features, and political subdivisions whose names are derived from these indigenous languages. The primary Native American peoples present in Alabama during historical times included the Alibamu, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Koasati, and the lower and upper Muscogee (Creeks).[1]

With the exception of the Cherokee, all of the historical Alabama tribes speak Muskogean languages. There are competing classification systems, but the traditionally accepted usage divides the dialects into Eastern Muskogean (Alibamu, Koasatia, and Muscogee) and Western Muskogean (Chickasaw and Choctaw).[2] The Cherokee language belongs to the separate Iroquoian language family.[3]

Listings edit

State edit

  • Alabama – named for the Alibamu, a tribe whose name derives from a Choctaw phrase meaning "thicket-clearers"[4] or "plant-cutters" (from albah, "(medicinal) plants", and amo, "to clear").[5]

Counties edit

Settlements edit

Bodies of water edit

Other edit

See also edit

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n William A. Read (1994). "Southeastern Indian Place Names in what is now Alabama" (PDF). Indian Place Names in Alabama. Alabama Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  2. ^ Hardy, Heather; Scancarelli, Janine (2005). Native Languages of the Southeastern United States. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 69–71.
  3. ^ Mithun, Marianne (1999). The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7.
  4. ^ "Alabama: The State Name". Alabama Department of Archives and History. from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  5. ^ Bright (2004), p. 29.
  6. ^ Owen & Owen (1921), p. 77.
  7. ^ Gannett (1902), p. 70.
  8. ^ a b Gannett (1902), p. 73.
  9. ^ Bright (2004), p. 118.
  10. ^ Bright (2004), p. 120.
  11. ^ Bright (2004), p. 148.
  12. ^ Bright (2004), p. 291.
  13. ^ a b Owen & Owen (1921), p. 1291.
  14. ^ Hudson, Charles M. (1997). Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun. University of Georgia Press. pp. 230–232.
  15. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Arbacoochee
  16. ^ Bright (2004), p. 68-69.
  17. ^ Bright (2004), p. 70.
  18. ^ Owen & Owen (1921), p. 189.
  19. ^ Read (1984), p. 15.
  20. ^ Gannett (1902), p. 71.
  21. ^ Bright (2004), p. 129.
  22. ^ Read (1984), p. 31.
  23. ^ Bright (2004), p. 149.
  24. ^ Read (1984), p. 42.
  25. ^ Owen & Owen (1921), p. 1066.
  26. ^ Read (1984), p. 47.
  27. ^ Bright (2004), p. 344.
  28. ^ Bright (2004), p. 352.
  29. ^ Bright (2004), p. 368.
  30. ^ Foscue, Virginia (1989). Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. p. 112. ISBN 0-8173-0410-X.
  31. ^ Bright (2004), p. 468.
  32. ^ Bright (2004), p. 475.
  33. ^ Bright (2004), p. 488.
  34. ^ Read (1984), p. 67.
  35. ^ Bright (2004), p. 525.
  36. ^ Read (1984), p. 74.
  37. ^ Bright (2004), p. 559.
  38. ^ Read (1984), p. 77.
  39. ^ Bright (2004), p. 74.
  40. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Chattahoochee River
  41. ^ Bright (2004), p. 90.
  42. ^ Bright (2004), p. 257.
  43. ^ Byington, Cyrus (1909). Choctaw Language Dictionary. Global Bible Society.
  44. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Sea Warrior Creek
  45. ^ Bright (2004), p. 431.
  46. ^ Bright (2004), p. 463.
  47. ^ Rufus Ward (February 27, 2010). "Tombigbee River: What does it mean?". The Commercial Dispatch. The Columbus Lowndes Public Library. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  48. ^ Bright (2004), p. 558.

Sources edit

  • Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 080613576X.
  • Gannett, Henry (1902). The origin of certain place names in the United States, Volume 8, Issue 197. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 70. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
  • Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 27. from the original on 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
  • Owen, Thomas McAdory; Owen, Marie Bankhead (1921). History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume 1. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company.
  • Read, William A. (1984). Indian Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. p. 15. ISBN 0-8173-0231-X.

February 15, 2024
list, alabama, placenames, native, american, origin, this, dynamic, list, never, able, satisfy, particular, standards, completeness, help, adding, missing, items, with, reliable, sources, many, places, throughout, alabama, take, their, names, from, languages, . This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources Many places throughout Alabama take their names from the languages of the indigenous Native American American Indian tribes The following list includes settlements geographic features and political subdivisions whose names are derived from these indigenous languages The primary Native American peoples present in Alabama during historical times included the Alibamu Cherokee Chickasaw Choctaw Koasati and the lower and upper Muscogee Creeks 1 With the exception of the Cherokee all of the historical Alabama tribes speak Muskogean languages There are competing classification systems but the traditionally accepted usage divides the dialects into Eastern Muskogean Alibamu Koasatia and Muscogee and Western Muskogean Chickasaw and Choctaw 2 The Cherokee language belongs to the separate Iroquoian language family 3 Contents 1 Listings 1 1 State 1 2 Counties 1 3 Settlements 1 4 Bodies of water 1 5 Other 2 See also 3 References 3 1 Citations 3 2 SourcesListings editState edit Alabama named for the Alibamu a tribe whose name derives from a Choctaw phrase meaning thicket clearers 4 or plant cutters from albah medicinal plants and amo to clear 5 Alabama RiverCounties edit Autauga County from the Alibamu phrase atagi meaning pure water 6 Cherokee County named after the Cherokee people 7 Shared with the town of Cherokee Choctaw County named after the Choctaw people 8 Conecuh County from the Muscogee phrase koha anaka meaning near Canebrake 9 Shared with the Conecuh River Coosa County from the Choctaw phrase koshak meaning cane 10 Shared with the Coosa River Escambia County from the Choctaw phrase oski ambeha meaning the cane therein 1 Etowah County likely from an extinct Cherokee settlement named Etiwaw 11 Mobile County named after a Native American tribe perhaps from Choctaw moeli meaning to row or to paddle 12 Shared with the city of Mobile the Mobile Bay and the Mobile River Talladega County derived from the Muscogee phrase italua atigi meaning town on the border 13 Shared with the cities of Talladega and Talladega Springs Tallapoosa County from the Choctaw words tali rock and pushi pulverized Shared with the Tallapoosa River Tuscaloosa County derived from Muskogean words tashka warrior and lusa black Chief Tuskaloosa is remembered for leading a battle against Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto in southern Alabama in 1540 14 Shared with the city of Tuscaloosa Settlements edit Arbacoochee from the Muskogean phrase abihkuchi meaning a pile at the base 15 Attalla from the Cherokee word otali meaning mountain 1 Bashi from the Choctaw phrase bachaya meaning line or row Bogue Chitto from the Choctaw phrase book chito meaning big creek 16 Boligee from the Choctaw phrase boolitusha meaning to strike and cut into pieces 17 Cahaba from the Choctaw phrase oka uba meaning water from above 18 Shared with the Cahaba River Chewacla from the Hitchiti phrase sawackla meaning raccoon village 19 Shared with Chewacla State Park Chickasaw named for the Chickasaw tribe 20 Coosada named for the Coushatta tribe Cusseta a Muscogee tribal town 21 Eastaboga Alabama from Muscogee este person ak in water a low place pokv from the work vpoketv to sit live Escatawpa from the Choctaw phrase eskatawpa meaning the place where cane is cut 22 Shared with the Escatawpa River Eufaula from the Muscogee yofalv the name of a tribal town Eutaw possibly from the Cherokee Etiwaw and its earlier form iitaawaa long leafed pine tree 23 Kahatchie from the Muscogee koha hachi cane creek 1 Letohatchee from the Muscogee li ito fachita those who make arrows straight 1 Loachapoka from the Muscogee loca poga where the turtles live sit from the words Loca and vpoketv 1 Lubbub and Lubbub Creek from the Choctaw word lahba which means warm 24 Nanafalia from the Choctaw words nanih hill and falaiya long 25 Notasulga from the Muscogee noti sulgi many teeth 1 Oakmulgee from the Hitchiti word ockmulgee which means bubbling water with oki meaning water and mulgi meaning boiling 26 Ohatchee possibly from the Muscogee oh hacci upper stream 27 Oneonta possibly from the Iroquoian oneyota protruding stone 28 Opelika from the Muscogee opilwa lako big swamp 1 Panola from Choctaw word ponola or ponoola cotton 29 Pintlala from the Muscogee phrase pithlohalata meaning dragging a canoe 30 Shared with the nearby Pintlala Creek Sylacauga from the Muscogee words sule buzzard and kake sitting 31 Talladega Talladega County and Talladega Springs talladega is derived from the Muscogee words italua town and atigi at the end on the border 13 Tallahatta Springs adaptation of Choctaw words tali rock and hata silver white 32 Tallapoosa County and Tallapoosa River from the Choctaw words tali rock and pushi pulverized 1 Tallassee from the Muscogee talwa hasi old town 1 Tensaw and Tensaw River Etymology is unclear May be related to the Natchez teansa 33 Tibbie a shortened form of the Choctaw word oakibbeha Oakibbeha means blocks of ice therein with okti meaning ice and the plural form abeha meaning to be in 34 Tuscumbia from the Choctaw words tashka warrior and abi killer 1 Tuskegee from the Koasati phrase tasquiqui meaning warriors 35 Uchee named after the Yuchi people whose name roughly translates to mean sitting at a distance 36 Shared with the Uchee Creek Wedowee a given name possibly Muskogean for water sumac 37 Weogufka from Creek wi water plus ogufki muddy also Creek Indian for the Mississippi 38 Wetumpka from the Muscogee phrase wewau tumcau meaning rumbling water 1 Bodies of water edit Buttahatchee River from the Choctaw words bati sumac and hahcha river 39 Chattahoochee River from the Muskogean words chato rock and huchi marked 40 Chattooga River may derive from the Cherokee word jitaaga chicken or Muscogee cato rock 41 Choctawhatchee River Choctaw word hacha river and the name for the tribe literally the River of the Choctaws 8 Luxapallila Creek from Choctaw words luksi a balali turtles crawl there 42 Noxubee River derived from Choctaw word nakshobi to stink 43 Quilby Creek creek in Sumter County Name derived from the Choctaw language purported to mean creek where the panther was killed Sea Warrior Creek creek in Choctaw County Sea Warrior is the result of a name corrupted from the Choctaw language Isawaya 44 purported to mean crouching deer Sepulga River possibly from the Muscogee svwokle a tribal town 45 Sipsey River from the Choctaw word sipsi cottonwood 1 Sucarnoochee River probably from the Choctaw words shokha hog and hachcha stream 46 Tensaw River Tombigbee River from the Choctaw words Itte ombee eye ika abee wooden box making river 47 Waxahatchee Creek from the Muscogee wakse a clan name and hacci stream 48 Other edit Cheaha Mountain derived from the Choctaw word chaha meaning high 1 See also editList of place names in the United States of Native American originReferences editCitations edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n William A Read 1994 Southeastern Indian Place Names in what is now Alabama PDF Indian Place Names in Alabama Alabama Department of Archives and History Retrieved 8 April 2011 Hardy Heather Scancarelli Janine 2005 Native Languages of the Southeastern United States Lincoln NE University of Nebraska Press pp 69 71 Mithun Marianne 1999 The Languages of Native North America Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 23228 7 Alabama The State Name Alabama Department of Archives and History Archived from the original on 2019 06 06 Retrieved 2007 02 24 Bright 2004 p 29 Owen amp Owen 1921 p 77 Gannett 1902 p 70 a b Gannett 1902 p 73 Bright 2004 p 118 Bright 2004 p 120 Bright 2004 p 148 Bright 2004 p 291 a b Owen amp Owen 1921 p 1291 Hudson Charles M 1997 Knights of Spain Warriors of the Sun University of Georgia Press pp 230 232 U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Arbacoochee Bright 2004 p 68 69 Bright 2004 p 70 Owen amp Owen 1921 p 189 Read 1984 p 15 Gannett 1902 p 71 Bright 2004 p 129 Read 1984 p 31 Bright 2004 p 149 Read 1984 p 42 Owen amp Owen 1921 p 1066 Read 1984 p 47 Bright 2004 p 344 Bright 2004 p 352 Bright 2004 p 368 Foscue Virginia 1989 Place Names in Alabama Tuscaloosa The University of Alabama Press p 112 ISBN 0 8173 0410 X Bright 2004 p 468 Bright 2004 p 475 Bright 2004 p 488 Read 1984 p 67 Bright 2004 p 525 Read 1984 p 74 Bright 2004 p 559 Read 1984 p 77 Bright 2004 p 74 U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Chattahoochee River Bright 2004 p 90 Bright 2004 p 257 Byington Cyrus 1909 Choctaw Language Dictionary Global Bible Society U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Sea Warrior Creek Bright 2004 p 431 Bright 2004 p 463 Rufus Ward February 27 2010 Tombigbee River What does it mean The Commercial Dispatch The Columbus Lowndes Public Library Retrieved 8 April 2011 Bright 2004 p 558 Sources edit Bright William 2004 Native American Placenames of the United States Norman University of Oklahoma Press ISBN 080613576X Gannett Henry 1902 The origin of certain place names in the United States Volume 8 Issue 197 Washington D C Government Printing Office p 70 Retrieved April 8 2011 Gannett Henry 1905 The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States U S Government Printing Office p 27 Archived from the original on 2020 08 10 Retrieved 2018 08 09 Owen Thomas McAdory Owen Marie Bankhead 1921 History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography Volume 1 Chicago S J Clarke Publishing Company Read William A 1984 Indian Place Names in Alabama Tuscaloosa The University of Alabama Press p 15 ISBN 0 8173 0231 X Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title List of Alabama placenames of Native American origin amp oldid 1165721420, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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