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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.

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.

Counties

Some of Michigan's counties have names invented by the ethnologist Henry Schoolcraft, usually adapted from parts of Native American words, but sometimes having parts from Greek, Arabic and Latin roots.

Other settlements

Natural features

Bodies of water

Islands

Other

See also

References

Citations

Sources

  • Vogel, Virgil J. (1986). Indian Names in Michigan. University of Michigan Press. .