This is a list of Native American place names in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. These include state, county, townships, cities, towns, and villages.

State

* Nebraska - The name of the state is derived from an Omaha name meaning "flat water." In the

Omaha language Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

the name is Nibthaska; ni, water, and bthaska, flat.

Counties

* Red Willow - From the Dakota name "Caŋṡaṡa Wakpala", which literally means

Red Osier Dogwood ''Cornus sericea'', the red osier or red-osier dogwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cornaceae, native to much of North America. It has sometimes been considered a synonym of the Asian species '' Cornus alba''. Other names inclu ...

Creek; this shrub being abundant along its banks. *

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, ...

Keya Paha County, Nebraska Keya Paha County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 824. Its county seat is Springview. In the Nebraska license plate system, Keya Paha County is represented by the prefix 82 ...

* Loup - Named for the

Skidi The Skidi or Skiri, also known as the Wolf Pawnee or the French Loup Pawnee, are a band of Pawnee people. According to tradition in earlier times, the Skidi were associated with the Arikara before the Arikara moved northward. The Skidi language wa ...

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska ...

, whose name means "wolf", which in French is loup. * Nemaha *

Otoe The Otoe (Chiwere: Jiwére) are a Native American people of the Midwestern United States. The Otoe language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family and closely related to that of the related Iowa, Missouria, and Ho-Chunk tribes. Historically, t ...

* Sioux * Keya Paha - Means "turtle hill", is descriptive of the small hills in its vicinity.

Villages, towns and cities

* Anoka - A Dakota Indian word meaning "on both sides." *

Arapahoe The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...

* Birdwood - A translation of the Dakota name ''Ziŋtka-c̣aŋ Wakpala'' (False Indigo Creek). False Indigo (

Amorpha fruticosa ''Amorpha fruticosa'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, known by several common names, including desert false indigo, false indigo-bush, and bastard indigobush. It is native species, native to North America. Descript ...

), commonly grows along the stream and in Dakota is literally called "birdwood." *

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which en ...

- Named after a nearby stream where Nebraska volunteer militiamen were prepared to fight a battle against the Pawnee Indians that never happened. *

Barada , name_etymology = From ''barid'', meaning 'cold' in Semitic languages , image = Barada river in Damascus (April 2009).jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = Barada river in Damascus near the Four Seasons Hote ...

- Named after Antoine Barada, a French-Omaha settler on the Nemaha Half-Breed Reservation. * Blackbird - Blackbird is the English translation of the name ''Wash-ing-guhsah-ba'', or Chief Blackbird of the Omahas who lived and died in the vicinity. * Bone Creek Township, Butler County, Nebraska * Brule - Named after the Brule tribe of the Teton Sioux. * Council Creek Township, Nance County, Nebraska *

Elkhorn Township, Dodge County, Nebraska Elkhorn Township is one of fourteen townships in Dodge County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 341 at the 2020 census. A 2021 estimate placed the township's population at 332. See also *County government in Nebraska County governme ...

* Fontenelle - Named after Omaha chief

Logan Fontenelle Logan Fontenelle (May 6, 1825 – July 16, 1855), also known as ''Shon-ga-ska'' (White Horse), was a trader of Omaha and French ancestry, who served for years as an interpreter to the US Indian agent at the Bellevue Agency in Nebraska. He was e ...

. * Hyannis - Named after Hyannis, Massachusetts, which was named after

Iyannough Iyannough (also Iyanough) was an American Indian sachem and leader of the Mattachiest ( Mattakeese, a sub-group of the Wampanoag people) tribe of Cummaquid in the area of what is now Barnstable, Massachusetts. The village of Hyannis, the Wianno s ...

, a

sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...

of the Cummaquid tribe. * Iowa Township, Holt County, Nebraska *

Kenesaw Township, Adams County, Nebraska Kenesaw Township is one of sixteen Township (United States), townships in Adams County, Nebraska, Adams County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,045 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The Kenesaw, Nebraska, village of Ken ...

* Leshara - Named after Chief Petalesharo. * Lodgepole - Named after a nearby creek that is named after a literal translation of the Dakota name, ''Tushu Wakpala''. *

Logan Township, Adams County, Nebraska Logan Township is one of sixteen townships in Adams County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 61 at the 2020 census. See also *County government in Nebraska County government in Nebraska is organized in one of two models: *Township co ...

* Logan Township, Antelope County, Nebraska *

Logan Township, Buffalo County, Nebraska Logan Township is one of twenty-six Township (United States), townships in Buffalo County, Nebraska, Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 114 at the United States Census, 2000, 2000 census. A 2006 estimate placed the townshi ...

* Logan Township, Burt County, Nebraska *

Logan Township, Clay County, Nebraska Logan Township is one of sixteen townships in Clay County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 106 at the 2020 census. A 2021 estimate placed the township's population at 106. See also *County government in Nebraska County government in ...

* Logan Township, Cuming County, Nebraska * Logan Township, Dixon County, Nebraska * Logan Township, Dodge County, Nebraska * Logan Township, Gage County, Nebraska *

Logan Township, Kearney County, Nebraska Logan Township is one of fourteen townships in Kearney County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 206 at the 2020 census. A 2021 estimate placed the township's population at 204. See also *County government in Nebraska County governme ...

* Logan Township, Knox County, Nebraska * Loup Ferry Township, Nance County, Nebraska *

Loup Township, Buffalo County, Nebraska Loup Township is one of twenty-six townships in Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 521 at the 2000 census. A 2006 estimate placed the township's population at 501. By 2017, population estimates put the total at 130. The ...

* Loup Township, Custer County, Nebraska * Loup Township, Merrick County, Nebraska * Loup Township, Platte County, Nebraska * Mankota - Mankota is from the Dakota Indian word ''Maḳaṭo'', meaning "blue earth". Named for

Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

. * Minatare - From the Hidatsa word ''mirita'ri,'' meaning "crosses the water." * Monowi - Meaning "flower", this town was so named because there were so many wild flowers growing in the vicinity. * Nehawka - An approximation to the Omaha and Otoe Indian name of a nearby creek meaning "rustling water." * Nemaha - Named after the

Nemaha River Nemaha is the name of several places in the United States, including: * Nemaha, Iowa * Nemaha, Nebraska * Nemaha County, Kansas * Nemaha County, Nebraska * Nemaha Township, Gage County, Nebraska Nemaha Township is one of twenty-four townships in ...

, based on an Otoe word meaning "swampy water." * Niobrara - The Omaha and Ponca word for spreading water or spreading river. * Oconee - Named for

Oconee, Illinois Oconee is a village in Shelby County, Illinois, United States. The population was 777 at the 2010 census. The village was named after the daughter of a local Native American chieftain. Geography According to the 2010 census, Oconee has a total a ...

. Oconee was the name of a Creek town. * Oconto - A Menominee word meaning the "place of the pickerel." Named for

Oconto, Wisconsin Oconto is a city in Oconto County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,609 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located partially within the town of Oconto. History Oconto is h ...

. * Ogallala - named for the

Oglala The Oglala (pronounced , meaning "to scatter one's own" in Lakota language) are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota, make up the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires). A majority of the Oglala live o ...

people. * Omaha - Named for the

Omaha people The Omaha ( Omaha-Ponca: ''Umoⁿhoⁿ'') are a federally recognized Midwestern Native American tribe who reside on the Omaha Reservation in northeastern Nebraska and western Iowa, United States. There were 5,427 enrolled members as of 2012. Th ...

who lived nearby *

Oneida Township, Kearney County, Nebraska Oneida Township is one of fourteen Township (United States), townships in Kearney County, Nebraska, Kearney County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 456 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. A 2021 estimate placed the township' ...

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...

Ottercreek Township, Dixon County, Nebraska Ottercreek Township is one of thirteen townships in Dixon County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 208 at the 2020 census. A 2021 estimate placed the township's population at 206. See also *County government in Nebraska County gove ...

* Leshara. Named after Petalesharo, a Pawnee chief. *

Platte Township, Buffalo County, Nebraska Platte Township is one of twenty-six townships in Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 290 at the 2000 census. A 2006 estimate placed the township's population at 286. See also *County government in Nebraska County govern ...

* Platte Township, Butler County, Nebraska * Platte Township, Dodge County, Nebraska * Pohocco - A precinct in the northeastern part of Saunders county, the name derives from

Pahuk Pahuk, also written Pahaku, or Pahuk Hill, is a bluff on the Platte River in eastern Nebraska in the United States. In the traditional Pawnee religion, it was one of five dwellings of spirit animals with miraculous powers. The Pawnee occupied th ...

, meaning headland or promontory, the Pawnee name of a prominent hill in the vicinity. *

Ponca The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...

* Quinnebaugh Township, Burt County, Nebraska *

Red Cloud Red Cloud ( lkt, Maȟpíya Lúta, italic=no) (born 1822 – December 10, 1909) was a leader of the Oglala Lakota from 1868 to 1909. He was one of the most capable Native American opponents whom the United States Army faced in the western ...

* Rosalie - Named for Rosalie La Flesche, a daughter of Omaha chief Joseph La Flesche.Fitzpatrick, Lilian Linder A.M. (1925)
Nebraska Place-Names
'. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Studies in Language, Literature, and Criticism. p 140. * Santee * Sappa Township, Harlan County, Nebraska *

Saratoga Township, Holt County, Nebraska Saratoga Township is one of thirty-seven townships in Holt County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 43 at the 2020 census. A 2021 estimate placed the township's population at 43. See also *County government in Nebraska County gover ...

* Sioux * Skull Creek Township, Butler County, Nebraska * St. Deroin - A ghost town on the former Nemaha Half-Breed Reservation founded by a French-Omaha settler who was killed near his trading post along the Missouri River. * Tecumseh * Tekamah - Located on the site of a historic Pawnee village, the surrounding hills were used for burying grounds and the highest point was used as a fire signal station. The origin of the name is not definitely known. * Tonawanda - Named for

Tonawanda, New York Tonawanda (formally ''City of Tonawanda'') is a city in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,130 at the 2010 census. It is at the northern edge of Erie County, south across the Erie Canal ( Tonawanda Creek) from North To ...

. * Unidilla - An Iroquois word meaning "place of meeting." Named after

Unadilla, New York Unadilla is a town in Otsego County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 4,392. The name is derived from an Iroquois word for "meeting place". Unadilla is located in the southwestern corner of the county, ...

. * Venango - An eastern Native American name in reference to a figure found on a tree, carved by the Erie. *

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

- Named after

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

, which is the name of one of the divisions of the Tawokoni whose village stood on the site of Waco, Texas. *

Wahoo Wahoo (''Acanthocybium solandri'') is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. It is best known to sports fishermen, as its speed and high-quality flesh makes it a prized and valued game fish. In Hawaii, the wahoo is kn ...

* Weeping Water is a translation of the French "L'Eau qui Pleure", and has an interesting Native American legend connected with its name. * Winnebago *

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

- Derived from a corrupted Delaware word meaning "large plains" or "extensive meadows." * Wyoming Township, Holt County, Nebraska * Yutan - Named for an Otoe chief.

Natural features

Arikaree River The Arikaree River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America. It lies mostly in the American state of Colorado, draining land between the North and South Forks of the Republican River, and it flows into the North Fork in Nebraska a ...

* Big Blue River * Big Horn Mountain *

Dakota Formation The Dakota is a sedimentary rock, sedimentary geologic unit name of Formation (stratigraphy), formation and Group (stratigraphy), group rank in Midwestern North America. The Dakota units are generally composed of sandstones, mudstones, clays, and ...

Elkhorn River The Elkhorn River is a river in northeastern Nebraska, United States, that originates in the eastern Sandhills and is one of the largest tributaries of the Platte River, flowing and joining the Platte just southwest of Omaha, approximately s ...

Fontenelle Forest Fontenelle Forest is a forest, located in Bellevue, Nebraska. Its visitor features include hiking trails, a nature center, children's camps, a gift shop, and picnic facilities. The forest is listed as a National Natural Landmark and a Nationa ...

* Guide Rock * Keya Paha River * Lake Wanahoo * Little Blue River *

Lodgepole Creek Lodgepole Creek is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 25, 2011 in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Nebraska a ...

* Medicine Creek * Missouri River *

Missouri River Valley The Missouri River Valley outlines the journey of the Missouri River from its headwaters where the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers flow together in Montana to its confluence with the Mississippi River in the State of Missouri. At long th ...

Niobrara National Scenic River The Niobrara National Scenic River is in north-central Nebraska, United States, approximately 300 miles (480 km) northwest of Omaha. In 1991, Congress set aside 76 miles (120 km) for preservation under the management of the National Pa ...

Niobrara River The Niobrara River (; oma, Ní Ubthátha khe, , literally "water spread-out horizontal-the" or "The Wide-Spreading Water") is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. Many early settlers, such as Mari Sando ...

Nishnabotna River The Nishnabotna River () is a tributary of the Missouri River in southwestern Iowa, northwestern Missouri and southeastern Nebraska in the United States. It flows for most of its length as two parallel streams in Iowa, the East Nishnabotna Riv ...

North Platte River The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long, counting its many curves.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 21, 2011 In a ...

Ogallala Aquifer The Ogallala Aquifer () is a shallow water table aquifer surrounded by sand, silt, clay, and gravel located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. One of the world's largest aquifers, it underlies an area of approximately in porti ...

Oglala National Grassland The Oglala National Grassland is a United States National Grassland in the northwest corner of Nebraska. It is in northern Sioux and northwestern Dawes counties, on the borders with South Dakota and Wyoming. It is in size and is one of the sma ...

Platte River The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itsel ...

* Red Willow Creek *

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. It ...

* Standing Bear Lake

Other places

* Fontenelle Boulevard *

Fontenelle's Post Fontenelle's Post, first known as Pilcher's Post, and the site of the later city of Bellevue, was built in 1822 in the Nebraska Territory by Joshua Pilcher, then president of the Missouri Fur Company. Located on the west side of the Missouri Ri ...

Hotel Fontenelle Hotel Fontenelle was an upscale hotel located at 1806 Douglas Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Designed by noted architect Thomas Rogers Kimball in the Late Gothic Revival style, it opened in 1915 and was demolished in 1983. It was named aft ...

* Logan Fontenelle Housing Project

References

Bibliography

* Fitzpatrick, Lilian Linder A.M. (1925)
Nebraska Place-Names
'. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Studies in Language, Literature, and Criticism. p 140. * Fontenelle, Henry. (1885) ''Indian Names of Streams and Localities.'' Translations and reports of the

Nebraska State Historical Society History Nebraska, formerly the Nebraska State Historical Society is a Nebraska state agency, founded in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information ... and to embrace alike aboriginal and modern history." I ...

, vol. 1, p. 76, 1885. * Gilmore, Melvin R. (1919) ''Some Indian Place Names in Nebraska.'' Nebraska State Historical Society, vol. 19, pp. 130–139.

External links

Indian Place Names in New Jersey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Native American names

Native Americans in Nebraska