List of California placenames of Native American origin

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

Many places throughout the U.S. state of California 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.

Listings

Counties

• Inyo County – named after the eponymous Mono chief.
  • Inyo Mountains
  • Inyo Volcanic Chain
  • Inyo National Forest
• Marin County – named after the eponymous Coast Miwok chief.
  • Marin City
  • Marin Creek
  • Marin Headlands
  • Marin Hills
  • Marin Islands
• Modoc County – named after the Modoc people.
  • Modoc National Forest
  • Modoc Plateau
  • Modoc Crater
• Mono County – from the Yokuts phrase monachi, meaning "those from the Sierra Nevada".
  • Mono Village
  • Mono Mills
  • Mono Lake
• Napa County – from the Patwin phrase napo, meaning "home".
  • City of Napa
  • Napa River
  • Napa Valley
• Shasta County – named after the Shasta people.
  • Region of Shasta Cascade
  • City of Shasta Lake
  • City of Mount Shasta
  • Village of Shasta
  • Village of Little Shasta
  • Mount Shasta
  • Shasta Dam
  • Shasta Lake
  • Shasta River
• Siskiyou County – disputed origin; likely from a Chinook Jargon phrase meaning "bob-tailed horse".
  • Siskiyou Mountains
  • Siskiyou National Forest
• Solano County – named after the eponymous Suisun chief.
• Sonoma County – disputed origin; likely from a Pomoan phrase meaning "valley of the moon".
  • City of Sonoma
  • Sonoma Valley
  • Sonoma Mountains
• Tehama County – from a Wintuan phrase meaning "high water".
  • City of Tehama
  • Mount Tehama
• Tuolumne County – disputed origin; likely from the phrase talmalamne of unknown origin, meaning "cluster of stone wigwams".
  • Tuolumne City
  • Tuolumne River
  • Tuolumne Grove
  • Tuolumne Meadows
  • Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne
• Yolo County – from the Patwin phrase yo-loy, meaning "a place abounding in rushes".
  • Village of Yolo

Settlements

• Acalanes Ridge ^[1]
• Aguanga ^[2]
• Ahwahnee ^[3]
• Alleghany ^[4]
• Aptos ^[5]
• Azusa – from Tongva village "Azucsagna".
• Cabazon ^[6]
• Cahuenga ^[7]
• Calistoga
• Camanche Village
  • Camanche North Shore
• Cherokee – named after the Cherokee people.
• Cohasset
• Colma
• Concow
• Cotati
• Honcut
• Jolon
• Jurupa Valley
• Klamath River
  • Named after the Klamath River
• Laguna Niguel
• Lake Shastina
• Lompoc
• Malibu – from Ventureño "Umalibu, perhaps reflecting [(hu)maliwu] , "it (the surf) makes a loud noise all the time over there". ^[8]
• Merrimac
• Milpitas ^[9]
• Mi-Wuk Village
• Napa
• New Chicago
• Nimshew
• Nipinnawasee ^[10]
• Nipomo
• Ojai ^[11]
• Petaluma
• Piru
• Pismo Beach – from Chumash "Pismu" for "tar". ^[12]
• Point Mugu
• Port Hueneme
• Poway – from Kumeyaay language.
• Rancho Cucamonga
• Saratoga
• Saticoy
• Séc-he, Cahuilla for Palm Springs, California
• Simi Valley – from Ventureño "Simiyi". ^[13]
• Sisquoc
• Sonoma
• Soquel
• Suisun City
• Tassajara Hot Springs
• Tehachapi ^[14]
• Temecula – from Luiseño "Temeekunga". ^[15]
• Tionesta
• Toluca Lake
• Topanga ^[16]
• Tujunga ^[17]
• Wyandotte
• Yucaipa ^[18]
• Yeomet
• Yreka ^[19]
• Zayante

Bodies of water

• Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park – named after the Achowami people. ^[20]
• Lake Cachuma ^[6]
• Tahquitz Canyon and Creek, Falls, Peak, and Rock, named for Cahuilla legend Tahquitz
• Temescal Canyon, Creek, Mountains, and Valley ^[21]

Islands

• Anacapa Island ^[22]

Other

• Mojave Desert – named after the Mohave people.
• Yosemite National Park

See also

• List of place names in the United States of Native American origin
• List of placenames of indigenous origin in the Americas
• Native Americans in the United States

References

Citations

1. Bright (2004), p. 21.
2. Bright (2004), p. 24.
3. Bright (2004), p. 26.
4. Bright (2004), p. 33.
5. Bright (2004), p. 45.
6. Bright (2004), p. 75.
7. Bright (2004), p. 76.
8. Bright (2004), p. 262.
9. Zeise, Ann. "How Milpitas Got Its Name". Go Milpitas!. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
10. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Nipinnawasee, California
11. Harrington, John (1981). The Papers of John Peabody Harrington in the Smithsonian Institution. Kraus International Publications. pp. 66–73.
12. McCall, Lynn; Perry, Rosalind (2002). California's Chumash Indians: a project of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Education Center (Revised ed.). San Luis Obispo, CA: EZ Nature Books. p.  36. ISBN   0936784156.
13. Bright (2004), p. 444.
14. Tomo-Kahni Resource Center
15. "Old Town Temecula, History, Event Information, Antique Shops and Temecula Homes for Sale".
16. Bright, William (1998). 1500 California Place Names (3rd ed.). UC Press. p. 155.
17. Hitt, Marlene (2002). Sunland and Tujunga: From Village to City. Arcadia Publishing. p. 10. ISBN   978-0-7385-2377-4.
18. "California Historical Landmark: San Bernardino County". Office of Historic Preservation. California State Parks. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
19. Bright (2004), p. 582.
20. Bright (2004), p. 25.
21. Van De Grift Sanchez, Nellie (1922). Spanish and Indian Place Names of California; Their Meaning and Their Romance (Second ed.). San Francisco, California: A. M. Robertson. p.  71.
22. Bright (2004), p. 37.

Sources

• Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN   080613576X.