The following list includes settlements, geographic features, and political subdivisions of Illinois whose names are derived from Native American languages.
Illinois – from the French rendering of an Algonquian (perhaps Miami) word apparently meaning "s/he speaks normally" (c.f. Miami ilenweewa),[1] from Proto-Algonquian*elen-, "ordinary" + -wē, "to speak",[2][3] referring to the Illiniwek.
DuQuoin– named after Chief Jean Baptiste DuQuoin (sometimes DuQuoigne) of the Kaskaskia tribe.
Erie – named after Erie County, New York which in turn was named after Lake Erie. The lake was named by the Erie people, a Native American people who lived along its southern shore. The tribal name "erie" is a shortened form of the Iroquoian word erielhonan, meaning "long tail"
Half Day – named after Potawatomi Chief Aptakisic, the chief at the time the area was settled. The name, meaning "sun at meridian", was anglicized as "Half Day".
Merrimac – name taken from the nearby Meramec River whose name was translated as 'Ugly Water' from Algonquian by French Jesuits in the area. However, scholars of the language translate it as 'place of strong current.'
Pecatonica – The word Pecatonica is an anglicization of two Algonquian language words; Bekaa (or Pekaa in some dialects), which means slow and niba, which means water; forming the conjunction Bekaaniba or Slow Water.
Peotone – Derived from the Potawatomi language meaning "come here".[5]
Potomac – originally named Marysville after the wives of the two founders, John Smith and Isaac Meneley, who started businesses here circa 1840. On May 13, 1871, a post office was established at the town and was named Potomac, most likely after the Potomac River. The town's name was later changed to conform to this.
Tioga – The name "Tioga" means "at the forks". The various Iroquois tribes all had similar words for the concept: the Oneida called it Te-ah-o-ge, the Mohawk called it Te-yo-ge-ga, the Cayuga called it Da-o-ga and the Seneca called it Da-yo-o-geh.
Watseka – Incorporated in 1865, the name "Watseka" derives from the Potawatomi name "Watch-e-kee", "Daughter of the Evening Star", the wife of early eastern Illinois settler Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard.[6]
Pecatonica River – The word Pecatonica is an anglicization of two Algonquian language words; Bekaa (or Pekaa in some dialects), which means slow and niba, which means water; forming the conjunction Bekaaniba or Slow Water.
Pistakee Lake – "pistakee" comes from the Algonquin word for buffalo
Sinsinawa River – One version holds that "Sinsinawa" derives from an Algonquian word (possibly Potawatomi, Fox or Menominee language) for "rattlesnake" to describe the Sioux. Another version says "home of the young eagle".
Saganashkee Slough – It was formerly a huge swamp that extended from west of 104th Avenue to the limits of Blue Island, and its original name, Ausaganashkee, is a Potawatomi Indian word that means "slush of the earth," wrote former Forest Preserve District general superintendent Cap Sauer in a historical account written in the late 1940s.[7]
Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN080613576X.
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