List of Iowa 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 adding missing items with reliable sources.

The following list includes settlements, geographic features, and political subdivisions of Iowa whose names are derived from Native American languages.

Listings

State

• Iowa – from Lakota ayúhwa, via French Aiouez. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Counties

• Allamakee County
• Appanoose County
• Cherokee County – named after the Cherokee people.
  • City of Cherokee
• Chickasaw County – named after the Chickasaw people.
• Keokuk County – named after the Sauk chief Keokuk.
  • City of Keokuk
• Mahaska County
• Muscatine County
• Osceola County – named after the Seminole leader Osceola
  • City of Osceola
• Pocahontas County
• Pottawattamie County
• Poweshiek County
• Sac County – named after the Sac/Sauk and Fox people.
  • City of Sac City, Iowa
• Sioux County – named after the Sioux nation.
  • Sioux City
  • City of Little Sioux, Iowa
  • Big Sioux River
  • Little Sioux River
• Tama County
• Wapello County – named after Wapello, a Meskwaki chief
• Winnebago County
  • Winnebago River
• Winneshiek County

Communities

• Iowa City
  • Iowa River
  • Upper Iowa River
• Algona
• Anamosa – named after the legend of a local Native American girl
• Battle Creek – named for a skirmish between Native American tribes near the stream.
• Camanche, named after the Camanche
• Chillicothe
• Coon Rapids
  • Coon Creek
• Dakota City
• Decorah
• Hiawatha
• Jamaica
• Kanawha
• Keomah Village
  • Lake Keomah
  • Lake Keomah State Park
• Keosauqua – named after the Meskwaki and Sauk name for the Des Moines River.
• Keota
• Lakota
• Lehigh
• Maquoketa
  • Maquoketa Caves State Park
• Ocheyedan
  • Ocheyedan River
• Pocahontas
• Sac City

Bodies of water

• Canoe Creek
• Ioway Creek
• Kanaranzi Creek
• Maquoketa River
  • Little Maquoketa River
• Mississippi River
• Missouri River
• Nishnabotna River
• Nodaway River
• Raccoon River
• Wapsipinicon River

See also

• List of place names in the United States of Native American origin

References

Citations

1. 2001. "Plains", ed. Raymond J. DeMallie. Vol. 13 of "Handbook of North American Indians", ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 445
2. "Iowa". American Heritage Dictionary. Archived from the original on May 17, 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
3. Bright (2004), p. 185.

Sources

• Bright, William (2004). Native American placenames of the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN   0-8061-3576-X. OCLC   53019644.