The following is a listing of placenames from the Mapudungun language, generally from Chile and southwestern Argentina.
Note: this list includes only currently used placenames that have a Mapudungun etymology for at least part of their name
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Abtao | end/limit of the territory | Los Lagos | channel, island | contested (pro [1] con [2] [3] ) |
Achao | sandy and protected harbour | Los Lagos | beach, channel, city/town | |
Aconcagua | place of heathers | Valparaíso, Mendoza | mountain, river | |
Allipén | Araucanía, Bío-Bío | river | ||
Ancud | to dry | Los Lagos | city/town, gulf | |
Anticura | sun stone | Los Lagos | river, village | |
Antihue | sunny place [4] | Los Lagos | hamlet | |
Antillanca | sun/light green quartz [4] | Los Lagos | volcano | |
Antimahuida | sun/light mountain [4] | Los Lagos | village | |
Antuco | sun and water | Bío-Bío | volcano |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Buchupureo | Big Wave | Limit between VII & VIII Regions, Chile | ||
Bariloche | from Furiloche: people from the other side of the mountain | Los Lagos, Río Negro | city/town, mountain pass | |
Bío-Bío | Araucanía, Bío-Bío | river | ||
Boldo | from folo, a shrub ( Peumus boldus ) | La Araucanía | ||
Bucalemu | big forest | Valparaíso | ||
Butacura | big stone | Los Lagos | hamlet |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Caburgua | dug with a spoon | Araucanía | lake, waterfall | |
Calafquén | lake like a sea | Araucanía, Los Ríos | lake | |
Calbuco | blue waters [4] | Los Lagos | channel, city/town, peninsula, volcano | |
Caleufú | Neuquén | river | ||
Callaqui | Bío-Bío | volcano | ||
Calle-Calle | lot of Iridaceaes | Los Ríos | river | once called Guadalfquén |
Carahue | the city that was | Araucanía | city/town | |
Carelmapu | green territory [4] | Los Lagos | headland | |
Carirriñe | green chusquea coleou cane | Los Ríos, Neuquén | mountain pass, river | |
Carrenleufú | Chubut | city/town | ||
Catirai | callyíi, to cut, and raigheii, the flower of the trees, meaning short flowers [5] | Bío-Bío | valley | |
Cau-Cau | kawkaw 'seagull' | Los Ríos | river | |
Chacay | Discaria serratifolia [6] | Atacama | valley | |
Chacao | protected harbour | Los Lagos | bay, channel, village | |
Chapelco | chapel (a local bush) water | Neuquén | mountain, river | |
Chiguayante | "chiguay" fog "antu" sun | Bío-Bío | city | - |
Chillán | Bío-Bío | city | ||
Chiloé | chille 'small seagull' and -we 'place' | Los Lagos | archipelago, island | |
Chimbarongo | crooked head or place between fogs | O'Higgins | city/town | |
Choshuenco | yellow water | Los Ríos | city/town, volcano | |
Cochamó | confluence/estuary [4] | Los Lagos | bay, river, village | |
Conguillío | water with Araucaria araucana pine nuts | Araucanía | lake | |
Copahue | Bío-Bío | volcano | ||
Colhué Huapi | red island | Chubut | lake | |
Concón | place of owls | Valparaíso | city/town | |
Coñaripe | way of the warrior | Los Ríos | city/town | |
Cucao | Pteroptochus [4] | Los Lagos | bay, lake, river | |
Curarrehue | Araucanía | city/town | ||
Curicó | kurü 'black' and ko 'water' | Maule | city/town | |
Curimón | kurü 'black' and man (abbreviation of mañke) 'black condor' | Valparaíso | town, village | |
Curiñanco | kurü 'black' and ñamko 'red-backed hawk' | Los Ríos | beach, village |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dalcahue | place of canoes | Los Lagos | city/town | |
Dollinco | mussel water | Los Lagos | river |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Futalafquén | big lake | Chubut | lake | |
Futaleufú | big river | Chubut, Los Lagos | river | |
Futrono | from Futronhue: place of smoke | Los Ríos | town/city |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Guafo | from Wafün: tusk | Los Lagos | island |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hornopirén | snow oven | Los Lagos | village, volcano | once called Quechucaví; five districts |
Huahum | Los Ríos, Neuquén | mountain pass, river | ||
Huapi | island | Los Ríos | island | |
Huechuraba | clay birthplace | Santiago | commune/city | |
Huerquehue | place of messengers | Araucanía | mountains | |
Huilo-Huilo | Los Ríos | waterfall |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lácar | place of landslides | Neuquén | lake | |
Lebu | river | Bío-Bío | city | |
Licán Ray | rock flower | Araucanía | city/town | |
Limay | clear/clean | Neuquén, Río Negro | river | |
Liquiñe | Los Ríos | town, river, hot springs | ||
Llaima | blood veins | Araucanía | volcano | |
Llanquihue | hidden place | Los Lagos, Los Ríos | city/town, lake, river | |
Lolol | land of crabs and holes | O'Higgins | commune/town | |
Loncoche | head of an important person | Araucanía | city/town | |
Loncomilla | gold of the lonco | Maule | river | |
Lonquimay | summit | Araucanía | city/town, volcano |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Máfil | hugged between rivers | Los Ríos | town | |
Maihue | wooden glass | Los Ríos | lake | |
Maipo | Mendoza, Santiago | river, valley, volcano | ||
Malalcahuello | Araucanía | hot springs | ||
Mamuil Malal | corral of wooden sticks | Araucanía, Neuquén | mountain pass, village | |
Mapocho | river of the Mapuche | Santiago | river | |
Melipeuco | Araucanía | city/town | ||
Melipulli | four hills | Los Lagos | city/town | |
Mulchén | people of the west | Bío-Bío | city/town, river |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nahuelbuta | big puma | Araucanía, Bío-Bío | mountain range | |
Nahuelhuapi | island of the puma | Neuquén, Río Negro | lake | |
Nahuel Rucá | house of the puma | Buenos Aires | city/town | |
Neuquén | sweep away | Neuquén, Río Negro | city/town, river |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Panguipulli | hill of the puma | Los Ríos | city/town, lake | |
Pellaifa | Los Ríos | lake | ||
Peñalolén | fraternal meeting place | Santiago | city/town | |
Pichilemu | little forest | O'Higgins | city/town | |
Pillanleufú | river of the devil/spirit | Los Ríos | river | |
Pilolcura | hollow stone | Los Ríos | beach, bay | |
Pirihueico | snowy curvy water | Los Ríos | lake | |
Pucón | entrance | Araucanía | city/town | |
Puduhuapi | island of the pudu [4] | Los Lagos | island | |
Puelo | east [4] | Chubut, Los Lagos | lake, river | |
Pullinque | Los Ríos | lake, river | ||
Puyehue | place of sweet water fishes | Los Lagos, Los Ríos, Neuquén | lake, mountain pass, volcano | |
Punucapa | black/fertile earth for legumes | Los Ríos | village |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Quellón | from Queldon; Aristotelia chilensis | Los Lagos | city/town | |
Quemchi | red/pottery earth | Los Lagos | city/town | |
Quetrupillán | sleeping pillán | Araucanía, Los Ríos | volcano | |
Quiapo | originally Cuyapu or Cuyamapu, meaning cuya, weasel and mapu land [7] | Bio-Bio | hill/river | |
Quilicura | three stones | Santiago | commune/city |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rahue | place of gray clay [4] | Los Lagos, Neuquén | city/town, river, village | |
Rancagua | place of canes | O'Higgins | city/town | |
Ranco | Los Ríos | city/town, lake | ||
Reloncaví | valley district | Los Lagos | estuary, sound | |
Riñihue | place of Chusquea coleou | Los Ríos | city/town, lake | |
Rupanco | shaked waters | Los Lagos | lake |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Talca | thunder | Maule | city/town | |
Talcahuano | from tralcam wenu; thundering sky | Bío-Bío | city | |
Temuco | from "Temu" (Blepharocalyx cruckshanksii)and "Co" water | Araucanía | city/town | |
Tinguiririca | round/shining quartz | O'Higgins | city/town, river, volcano | |
Tolhuaca | Araucanía | volcano | ||
Traful | Neuquén | lake | ||
Tralcan | thunder | Los Ríos | mountain | |
Tromén | Neuquén | lake, volcano | ||
Tucapel | take by force | Bío-Bío | town |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vitacura | big stone | Santiago | city/town |
Placename | Meaning | Region (Chile) or Province (Argentina) | Type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Yelcho | carry foam | Los Lagos | lake, river |
Reynogüelén, also spelled Reinogüelén, Reinohuelén, and Reynohuelén, was the original Mapudungun name of the eastern regions of what are now the communes of Parral in Linares Province, and Ñiquén, and San Carlos communes in the Diguillín Province of the Ñuble Region of Chile. It was also the original name of the upper reaches of the Perquilauquén River that passed through that area. It was later corrupted into Reinohuelén, Reinogüelén, Reinohuelén and Reynohuelén.
Boroa, is a town in Araucanía, Chile on the shores of Cautín River. The region near the town south of the Cautin River between the Boroa and Quepe Rivers was the Moluche aillarehue of Boroa. The site of the town was founded as a Spanish fort San Ignacio de la Redención in 1606 by maestre de campo Rodulfo Lisperger during the Arauco War but it did not remain long after he and his garrison were ambushed. Later in 1649 as a result of the Parliament of Quillín (1647), Martín de Mujica y Buitrón was able to reestablish the fort at Boroa but it was abandoned in 1656 after a long siege during the Mapuche uprising of 1655. One could still find vestiges of the old Spanish fort near the mission at its location at the end of the 19th century.
Quiapo is a place in Arauco Province of Chile that is 25 kilometers to the southwest of Arauco and about 25 kilometers to the north and east of the port of Lebu to the east of the Bahia del Carnero and 6.4 kilometers west of the small town of Villa Alegre. It was a low mountainous and thickly wooded area, that contained among its contours arable lands that had the same name. It is also the location where two streams come together to form the headwaters of the Quiapo River.
Andalicán during the era of conquest and colonial times in Chile was the name of the high hill in the middle of two ravines and site of a fortress built by the Mapuche in 1557 to prevent García Hurtado de Mendoza from invading La Araucanía north of Marihueñu and the valley of Colcura. This height overlooks the location of the modern city of Lota in Concepción Province of the Bío Bío Region of Chile.
Melirupu is a place in Arauco Province that is 12 kilometers to the southwest of Arauco, Chile, in the direction of Quiapo. It was a small village of about 300 inhabitants in the late 19th century. The surrounding land had the same name. The Mapudungun name, formed of meli and the alteration of rypy, means "four ways". It later became known as Millarupu, "gold way", and was corrupted into Millarapu or Millarapue or Melirupo.
Pilmaiquén or Pilmayquen (Mapudungun) is a riachuelo in the commune of Cañete in Arauco Province in the Bío Bío Region of Chile that flows southwest towards the coast of the Pacific Ocean to the northwest of the city of Cañete. Its course is short but of great volume and traverses a small valley between wooded mountainous areas where it joins the Licauquén River. This valley was a Moluche rehue of the Tucapel aillarehue and the homeland of the Toqui Caupolicán who commanded the Mapuche in the first revolt against domination by the Spanish Empire.
Santa Cruz de Coya was a city established by the governor of Chile Martín García Oñez de Loyola on the site of the fort of Santa Cruz de Oñez, in 1595. It was named for his wife Beatriz Clara Coya, a member of the royal Incan house. The Mapuche called the city Millacoya, meaning gold princess from the mapudungun milla, gold and the quechua coya, princess.
San Jerónimo de Millapoa was a fort founded by Alonso de Sotomayor in 1585. It dominated the small valleys of the eastern slopes of the Nahuelbuta Range of Catirai, in the upper part of the Culenco River, in the mountainous area 25 kilometers south of the modern commune of Santa Juana. The fort had a small garrison for the defense of that region that left it in the general rising of the Mapuche in 1599. It was repopulated in 1607 under Governor Alonso Garcia Ramon, but it did not last for much longer, always harassed by the Mapuche it was demolished by the Spaniards as part of the peace with Catirai worked out at the May 1612 Parliament of Catirai.
San Cristóbal de La Paz was a fortress in Chile that was established in 1621 by Governor Cristóbal de la Cerda y Sotomayor. It was located five or six kilometers to the southwest of Yumbel on the west shore of the Claro River to the north of its confluence with the Laja River. In 1646 a mission and a small church was established that grew into a settlement with a few inhabitants. In February 1655, both the fort and settlement were destroyed by the Mapuche, and it was reestablished in 1663, under the temporary governor Ángel de Peredo. This settlement lasted until the Mapuche rising of 1766, when it was abandoned and never rebuilt.
Jesús de Huenuraquí was a Spanish fort on heights to the north of the north bank of the Biobío River, next to the site of the modern rail station of Huenuraquí, in the commune of San Rosendo. It is eight kilometers west of San Rosendo and ten kilometers south of the town of Rere, Chile.
Santo Arbol de la Cruz was a fort constructed in 1585 by the Royal Governor of Chile Alonso de Sotomayor. It was located north of the entrance of the Guaqui River into the Bio Bio River near the modern rail station and village of Duiquín.
Fort Tolpán was built in 1657, by order of governor Pedro Porter Casanate by captain Alonso de Cordova y Figueroa on the Tolpán or Trolpán River. The Tolpán River was the name at that time for what is now the lower part of the Renaico River and then the Vergara River from the confluence with the Renaico until where it empties into the Bio Bio River. Tolpán or Trolpán is a contraction of the Mapudungun thol, "in front", and of pagui, "lion", meaning "in front of lion". Located at the confluence of the Renaico and Vergara Rivers, captain Cordova y Figueroa used the fort to operate against the Mapuche lands round about during the Mapuche Insurrection of 1655 but it was abandoned a few years later.
Fort de la Encarnación on the Repocura River was built in 1666 by a team overseen by Juan Ignacio de la Carrera and the orders of the Royal Governor of Chile Francisco de Meneses Brito. It was destroyed during a Mapuche rising in 1694 and rebuilt by Tomás Marín de Poveda with a nearby mission in December of the same year. These were destroyed in the 1723 Mapuche rising. Rebuilt again as Fort Repucura by Governor Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga in 1764, it was destroyed for the last time in the Mapuche uprising of 1766.
Guaqui or Guaque River is a tributary of the Bío Bío River in the Bío Bío Region of Chile. It is a river of great volume with a course of 55 kilometers originating from small streams, that have their source west of the town of Las Canteras; it runs to the west, north of the city of Los Ángeles, and it empties on the right bank of the Bio Bio, immediately south of the small town of Diuquin. Its major tributary is the Rarinco River. Near its mouth was the site of the old fort Santo Arbol de la Cruz. Guaqui, is a derivative of the Mapudungun guaqueñ, "murmur".
Fort Livén was a fort with a small garrison built by Rodrigo de Quiroga in 1575, in the small valley of Livén, nearby the old city of Santa María Magdalena de Villa Rica. In 1585 it fell to the Mapuche cacique Putaén, who was later killed in it. The fort was later destroyed by his wife Janequeo the famous Mapuche heroine that waged war in that valley against the Spaniards to avenge her husband.
Rele River is a river in the commune of Santa Juana. It has its origin to the south southeast of Santa Juana, from where it runs to the northeast from among the slopes of the heights of the Nahuelbuta Range and runs to the east to the Bio Bio River in which it empties a little above the confluence with the Laja River. It a river with a small volume and its course is 20 kilometers long. It has a tributary that joins it from the south, the Riachuelo Millapoa or de las Minas from the gold mines that in the sixteenth century were worked on its banks. Immediately on the north bank of the Rele River from the Millapoa was the location of the old city of Santa Cruz de Coya. At the mouth of the river was the old fort and town of Monterrey de la Frontera. A small town of Monterey now exists nearby. The Mapudungun name comes from the verb relen, “to face up”.
Quilacoya River is located in the Hualqui commune of Concepcion Province of Chile. It has course of about 40 kilometers with a small volume. It originates in the southern slopes of the series of heights of Lucay that run from east to west in the southern part of the commune of Florida. It runs to the southwest to join the Bío Bío River on the North bank nine kilometers above the town of Hualqui.
Fort Virhuenco was a Spanish fort located in what is now Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It was first established by Alonso de Ribera in 1613 as part of his system of frontier forts. It was located in the valley of Virhuén southeast of the city of Angol and in the upper part of the Rehue River near the western part the region of Quechereguas where the high mountains begin. Later it was abandoned or destroyed. Again in 1665 Governor Francisco de Meneses Brito erected there fort San Carlos, which, the Mapuches took and killed all the garrison on May 20, 1667.
San Fabián de Conuco is a fort four kilometers south of the town of Rafael, Chile. It was first established by governor Alonso de Sotomayor in 1584 to secure control of the Coelemu region between the Itata River and Concepcion. It was destroyed and was then restored in 1657 by order of governor Pedro Porter Casanate. The Mapudungun word means water of torcaza from сопu, the bird called the torcaza and from со "water".
The Repocura River of the La Araucanía Region of Chile has its source in the eastern slope of the Nahuelbuta Range northwest of the town of Cholchol and runs towards the southeast to join the Cholchol River on its western bank across from Cholchol. It is wide and of a depth that allows the navigation of small boats. The river crosses flat and fertile fields.