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[edit]
Counties[edit]
- Inyo County – named after the eponymous Mono chief.
- Marin County – named after the eponymous Coast Miwok chief.
- Modoc County – named after the Modoc people.
- Mono County – from the Yokuts phrase monachi, meaning "those from the Sierra Nevada".
- 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".
- 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".
- Yolo County – from the Patwin phrase yo-loy, meaning "a place abounding in rushes".
- Village of Yolo
Settlements[edit]
- Acalanes Ridge[1]
- Aguanga[2]
- Ahwahnee[3]
- Alleghany[4]
- Aptos[5]
- Azusa – from Tongva village "Azucsagna".
- Cabazon[6]
- Cahuenga[7]
- Calistoga
- Camanche Village
- Cherokee – named after the Cherokee people.
- Cohasset
- Colma
- Concow
- Cotati
- Honcut
- 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
- Simi Valley – from Ventureño "Simiyi".[13]
- Sisquoc
- Sonoma
- Soquel
- Suisun City
- Tehachapi[14]
- Temecula – from Luiseño "Temeekunga".[15]
- Tionesta
- Toluca Lake
- Topanga[16]
- Tujunga[17]
- Wyandotte
- Yucaipa[18]
- Yeomet
- Yreka[19]
- Zayante
Bodies of water[edit]
- 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[edit]
Other[edit]
- Mojave Desert – named after the Mohave people.
- Yosemite National Park
See also[edit]
- 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[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ^ Bright (2004), p. 21.
- ^ Bright (2004), p. 24.
- ^ Bright (2004), p. 26.
- ^ Bright (2004), p. 33.
- ^ Bright (2004), p. 45.
- ^ a b Bright (2004), p. 75.
- ^ Bright (2004), p. 76.
- ^ Bright (2004), p. 262.
- ^ Zeise, Ann. "How Milpitas Got Its Name". Go Milpitas!. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Nipinnawasee, California
- ^ Harrington, John (1981). The Papers of John Peabody Harrington in the Smithsonian Institution. Kraus International Publications. pp. 66–73.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Bright (2004), p. 444.
- ^ Tomo-Kahni Resource Center
- ^ "Old Town Temecula, History, Event Information, Antique Shops and Temecula Homes for Sale".
- ^ Bright, William (1998). 1500 California Place Names (3rd ed.). UC Press. p. 155.
- ^ Hitt, Marlene (2002). Sunland and Tujunga: From Village to City. Arcadia Publishing. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-7385-2377-4.
- ^ "California Historical Landmark: San Bernardino County". Office of Historic Preservation. California State Parks. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ Bright (2004), p. 582.
- ^ Bright (2004), p. 25.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Bright (2004), p. 37.
Sources[edit]
- Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 080613576X.