Many places throughout the state of Michigan take their names from Native American indigenous languages. This list includes counties, townships, and settlements whose names are derived from indigenous languages in Michigan.
The primary Native American languages in Michigan are Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi, all of which are dialects of Algonquin. Some other places names in Michigan are found to be derived from Sauk, Oneida, Wyandot, Abenaki, Shawnee, Mohawk, Seneca, Seminole, Iroquois, and Delaware, although many of these tribes are not found in Michigan.
Municipalities
State Michigan – derived from Ottawa "mishigami" meaning "large water" or "great water" in reference to the Great Lakes. Village of Michigan Center Lake Michigan
Counties
Some of Michigan's counties have names invented by the ethnologist Henry Schoolcraft, usually adapted from parts of Native American words, but sometimes having parts from Greek, Arabic and Latin roots.Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Bibliography by county and region, including origin of county names
Alcona County – "the good plain".Powers, p. 94 Allegan County – "the front" or "the mound builders". City of Allegan Township of Allegan Alpena County – "the good partridge country". Arenac County – "a sandy place for good footing". Township of Arenac Cheboygan County – Ojibwe word "zhaabonigan" meaning "sewing needle" or "chabwegan" meaning "a place of ore".Michigan County names per the Michigan government. Compare History of the name "Sheboygan" and List of Michigan county name etymologies. City of Cheboygan Cheboygan River Cheboygan State Park Cheboygan Point Chippewa County – after the Ojibwe tribe. Chippewa Township in Chippewa County Chippewa Township in Isabella County Chippewa Township in Mecosta County Chippewa River Chippewa Nature Center Genesee County – Seneca word "jenishiyeh" meaning "beautiful valley". Village of Genesee Township of Genesee Hamlet of Genesee Gogebic County – Native American word "agogibing" meaning "water-mold lake". Lake Gogebic Lake Gogebic State Park Gogebic Range Huron County – named after the Huron people. Lake Huron Little Huron River Huron River (Lower Peninsula) Huron River (Upper Peninsula) Huron Mountains Iosco County – "water light". Kalamazoo County – see Etymology of Kalamazoo. City of Kalamazoo Kalamazoo River Kalamazoo Lake Keweenaw County – Ojibwe word "gakiiwe-wewaning" meaning "portage" or "where portage is made". Keweenaw Peninsula Leelanau County – after a Native American woman in Schoolcraft's writings, meaning "delight of life". Township of Leelanau Lenawee County – from the Shawnee word lenawai, meaning "man".Michigan History, Arts and Libraries on sources of County names. Mackinac County – Odawa word "michilimaciknac" meaning "great turtle", in reference to Mackinac Island. Mackinac Island Manistee County – originally called "ministigweyaa" in Ojibwe meaning "river with islands at its mouth".County place names City of Manistee Township of Manistee Little Manistee River Manistee River Manistee Lake Mecosta County – after Potawatomi chief Mecosta. Mecosta Township Menominee County – after the Menominee people who inhabited the region. City of Menominee Menominee River Missaukee County – after Chief Nessaukee, which also means "large mouth of the river" in Odawa.Michigan History, Arts and Libraries on sources of County names. Lake Missaukee Muskegon County – after the Muskegon River, called "mashkig" by the Ojibwe, meaning "swamp" or "marsh".Michigan History, Arts and Libraries on sources of County names. City of Muskegon Little Muskegon River Muskegon River Muskegon Lake Newaygo County – named either for an Ojibwe leader who signed the Saginaw Treaty of 1819 or for an Ojibwe word meaning "much water". City of Newaygo Ogemaw County – Ojibwe word "ogimaa" meaning "chief". Township of Ogemaw Village of Ogemaw Springs Ontonagon County – from "nantounaging" meaning "my bowl is lost". Village of Ontonagon Ontonagon Township Ontonagon River Osceola County – after Chief Osceola of the Seminole. Township of Osceola (Houghton County). Township of Osceola Township Oscoda County – from the Ojibwa words ossin and muskoda, meaning "prairie of pebbles". Otsego County – Mohawk word meaning "clear water".Otsego County history page. City of Otsego Township of Otsego Township of Otsego Lake Village of Otsego Lake Otsego Lake Ottawa County – after the Odawa (Ottawa) people who inhabited the region. Ottawa River Village of Ottawa Lake Ottawa National Forest Saginaw County – Ojibwe word "sagenong" meaning "place of the outlet".Michigan Counties. DNR. Retrieved November 5, 2012. City of Saginaw Saginaw River Sanilac County – Chief Sanilac of the Wyandot people.Michigan government on origin of county names Shiawassee County – from the Chippewa word "shia-was-see" meaning "the river straight ahead." Township of Shiawassee Village of Shiawasseetown Shiawassee River Tuscola County – portmanteau of the Chippewa word "desakamigaa" ("flat land"), and the Latin word colonia ("colony"). Tuscola Township Washtenaw County – Ojibwe word "washtenong" meaning "far away waters". Ojibwe etymology of the word: Wash-ten-ong".
Other settlements
Ahmeek – Ojibwe word "amik" meaning "beaver". Alaska – named for the eponymous state. Algonquin – named after the Algonquin people. Algonquin Lake Algonquin Lake (Barry County) Aloha Village of Aloha Assinins – from the Ojibwe word "asiniinsikaajiigibiig". Bay de Noc – named after the Noquet people. Big Bay de Noc Little Bay de Noc Canandaigua Chesaning – Ojibwe word meaning "big rock place". Shared with the township of Chesaning. Chikaming – Indian word "chickaming" meaning "lake". Cohoctah – Indian word meaning "many trees in water". Cohoctah in Livingston County Dakota Heights Dakota Creek (Baraga County) Dowagiac – Potawatomi word "dewje'og" meaning "fishing waters". Dowagiac River Escanaba – Ojibwe word meaning "land of the red buck" or "flat rock". Township of Escanaba Escanaba River Hiawatha – after Chief Hiawatha. Hiawatha National Forest Ishpeming – Ojibwe word "ishpiming" meaning "on air". Juniata – derived from the Iroquois word onayutta, meaning "standing rock". Kalamo Village of Kalamo Kawkawlin – Ojibwe word "ogaakaaning" meaning "place of pike fish". Village of Kawkawlin Kawkawlin River Kentucky – named after the state of Kentucky. Kenockee – Ojibwe word meaning "long-legged". Mackinaw City – Odawa word "michilimackinac" meaning "land of the great snapping turtle". Township of Mackinaw Manistique – originally "Monistique", Indian word "onamanitigong" meaning "vermillion" or "yellow thunder" after the hue of the Manistique River. Township of Manistique Manistique River West Branch Manistique River Manistique Lakes Meauwataka – Potawatomi word meaning "halfway", as the location is about halfway between Lake Mitchell and the Manistee River. Michigamme – Ojibwe word "mishigamaa" meaning "great water", also etymology for state of Michigan. Township of Michigamme Lake Michigamme Michigamme River Michigamme Reservoir Munising – Ojibwe word "minising" meaning "at the island". Township of Munising Munising Falls Mohawk – named after the Mohawk people. Mohawk Lake Nahma – Ojibwe word "name" meaning "sturgeon". Naubinway – from an Ojibwe phrase naabinwe meaning "it echoes". Shared with Naubinway Island. Neahtawanta – Odawa word "neahtawauta" meaning "placid waters". Negaunee – Ojibwe word "niigaaniinh" meaning "pioneer". Township of Negaunee Nottawa – Algonquin word meaning "Iroquois". Nottawa Township in Isabella County Nottawa Township in St. Joseph County Nottawa Creek Nottawa Lake Nunda – Seneca word meaning "where the valley meets the hill". Oceola – after Osceola, a Seminole chief. Ocqueoc Ocqueoc River Ocqueoc Lake Ocqueoc Falls Okemos – Ojibwe word "ogimaa" meaning "chief", also etymology of Ogemaw County. Omena – Ojibwe expression "o-me-nah" meaning "is that so?". Onaway – Indian word "onawa" meaning "awake". Oneida – named after the Oneida people. Onekama – Ojibwe word "onigamaa" meaning "singing water". Township of Onekama Township, Michigan Onondaga – after the Onondaga people or Onondaga County, New York. Township of Onondaga Onota – after the Oneida people of nearby Wisconsin. Ontwa – after an Indian maiden who lived in Detroit. Oshtemo – Potawatomi word meaning "headwaters". Shared with the township of Oshtemo in Kalamazoo County. Ossineke – Indian word "zhingaabewasiniigigaabawaad" meaning "where the image stones stood".A History of the Place Names of Alpena County Township of Ossineke Otisco – Indian word or unclear origin. Owosso – after Chief Wasso of the Ojibwe. Pinnebog - named for the eopnymous river. Originally meant "partridge drum". Pokagon – after Chief Pokagon of the Potawatomi. Village of Pokagon Petoskey – Odawa word "biidaasige" meaning "where the sun shines through the clouds". Pewamo – after Chief Pewamo. Pinconning – Ojibwe word "opinikaaning" meaning "place of potatoes".Pinconning Township Main Page http://bjmi.us/bay/pinconning/index.html Pinconning Township Pinconning River Ponshewaing – Indian word meaning "peaceful waters" or "winter home". Pontiac – after Chief Pontiac of the Odawa. Quinnesec – Ojibwe word "bekweneseg" meaning "smoky". Sagola – derived from the local Indian word for "welcome" Village of Sagola Sandusky – Wyandot word "saundustee" meaning "water". Saranac – Abenaki word "zalônák:tégw" meaning "staghorn sumac cone river".Day, pp. 248-249. Saugatuck – Indian word "so'hktuk" meaning "river that pours out". Township of Saugatuck Saugatuck Dunes Scio Township of Scio Sciota Sebewa – Ojibwe word ziibiwenh meaning "little creek". Village of Sebewa Sebewaing – Ojibwe wird "ziibiiweng" meaning "river place". Township of Sebewaing Sebewaing River Seneca – after the Seneca people. Township of Seneca Tamarack Tamarack River Tamarack Lake (Lower Peninsula) Tamarack Lake (Upper Peninsula) Tawas City – after Chief O-ta-was. City of East Tawas Township of Tawas Tawas River Tawas Lake Tecumseh – after Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee. Tittabawassee - from Ojibwe ditib-waasizo, meaning "rolling and sparkling river". Tittabawassee River Tekonsha – Potawatomi word "tekonsho" meaning "resembling caribou". Tekonsha Township Topinabee – after Chief Topinabee of the Potawatomi. Tuscarora – after the Tuscarora people. Unadilla – Iroquois word meaning "meeting place". Wabaningo – after Wabiwindego of the Grand River Odawa. Wakeshma – Potawatomi word of unknown meaning. Waucedah – Ojibwe word meaning "talking stream". Wawatam – after Wawatam, an Odawa chief.Cleland, Charles E., Rites of Conquest: The History and Culture of Michigan's Native Americans (The University of Michigan Press, 1992) p.138 Weesaw – after Chief Weesaw of the Potawatomi. Wequetonsing – Odawa word wiikwedonsing meaning "at the head of the little bay". Wick-A-Te-Wah Wyoming – from the Munsee Delaware phrase xwé:wamənk, meaning "at the big river flat". Zeba – Ojibwe word "ziibi" meaning "river".
Natural features
Bodies of water
Aginaw Lake Canada Creek Caribou Lake Chicago Lake Chicagon Lake Copneconic Lake Gogomain River Goguac Lake Gook Creek Hugaboom Lake Kanause Lake Kinwamakwad Lake Kitch-iti-kipi Lake Chemung Lake Kawbawgam Lake Macatawa Shared with the Macatawa River. Lake Manitou Manitou Passage Manitou Island in Lake Superior North Manitou and South Manitou Islands in Lake Michigan Lake Minnewauken Lake Mitigwaki Lake Nepessing Lake Ponemah Lake Skegemog Manabezho Falls Manido Falls Milakokia River Milakokia Lake Misteguay Creek Mitchigan River Munro Lake Munuscong Lake Little Munuscong River Munuscong River Munuscong Island Muskallonge Lake Nawadaha Falls