Site Name Origins
Throughout Kansas, early settlers gave places and natural features names derived from tribal languages. Some such as the Lyons County Township of Cahola, a Kanza word meaning “living water” and also a reference to Kanza houses, had a brief usage before supplanted by a different name. Today many of these names remain and 12 counties commemorate tribes: Cherokee, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, Miami, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Potawatomi, Shawnee, Wichita, and Wyandotte. Leavenworth named 19 streets after tribes: Choctaw, Cherokee, Delaware, Shawnee, Seneca, Miami, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Kickapoo, Pottawatomie, Kiowa, Cheyenne, Dakota, Apache, Sioux, Chinango (later Rose Street) and Orinoco (later Rees Street. The state of Kansas also is named for a tribe and one of 26 states with Indian name.
For many place names, name designators had a close approximation of the name such as Wabaunsee named for the Potawatomie chief Wabansi, and, for just as many others, pronunciations and spellings varied so that today’s word or term has little resemblance to the original. Also, name designators often took creative liberties. For example, Osawatomie received its name by combining the tribal names of Osage and Pottawatomie. Settlers also might use the word “Indian” itself as a name like the numerous Indian Creeks in Kansas.
In 2022, a campaign launched to remove “Squaw” as a place name title because of the word’s derogatory connotations and targeted five creeks: Squaw Creek (Brown County, Chautauqua County, Montgomery County, Cherokee County, and Doniphan County) and Squaw Branch (Norton County).
The following name origins are from John Rydjord’s Indian Place-Names (University of Oklahoma Press, 1968) and the 1857 Diary of Joseph E. Johnston unless other source noted.
Appanoose Township and Appanoose Creek, Franklin County. Name of Appan-oze-o-kemar (He who was a hereditary chief), a Sac leader
Arkansas River. Akansa, (By Mouth of River), a village of the Quapaws
Big Woman Creek, Leavenworth County. Name of a Delaware leader
Black Dog Trail. Osage leader
Black Kettle Creek, Harvey County. Black Kettle, Cheyenne leader
Capioma, Nemaha County, Kapioma, a Kickapoo leader
Chautauqua County. Seneca word referring to fishing and first used in New York
Cherokee, Crawford County. Cherokee tribe
Chetopa, Labette County. Tzi-Topah (Four Houses), an Osage chief (also name of three townships in Montgomery, Neosho, and Wilson counties, and a creek in Montgomery County)
Chikaskia Township, Kingman County. Pawnee or Osage
Deep Water, Dickenson County. Originally Nish-co-ba, which means "deep water," the stream is now called Chapman's Creek. Source: Letter of John C. McCoy to F.G. Adams, July 5, 1883.
Fall Leaf, Leavenworth County. Po-na-kah-ko-wah (Fall Leaf), a Delaware leader
Geneseo, Rice County. Site name derived from Seneca language and from several eastern states
Geuda Springs, Cowley/Sumner counties. “Healing water” (Dhegiha Sioux)
Half Day Creek. Pottawatomi leader
Iowa Township, Doniphan County. Iowa tribe
Iuka Township, Pratt County. Leader name (probably Choctaw) used in Iowa first
Kechi, Sedgwick County. Wichita relatives
Kennekuk, Atchison County. Kickapoo prophet leader
Kiowa, Barber County. Kiowa tribe
Lenexa. Na-Nex-Se also known as Lenexa or Len-ag-see, the Shawnee wife of Quasky BlackHoof, came to Kansas from Ohio in 1832 and lived at present-day 71st and Switzer in Merriam, Kansas, on 18 acres of cultivated farmland.
Manhattan, Riley County. Algonquian tribe
Mankato, Jewell County. “Blue earth” or “green pastures” (Sioux)
Marais des Cygnes. Mi’xa-ckau-tse (Where the white swans are plentiful) (Osage) French translation
Menneola, Franklin County. “Water” (Sioux)
Menoken, Shawnee County. “A growing place” (Kanza)
Moneka, Linn County. Osage girl’s name
Muncie, Wyandotte County. Munsee tribe lived there
Muschatoh, Atchison County: May mean “prairie” or Masccoutens (Prairie Band of Pottawatomie name)
Natoma, Osborne County. “Newly born”
Nemaha County: “River of the Omahas” (Sioux)
Neosho County. Something to do with “water” (Osage, Sioux)
Netawaka, Jackson County: “View” (Potawatomie)
Ninnescah, Sedgwick County. A type of water (Osage, Sioux)
Ogallah, Trego County. “She poured out her own” (Sioux)
Oketo, Marshall County: Arkaketah (“Stands by It”), an Oto leader
Olathe, Johnson County. “Beautiful” (Shawnee)
Onaga, Pottawatomie County. Onago, name of an individual (Potawatomie)
Oneida, Nemaha County. Site names from New York and Illinois used in Kansas (Algonquian/Iroquian
Oskaloosa, Jefferson County. Wife of White Cloud; other sources say wife of Osceola, a Creek leader. Could mean "last of the beautiful" or "black rain," from the Mvskoke words "oske" (rain) and "lvste" (black).
Osage City, Osage County. Osage tribe
Osawatomie, Miami County. Combination of two spring names (Osage and Pottawatomie)
Oswego, Labette County. Site names from New York used in Kansas (Algonquian/Iroquian)
Ottawa, Franklin County. Ottawa tribe
Ozawkie, Jefferson County. On-saw-kie (yellow leaf), Sac
Paola, Miami County. Peoria tribe (mispronunciation)
Quenomo, Osage County. Leader name (Sac, Ottawa, and Seneca) or a Sac phrase
Quindaro, Wyandotte County. Delaware-Wyandot woman Quindaro Brown also known as Nancy Guthrie.
Reserve, Brown County. Iowa and Sac and Fox reservation
Sarcoxie, Jefferson County. Delaware leader
Satanta, Haskell County. Kiowa leader
Secondine, Wyandotte County. Delaware leader
Seneca, Nemaha County. Site name from Ohio derived from Seneca tribe
Shingawassa Springs, Marion County. Kanza leader
Shunganunga Creek. Has to do with “horses” (Sioux word used by Kanza)
Stranger Creek. Means to “wander” in Delaware and Kanza
Sugar Creek [Doniphan County]. Kansa tapped hard maple trees on creek for sugar every spring ( Gray's Doniphan County History, 1905)
Tecumseh, Shawnee County. Shawnee leader
Tioga Township, Neosho County. Site named of Iroquois village in Pennsylvania and used in several states
Tonganoxie, Leavenworth County. Tonqua-Oxi, Delaware leader
Towanda, Butler County. Several tribes
Waco Township, Sedgwick County. Relatives of Wichita
Wakarusa. “River of weeds” (Shawnee), “river where milkweed grows” (Kanza), “hip deep”
Wabaunsee, Wabaunsee County. Potawatomie chief Wabansi (Dawn of Day)
Wamego, Pottawatomie County. Wam-me-go surname (Potawatomie)
Wathena, Doniphan County. Wathenah, a Kickapoo leader
Wea, Miami County. A subtribe of the Miami
White Cloud, Doniphan County. Mew-hu-she-kaw (White Cloud), Iowa leader
Wichita, Sedgwick County. Wichita tribe
