# Best Native American name for a lake/place **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536 "2025-08-27T17:05:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/1 "2025-08-27T17:05:26Z")
I gotta go with Lake Gichigoomie and I’m glad that Gordon Lightfoot including it in the song. I also thought that “Lightfoot” was a Native American name but it seems it is of Scottish descent. A decent percentage of towns and counties along Lake Erie are Nat Am names. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/2 "2025-08-27T17:09:45Z")
There’s always **Lake Char­gogg­a­gogg­man­chaugg­a­gogg­chau­bun­a­gung­a­maugg** > **[Lake Chaubunagungamaug](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Chaubunagungamaug)** > > Lake Chaubunagungamaug, also known as Webster Lake, is a lake in the town of Webster, Massachusetts. It is located near the state’s border with Connecticut and has a surface area of 1,442 acres (2.253 sq mi). Since 1921, the lake has also been known by a much longer name having 45 letters comprising fourteen syllables: Lake Char­gogg­a­gogg­man­chaugg­a­gogg­chau­bun­a­gung­a­maugg. The lake has become famous beyond Central Massachusetts for having the longest name of any geographic feature in... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/3 "2025-08-27T17:12:22Z")
“Gitche Gumee”, by the by, is the real Ojibwe name for Lake Superior, meaning “great sea”, according to Wikipedia > The [Ojibwe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ojibwe "Ojibwe") name for the lake is _gichi-gami_ (in [syllabics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ojibwe_writing_systems#Ojibwe_syllabics "Ojibwe writing systems"): ᑭᒋᑲᒥ, pronounced _gitchi-gami_ or _kitchi-gami_ in different dialects),[[16]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Superior#cite_note-SuperiorMagOnName-17) meaning “great sea”. [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow") wrote this name as “ **Gitche Gumee** ” in the poem _[The Song of Hiawatha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Song_of_Hiawatha "The Song of Hiawatha")_, as did [Gordon Lightfoot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Lightfoot "Gordon Lightfoot") in his song “[The Wreck of the _Edmund Fitzgerald_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wreck_of_the_Edmund_Fitzgerald "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald")”. > > According to other sources, the full Ojibwe name is ᐅᒋᑉᐧᐁ ᑭᒋᑲᒥ _Ojibwe Gichigami_ (“Ojibwe’s Great Sea”) or ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓈᐯ ᑭᒋᑲᒥ _Anishinaabe Gichigami_ (“[Anishinaabe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anishinaabe "Anishinaabe")’s Great Sea”).[[17]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Superior#cite_note-ChisholmGutsch-18) The 1878 dictionary by [Father Frederic Baraga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic_Baraga "Frederic Baraga"), the first one written for the Ojibway language, gives the Ojibwe name as _Otchipwe-kitchi-gami_ (a transliteration of _Ojibwe Gichigami_).[[16]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Superior#cite_note-SuperiorMagOnName-17) > **[Lake Superior](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Superior)** > > Lake Superior is a lake in central North America. The northernmost, westernmost, and highest of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior straddles the Canada–United States border with the Canadian province of Ontario to the north and east and the U.S. states of Minnesota to the west and Michigan and Wisconsin to the south. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area\[a\] and the third-largest freshwater lake by volume, holding 10% of the fresh water in all of the world's rivers and The O... ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/4 "2025-08-27T19:35:03Z")
“Native American” in its broadest sense, Lake Titicaca always makes me giggle. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/5 "2025-08-27T19:40:13Z")
I always liked [“Monongahela”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monongahela_River) – just fun to say. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/6 "2025-08-27T20:31:51Z")
I’m a fan of [Lake Memphremagog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Memphremagog) on the VT/QC border. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/7 "2025-08-27T20:52:53Z")
Not a lake, but you did say “or place”, I’m fond of the simple literalness of Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/8 "2025-08-27T20:56:08Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > There’s always **Lake Char­gogg­a­gogg­man­chaugg­a­gogg­chau­bun­a­gung­a­maugg** First thing I thought of upon reading the title. what’s the Indian word for Ninja? ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/9 "2025-08-27T21:08:00Z")
I’ve always liked how “Kalamazoo” rolls off the tongue. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/10 "2025-08-27T21:26:13Z")
A like a lot of Western New York names because I heard them so often growing up. More than just nostalgia: I thought they were neat sounding even then. I guess my favorite is the Town of Tonawanda. The alliteration just makes it sound so great to hear. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/11 "2025-08-27T22:43:05Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > a lot of Western New York names I’m still convinced that “Cayuga” and all the other names that sound like it just mean “lake.” We’ve got Cayuga, Keuka, Cayuta, even Canadaigua is close enough that it might just have been someone mumbling. But my favorite is Taughannock Falls. Nobody (who’s from away (showing my Maine roots there)) knows how to pronounce it. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/12 "2025-08-27T22:59:21Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > But my favorite is Taughannock Falls. Nobody (who’s from away (showing my Maine roots there)) knows how to pronounce it. I’ll see you and raise you Skaneateles. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/13 "2025-08-27T23:06:23Z")
Skookumchuck > **[Skookumchuck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skookumchuck)** > > Skookumchuck (/ˈskuːkəmtʃʌk/) is a Chinook Jargon term that is in common use in British Columbia English and occurs in Pacific Northwest English. Skookum means "strong" or "powerful", and "chuck" means water, so skookumchuck means "rapids" or "whitewater" (literally, "strong water"), or fresh, healthy water. It can mean any rapids, but in coastal usage refers to the powerful tidal rapids at the mouths of most of the major coastal inlets. > Places named Skookumchuck include: > > Tidal rapids termed ... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/14 "2025-08-27T23:09:25Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > I’m still convinced that “Cayuga” and all the other names that sound like it just mean “lake.” “Cuyahoga”, as in the county that Cleveland is in and (originally) the river that bisects the town, means “Crooked”. Because the river is even more irregular than most. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/15 "2025-08-27T23:20:50Z")
I always liked ‘Mississippi’. Not so much for the word itself, but spelling it out loud was a fun exercise for grade-school me. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/16 "2025-08-27T23:22:25Z")
Lake Pottawattamie makes the ten-year-old in me smirk. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/17 "2025-08-27T23:29:38Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > But my favorite is Taughannock Falls. Nobody (who’s from away (showing my Maine roots there)) knows how to pronounce it. My guess would be something like tuh-GAN-ick. Am I close? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/18 "2025-08-28T00:14:40Z")
I’ve crossed over the [Wateree river](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wateree_River) a lot while traveling to the sandee shore of the waveee ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/19 "2025-08-28T00:17:35Z")
My wife’s Aunt had a house on Lake Wawasee in northern Indiana. Wawasee, it’s fun to say. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536/20 "2025-08-28T16:11:10Z")
We have a small river nearby named Wakarusa (it’s a tributary to the Kansas River). Folks around here claim that a rough translation is “The water is up to my ass.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-native-american-name-for-a-lake-place/1022536.md?page=2)