# Native American geographical names **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2021, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827 "2021-03-13T14:25:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/21 "2021-03-13T23:47:44Z")
There were a lot of native names on Long Island, often ending in “-ogue”: Cutchogue, Patchogue, Aquabogue, and Quogue. In many cases, though, settlers used the name of a nearby native community. Eventually, the natives were forced off but the name remained. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/22 "2021-03-14T00:01:17Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > That wouldn’t explain the abundance of counties and streets with NA names. Well, a lot of it is simply that there was a limitless abundance of things that needed naming. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/23 "2021-03-14T00:03:03Z")
Seems odd that more places weren’t name for Biblical characters. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/24 "2021-03-14T00:16:48Z")
Well, sort of, in California. We’ve got Saint James, Saint Peter, and Saint Francis (okay, not strictly biblical), to name three. There’s also that city that’s an indirect reference to (Mary, queen of) the Angels. There’s also one or two cities with religion-inspired names, like Sacrament. New Mexico of course has Holy Faith. There’s probably a lot of religion-based names in Utah, though they’re from scriptures not much accepted outside of Mormonism. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/25 "2021-03-14T00:28:55Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Seems odd that more places weren’t name for Biblical characters. There’s some named after Biblical locations tho. Hundreds, really, though I can’t think of any REALLY important places that are directly Biblical. Bethesda, MD, I guess, is next door to something important. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/26 "2021-03-14T00:44:57Z")
Bethlehem, PA is a small city but with a long history. It was home to Bethlehem Steel, one of the giants, and houses prestigious Lehigh University. Nazareth is nearby. PA also has a New Bethlehem. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/27 "2021-03-14T00:50:13Z")
Salem’s Lot was originally Jerusalem’s Lot before all the vampires showed up. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/28 "2021-03-14T01:20:41Z")
Out West there are a lot of Native place names ending in “pah.” Pah means water, so it was important to know where the water was in an area where it was scarce. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/29 "2021-03-14T01:21:40Z")
> [@Civil\_Guy](#): > > There’s probably a lot of religion-based names in Utah, though they’re from scriptures not much accepted outside of Mormonism. Mormons named the Joshua trees. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/30 "2021-03-14T01:35:01Z")
I did not know that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/31 "2021-03-14T01:50:36Z")
Did they give each one its own name, or are they all named Joshua? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/32 "2021-03-14T02:14:30Z")
All Joshua. And they called the wind Mariah. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/33 "2021-03-14T02:42:42Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Out West there are a lot of Native place names ending in “pah.” From the Tuba tribe, also known as the “Oom-pahs.” ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827/34 "2021-03-14T05:00:59Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Heck, we even put a Native American on our five-cent piece, at the very time when we were trying to exterminate them. And of course, just to be consistent, we put a buffalo on the reverse. Well, the “[Buffalo nickel](https://buffalonickel.org/)” was issued between 1913 and 1938. I think by that point we’d mostly stopped trying to exterminate the Native Americans, and the swing to romanticizing them was well underway. * * * ETA: I’m not sure how the hell this wound up quoting one person’s post, but showing up as a reply to another person’s post, but I can’t seem to correct it in edit. Sorry! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-american-geographical-names/937827.md?page=1)