Iroquois Names - Behind the Name

Dehgewanus f Seneca
From a name, also spelled as Dickewamis or Dehhewämis, which was given to the young British settler Mary Jemison (1743-1833) after she was captured and assimilated into the Seneca. Much later she claimed the name meant "pretty girl, pleasant thing", though this interpretation does not seem to be valid.

Hiawatha m History, Iroquois (Anglicized)
Meaning uncertain, of Iroquois origin, possibly meaning "he who combs". This was the name of a Mohawk or Onondaga leader who founded the Iroquois Confederacy around the 15th century. He was later the subject of a fictionalized 1855 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Kaniehtiio f Mohawk
Means "she is good snow" in Mohawk, from ka- "she", óniehte "snow" and the suffix -iio "good".

Kawisenhawe f Mohawk
Means "she holds the ice" in Mohawk, from ka- "she", ówise "ice" and -hawe "hold, have".

Odeserundiye m Mohawk
Possibly means "lightning has struck" in Mohawk. This was the name of an 18th-century Mohawk chief, also called John Deseronto.

Onangwatgo m Oneida (Anglicized)
Means "big medicine" in Oneida, from onúhkwaht "medicine" and the suffix -koó "big, great". This was the name of a chief of the Oneida people, also named Cornelius Hill (1834-1907).

Sganyodaiyo m Seneca
Means "handsome lake" in Seneca, from sganyodeo "lake" and the suffix -iyo "good". This name was borne by an 18th-century Seneca prophet.

Shenandoah m Oneida (Anglicized)
Variant of Skenandoa, or from the name of the Shenandoah River (names that may or may not be connected). The traditional American folk song Oh Shenandoah may refer to the Oneida chief Skenandoa or to the river; it is unclear.

Skenandoa m Oneida (Anglicized)
Possibly from Oneida oskanutú meaning "deer". This was the name of an 18th-century Oneida chief. According to some sources the Shenandoah River in Virginia was named after him, though the river seems to have borne this name from before his birth. It is possible that he was named after the river, or that the similarity in spellings is a coincidence.

Tekakwitha f Mohawk
Means "she who bumps into things" or "she who puts things in place" in Mohawk. Tekakwitha, also named Kateri, was a 17th-century Mohawk woman who has become the first Native American Catholic saint.

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