The region of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

in the United States has numerous place names derived from the indigenous peoples of the area. New England is in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

, and comprises six states:

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, and

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. Listed are well-known names of towns, significant bodies of water, and mountains. This list can virtually never be sufficiently completed as there are hundreds of thousands of place names in New England.

Formation and transmission of names

All the names in this section come to us only through persons whose first language was

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and only rarely knew any other. From the few sources who were bilingual, we are fortunate to have some concept of how some of the names were segmented in the languages from which they came. Those names often tend to predominate in lists such as these, just because they are more easily understood. Most names were received by English settlers who had little idea what they meant. Being naturally curious, they asked the natives what the names meant or conjectured among themselves or both. The natives were faced with having to explain the name in a language they knew but rudimentarily. They interpreted freely, often giving the use or features of interest about the place rather than trying to explain the elements of their language to the English. They never had a linguist's understanding of the structure of their language. Their descendants, speaking primarily English, no longer knew how to produce meaningful utterances in the language of their native forefathers. Consequently, the names can be divided into roughly two categories: those for which the original

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

is known to some degree and those for which it is not. The meanings of the latter category are traditional only, but the tradition may not necessarily descend from a native speaker. It may have been a settler's conjecture, passed on through the social mechanism of the sacred words of the forefathers or simply because no other interpretation was available. The mechanism can be seen most clearly in names for which both categories of meaning exist. You might read that a name is supposed to mean "the place of portage" or "the pines" when in fact those meanings are not even implied by the morphology of the name. It is entirely possible, however, that those places were used for those purposes. On the other hand, some settler may have guessed that they were used for those purposes. In cases where there is no morphology there is little point in argument over the "correct meaning" of the name, an activity enjoyed by New Englanders since settlement times, and which also you will undoubtedly see much of in Wikipedia. New England in the early 17th century when English colonists first landed was tenanted by variously named tribes for the most part speaking languages of the Algonquian family. Our aboriginals spoke an eastern branch of the group. It often happened that whole regions were named after the tribe inhabiting it, such as Massachusetts, nor does this appear to have been an English naming convention only. In this the aboriginals were non-different from the tribes of classical Europe, whose names still dot the map of Europe. Like the tribal names of Europe, the native names descended from an antiquity long lost. The natives themselves may not have known what they meant. For these names we have mainly tradition, but even that should be regarded as more speculative than not.

Places named after tribes

Place names on this list represent a number of tribes speaking aboriginal languages within the Algonquian family, for the most part, if in warped or anglicized form: *

Abnaki The Abenaki (Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predom ...

* Hammonassett *

Mahican The Mohican ( or , alternate spelling: Mahican) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, who ...

Mattabesset Mattabesset was a region and settlement once occupied by Algonquian language-speaking Native Americans called the Wangunk, along the Connecticut River. The Mattabesset River reaches the Connecticut River near Middletown, Connecticut. European sett ...

*Mill *

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

Mohegan The Mohegan are an Algonquian Native American tribe historically based in present-day Connecticut. Today the majority of the people are associated with the Mohegan Indian Tribe, a federally recognized tribe living on a reservation in the easte ...

* Montauk *

Natick Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

* Narragansett *

Niantic Niantic may refer to: * Niantic people, tribe of American Indians * Niantic, Inc., mobile app developer known for the mobile games ''Ingress'' and ''Pokémon Go'' Ships * ''Niantic'' (whaling vessel), relic of San Francisco Gold Rush *USS ''Ni ...

Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian language. Their historic territory Nippenet, "the freshwater pond place," is in central Massachusetts and nearby part ...

Norridgewock Norridgewock was the name of both an Indigenous village and a band of the Abenaki ("People of the Dawn") Native Americans/First Nations, an Eastern Algonquian tribe of the United States and Canada. The French of New France called the village Ke ...

Passamaquoddy The Passamaquoddy ( Maliseet-Passamaquoddy: ''Peskotomuhkati'') are a Native American/First Nations people who live in northeastern North America. Their traditional homeland, Peskotomuhkatik'','' straddles the Canadian province of New Brunswick ...

Paugussett The Golden Hill Paugussett is a state-recognized Native American tribe in Connecticut. Granted reservations in a number of towns in the 17th century, their land base was whittled away until they were forced to reacquire a small amount of territor ...

Pennacook The Pennacook, also known by the names Penacook and Pennacock, were an Algonquian-speaking Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who lived in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and southern Maine. They were not a united tribe but a netwo ...

Penobscot The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic pr ...

Pequot The Pequot () are a Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut including the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, or th ...

Podunk The terms ''podunk'' and ''Podunk Hollow'' in American English denote or describe an insignificant, out-of-the-way, or even completely fictitious town.Nick Bacon. "Podunk After Pratt: Place and Placelessness in East Hartford, CT." In ''Confrontin ...

* Poquonock *

Quinnipiac Quinnipiac is the English name for the Eansketambawg (meaning "original people"; ''cf.'' Ojibwe: ''Anishinaabeg'' and Blackfoot: ''Niitsítapi''), a Quiripi-speaking Native American nation of the Algonquian family who inhabited the ''Wampano ...

* Tunxi *

Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...

Connecticut

Common dialects of the Algonquian languages: Hammonasset,

, Montauk,

, Pequot-Mohegan,

, Poquonock,

, Tunxi,

Wangunk The Wangunk or Wongunk were an Indigenous people from central Connecticut. They had three major settlements in the areas of the present-day towns of Portland, Middletown, and Wethersfield. They also used lands in other parts of what were later org ...

, the state, and river: (in several dialects) "place of the long river" or "by the long tidal stream" **

Aspetuck River The Aspetuck River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The river rises in the hills located in Huntington State Par ...

(and

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

): (Paugussett) "at the high place" ** Cockenoe Island: (Montauk) from the name of a 17th-century native interpreter **

Coginchaug River The Coginchaug River in Connecticut, with a watershed including 39 sq mi of forests, pastures, farmland, industrial, and commercial areas, is the main tributary of the Mattabesset River. It is 16.1 mi long, and the river flows northwards fro ...

: (Wangunk) "place where fish are dried/cured" ** Congamuck Ponds (on Maine border Congamond Lake): (Nipmuck) "long fishing place" **

Cos Cob Cos Cob is a neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut. It is located on the Connecticut shoreline in southern Fairfield County. It had a population of 6,770 at the 2010 census. Cos Cob is located on the west ...

: (Mohegan from ''Cassacubque'') "high rocks" ** Hammonassett Point: (Hammonassett) "place of sand bars" **

Hockanum River The Hockanum River is a river in Connecticut. Hockanum is derived from the Native American Podunk people Algonquin language word meaning "hook-shaped", so named because of the course of the river. The Hockanum neighborhood in East Hartford is na ...

(and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

): (Podunk) "hook" **

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...

: (Mahican) "beyond the mountain" **

Mashapaug Pond Mashapaug Pond is the largest freshwater pond in the city of Providence, Rhode Island. Over the past four hundred years, Mashapaug Pond has been a site of indigenous settlement and displacement, deforestation and agriculture, urban and industr ...

: (Nipmuck) "large pond" ** Massapeag: (Mohegan) "place at the large cove" ** Menunketesuck River (and

Menunketesuck Island Menunketesuck Island, also known as Menunketesuck Point, is an island in Long Island Sound located in the town of Westbrook in Middlesex County, Connecticut, US. Geography Menunketesuck Island consists of approximately 4.6 acres of land, though ...

): (Hammonasset) "strong flowing stream" **

Mianus River The Mianus River is a river in Westchester County, New York, and Fairfield County, Connecticut, in the United States. It begins in the town of North Castle, New York (east of Armonk) in a series of ponds at about altitude. Flowing northeast i ...

(and

): (Paugussett) a 17th-century chief's name – "Mianu/Mayanno's" ** Mohawk Mountain: eastern

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

tribe; Algonquian term for their western enemies – "wolves," "hungry animals," or "cannibals" **

: tribe; "hungry animal" or "wolf" ** Moodus River (also reservoir, and

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

): (Wangunk) from "mache moodus" or "bad noises" (the Moodus noises) ** Moosup: (Narragansett) a chief named "Mausup" **

Mystic River The Mystic River is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in Massachusetts, in the United States. In Massachusett, means "large estuary," alluding to t ...

(and

): (Pequot-Mohegan) "great tidal river" **

Naugatuck River The Naugatuck River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Its waters carve out the Naugatuck River Valley in the wes ...

(and

): (Quinnipiac) "single tree" **

Natchaug River The Natchaug River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in Windham and Tolland Counties in northeastern Connecticut. The name ''Natchaug'' comes from ...

: (Nipmuck) "between rivers" **

Nepaug Reservoir The Nepaug River begins at the confluence of North Nepaug Brook and Cedar Swamp Brook about east of Bakerville, Connecticut. It runs for to the Farmington River about south of Cherry Brook, Connecticut.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrogr ...

: (Wangunk) "fresh pond" **

Niantic River The Niantic River is a mainly tidal river in eastern Connecticut. It is crossed by the Niantic River Bridge carrying Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. It separates the towns of East Lyme and Waterford. The river is long.U.S. Geological Survey. Nat ...

(and

): tribe; "point of land on tidal river" **

Norwalk River The Norwalk River is a river in southwestern Connecticut, United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 The word "Norwalk" comes from t ...

(and

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

): (Algonquian) ''noyank'' or "point of land" or from the name Naramauke

** Oronoque, Connecticut, Oronoque: (Quinnipiac) "curved place" or "land at the bend" **

Pachaug River The Pachaug River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river arising from the Pachaug State Forest at the Connecticut - Rhode Island border and draining in ...

(and

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

): (Narragansett) "at the turning place" ** Pataguanset Lake: (Niantic) "at the round, shallow place" **

Pawcatuck River The Pawcatuck River is a river in the US states of Rhode Island and Connecticut flowing approximately .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 There are eight dam ...

(Rhode Island border): (Niantic/Pequot) "the clear divided (tidal) stream" ** Pequabuck: (Wangunk) "clear, open pond" ** Pistapaug Pond: (Quinnipiac) "muddy pond" ** Pocotopaug Lake: (Wangunk) "divided pond" or "two ponds" ** Poquetanuck: (Mohegan) "land broken up" (like dried mud cracking) ** Poquonock Bridge and

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

: (Algonquian – several) "cleared land" **

Quaddick Reservoir Quaddick Reservoir is a man-made body of water in the town of Thompson, Connecticut. The reservoir has three sections: Lower (124 acres), Middle (203 acres), and Upper (81 acres). It originated with the completion of a dam on the Five Mile River ...

: (Nipmuck) "bend in river" or (Narragansett) "boggy place" **

Lake Quassapaug Lake Quassapaug is a reservoir located in Middlebury, Connecticut. It is home to Quassy Amusement Park Quassy Amusement Park is an amusement and waterpark in Middlebury, Connecticut, and is one of only 11 trolley parks still operating in the ...

: (Quinnipiac) "big pond" or "big rock" **

Quinebaug River The Quinebaug River is a river in south-central Massachusetts and eastern Connecticut, with watershed extending into western Rhode Island. The name "Quinebaug" comes from the southern New England Native American term, spelled variously , , etc ...

(and

): (Nipmuck) "long pond" **

Quinnipiac River The Quinnipiac River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 long river in the New England region of the United States, located entirely in the state of Conne ...

: (Quinnipiac) "where we change our route" ** Lake Quonnipaug: (Quinnipiac) "long pond" ** Sachem Head: (Algonquian/general) "chief" **

Saugatuck River The Saugatuck River is a river in southwestern Connecticut in the United States. It drains part of suburban and rural Fairfield County west of Bridgeport, emptying into Long Island Sound. , a U.S. Navy oiler that saw service in World War II, wa ...

: (Paugussett) "outlet of the tidal river" ** Scitico: (Nipmuck) "land at the river branch" ** Shenipsit Lake: (Mohegan) "at the great pool" **

Shepaug River The Shepaug River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in western Connecticut, in the United States. The river originates at the south end of the Shepa ...

: (Tunxis) "great pond" **

Shetucket River The Shetucket River is a tributary of the Thames River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in eastern Connecticut in the United States. It is formed at ...

: (Mohegan) "land between rivers" **

Shunock River The Shunock River is a river belonging to Connecticut state in the United States of America. It is an eastward flowing river that joins the Pawcatuck River. According to a 1978 study, the lower Shunock River valley had a good potential for sustain ...

: (Mohegan) "stony place" or possibly "place between streams" ** Skungamug River: (Nipmuck) "eel-fishing place" ** Taconic: (Mahican) "steep ascent" **

Uncasville Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

: (Mohegan) 17th-century chief's name (wonkus – "fox") ** Wangum Lake: (Paugussett) "bend/crooked" ** Wangumbaug Lake: (Nipmuck) "crooked pond" ** Wangumgaug Lake: "crooked pond" **

Lake Waramaug Lake Waramaug is a lake occupying parts of the towns of Kent, Warren and Washington in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, approximately north of Danbury. The lake is named after Chief Waramaug, who wintered in the area surrounding L ...

: (Mahican) "good fishing-place" **

Willimantic River The Willimantic River is a tributary of the Shetucket River, approximately 25 mi (40 km) long in northeastern Connecticut in the New England region of the United States. It is formed in northern Tolland County, near Stafford Springs ...

(and

): (Mohegan or Nipmuck) "good cedar swamp" ** Winnepauk: (Mahican) "beautiful pond" ** Wononpacook Pond: (Mahican) "land at the bend in the pond" ** Wononskopomuc Lake: (Mahican) "rocks at the bend in the lake" ** Wopowaug River: (Wangunk) "crossing-place" ** Wopowog: (Wangunk) "crossing-place" ** Wyassup Lake: (Mohegan) "flags" or "rushes" **

Yantic River The Yantic River forms at the confluence of the Deep River, Sherman Brook, and Exeter Brook about east of Colchester, Connecticut. It runs for and flows into the Shetucket River in Norwich, forming the Thames River.U.S. Geological Survey. Nation ...

(and

): (Mohegan) "as far as the tide goes up this side of the river" *Former names: ** Mameeg or Nameeg: (Pequot-Mohegan) "fishing place"

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

** Miamogue: (Paugussett) "where we come together to fish"

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

(harbor) ** Nawaas: general name for

Maine

Common languages: *Northern:

Maliseet The Wəlastəkwewiyik, or Maliseet (, also spelled Malecite), are an Algonquian-speaking First Nation of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the indigenous people of the Wolastoq ( Saint John River) valley and its tributaries. Their territory ...

*Southern: Abnaki,

Allagash River The Allagash River is a tributary of the Saint John River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 in northern Maine in the United States. It d ...

(and town): (Abnaki) "bark shelter" **

Androscoggin River The Androscoggin River (Abenaki: ''Aləssíkαntekʷ'') is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ...

: (Abnaki) "place where fish are dried/cured" **

Aroostook River The Aroostook River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 tributary of the Saint John River in the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Bru ...

: (Mi'kmaq) "beautiful river" **

Aziscohos Lake The Magalloway River is a river in northwestern Maine and northern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Androscoggin River, which flows to the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine, near the Atlantic Ocean. The total ...

: (Abnaki) "small pine trees" **

Caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

: (Abnaki) ''kalibu'' "shoveler" (gets food by pawing or shoveling) **

Casco Bay Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland sits along its south ...

: (Mi'kmaq) muddy **

Chebeague Island Chebeague Island is located in Casco Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Maine. It was originally used as a fishing ground by Abenaki Native Americans. Also known as Great Chebeague (pronounced "sha-big") Island, today it is a town in Cumberland Count ...

: (Abnaki) "separated place" ** Chemquasabamticook Lake: (Abnaki) "where there is a large lake and roocks" ** Chesuncook Lake: (Abnaki) "at the principal outlet" **

Chiputneticook Lakes The Chiputneticook Lakes are a group of several lakes along the international boundary between Maine and New Brunswick. They are East Grand Lake, North Lake, Mud Lake, Spednic Lake, and Palfrey Lake. This lake system forms the head waters of the ...

: (Abnaki) "at the place of the big hill stream" **

Cobscook Bay Cobscook Bay is located in Washington County in the state of Maine. It opens into Passamaquoddy Bay, within the Bay of Fundy. Cobscook Bay is immediately south of the island city of Eastport, the main island of which (Moose Island) straddles the ...

: (Maliseet) "rocks under water" **

Cobbosseecontee Lake Lake Cobbosseecontee, also known as Cobbossee Lake, is a lake located in the towns of Litchfield, Maine, Litchfield, Manchester, Maine, Manchester, Monmouth, Maine, Monmouth, West Gardiner, Maine, West Gardiner, and Winthrop, Maine, Winthrop in th ...

: (Abnaki) "many sturgeon" ** Damariscotta (and

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

and

): (Abnaki) "many alewives" ** Katahdin: (Abnaki) "the principal mountain" **

Kennebago Lake The Kennebago River is a river in northwestern part of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a tributary of Cupsuptic Lake, an arm of Mooselookmeguntic Lake. Via a chain of lakes and the Rapid River, it is part of the Androscoggin River watershed. Ke ...

: (Abnaki) "long/large pond/lake" **

Kennebec River The Kennebec River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 30, 2011 river within the U.S. state of Maine. It ri ...

: (Abnaki) "long quiet water" ** Kennebunk (and

): (Abnaki) "long sand bar" ** Madawaska River: (Mi'kmaq) "where one river joins another" ** Matagamon: (Abnaki) "far on the other side" ** Matinicus Island: (Abnaki) "far-out island" ** Mattamiscontis Lake: (Abnaki) "many ale-wives" **

Mattawamkeag River The Mattawamkeag River is a river in Maine. From the confluence of its East Branch and West Branch () in Haynesville, about west of the Canada–United States border, the river runs U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-r ...

(and

): (Abnaki) "fishing beyond gravel bar" or (Mi'kmaq) "on a sand bar" ** Metinic Island: (Abnaki) "far-out island" **

Millinocket Millinocket is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,114 at the 2020 census. Millinocket's economy has historically been centered on forest products and recreation, but the paper company closed in 2008. History ...

(and

): (Abnaki) "this place is admirable" ** Molunkus Pond (and

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

): (Abnaki) "ravine" **

Monhegan Island Monhegan () is an island in the Gulf of Maine located in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. A plantation, a minor civil division in the state of Maine falling between unincorporated area and a town, it is located about off the mainland. Th ...

: (Mi'kmaq or Maliseet) "out-to-sea island" **

Mooselookmeguntic Lake Mooselookmeguntic Lake is located in Franklin County and Oxford County, Maine, in the United States. It is part of the Androscoggin River watershed. It is located in the western part of Maine, near the border with the state of New Hampshire and ...

: (Abnaki) "moose feeding place" (portage to or big trees at) **

Muscongus Bay Muscongus Bay is a bay on the coast of Maine, United States, between Penobscot Bay and John's Bay. Muscongus was the name of an Abenaki village meaning "fishing place" or "many r largerock ledges." John Smith recorded the river in 1616 as Nusco ...

: (Abnaki) "many/large rock ledges" ** Musquash Lake: (Abnaki) "muskrat" ** Musquacook River (and

): (Abnaki) "muskrat place" ** Nahmakanta Lake: (Abnaki) "many fish" ** Nollesemic (and

): (Abnaki) "resting place at the falls" **

Ogunquit Ogunquit ( ) is a resort town in York County, Maine. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,577. Ogunquit is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Ogunquit, which means "beau ...

: (Mi'kmaq) "lagoons within dunes" ** Orono: (Abnaki) purportedly from a Chief Joseph Orono, no translation **

Ossipee River The Ossipee River is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 30, 2011 river in eastern New Hampshire and western Maine in the United States. It is a tributary of the Saco ...

: (Abnaki) "beyond the water" ** Oquossoc: (Abnaki) "place of trout" (a certain trout-type) ** Passadumkeag: (Abnaki) "rapids over gravel beds" **

Passamaquoddy Bay Passamaquoddy Bay (french: Baie de Passamaquoddy) is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, between the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick, at the mouth of the St. Croix River. Most of the bay lies within Canada, with its w ...

: tribal name; "place of abundance of pollack" ** Pemadumcook Lake: (Maliseet) "extended sand bar place" ** Pemaquid: (Mi'kmaq) "extended land" (peninsula) **

Penobscot River The Penobscot River (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's We ...

: (Abnaki?) tribal name; "place of descending rocks/ledges" **

Piscataqua River The Piscataqua River (Abenaki: ''Pskehtekwis'') is a tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River. The drainage basin of the river ...

(New Hampshire border): (Pennacook) "the place where the river divides" **

Piscataquis River The Piscataquis River is a major tributary of the Penobscot River, found in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. It starts from the confluence of its East Branch and West Branch () in Blanchard. The river flows in a mostly eastern direction ...

: (Abnaki) "at the river branch" ** Quoddy Head: (Passamaquoddy) abbreviation to "pollack" ** Saco (and

): (Abnaki) "flowing out" or "outlet" **

Sebago Lake Sebago Lake is the deepest and second-largest lake in the U.S. state of Maine. The lake is deep at its deepest point, with a mean depth of . It is possible that Sebago is the deepest lake wholly contained within the entire New England region, ...

(and

): (Abnaki) "big lake" ** Sebasticook Lake: (Penobscot-Abnaki) "almost-through place" ** Seboomook Lake (and

): (Abnaki) "at the large stream" **

Skowhegan Skowhegan () is the county seat of Somerset County, Maine. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,620. Every August, Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest continuously-held state fair in the United States. Skowh ...

(

): (Abnaki) "watching place

or fish Or or OR may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H * Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew) Music * ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Mis ...

** Squa Pan Lake (and

): (Abnaki) "bear's den" ** Umcolcus Lake: (Abnaki) "whistling duck" ** Usuntabunt Lake: (Abnaki) "wet head" or possibly "three heads" ** Wassutaquook River: sp. **

Webhannet River The Webhannet River is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 30, 2011 river whose watershed is contained entirely within the town of Wells, Maine. The river has five ...

: (Abnaki) "at the clear stream" *Former names: ** Ahbaysauk: (Abnaki) "place where clams are baked/dried"

Bar Harbor Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire i ...

** Amitgon pontook: (Abnaki) "place at the falls where fish are dried/cured" Lewiston Falls ** Machegony: (mi'kmaq) "shaped like a large knee"

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Massachusetts

Common languages: *Eastern:

Massachusett The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills ...

(southeast) *Western: Natick, Nipmuck, Narragansett (southwest),

Pocumtuck The Pocumtuc (also Pocomtuck or Deerfield Indians) were a Native American tribe historically inhabiting western areas of Massachusetts. Settlements Their territory was concentrated around the confluence of the Deerfield and Connecticut Rivers ...

(the state): (Natick) "by the great hills" (the hills of Milton, Blue Hill, south of Boston) ** Achastapac: (Pocumtuck) "Land of rivers and mountains" ** Acoaxet: (Narragansett) "at the fishing promontory" or "place of small pines" **

Acushnet River The Acushnet River is the largest river, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 flowing into Buzzards Bay in southeastern Massachusetts, in the United Stat ...

(and

): (Naragansett) "at the cove" ** Agawam: (Nipmuck or Pennacook) "low land" (with water) or "place to unload canoes" (possible portage spot) **

Annisquam Annisquam is a waterfront village in the Gloucester, Massachusetts, city of Gloucester, on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Massachusetts. It is a few miles across Cape Ann from downtown Gloucester. History The name "Annisquam" come ...

(and

) **

Assabet River The Assabet River is a small, long river located about west of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 The Assabet rises ...

: (Nipmuck) "at the boggy place" **

Assawompset Pond Assawompset Pond is a reservoir/pond within the towns of Lakeville and Middleboro, in southeastern Massachusetts. It shares its waters with Long Pond and is openly connected with Pocksha Pond.USGS Quadrangle Map These lakes provide a source of ...

: Narragansett "trading place"; (Wampanoag) "place of large upright rock" ** Assinippi: (Wampanoag) "rocks in water" ** Assonet River (also Cedar Swamp and

): (Narragansett) "at the rock" – the rock in question being

Dighton Rock The Dighton Rock is a 40-ton boulder, originally located in the riverbed of the Taunton River at Berkley, Massachusetts (formerly part of the town of Dighton). The rock is noted for its petroglyphs ("primarily lines, geometric shapes, and schema ...

** Cataumet: (Wampanoag) "at the ocean" or "landing place" **

Lake Chaubunagungamaug Lake Chaubunagungamaug, also known as Webster Lake, is a lake in the town of Webster, Massachusetts. It is located near the Connecticut border and has a surface area of 1,442 acres. Since 1921, the lake has also been known by a much longer name h ...

: (Nipmuck-Mohegan) "boundary fishing place" **

Chappaquiddick Island Chappaquiddick Island (Massachusett language: ''tchepi-aquidenet''; colloquially known as "Chappy"), a part of the town of Edgartown, Massachusetts, is a small peninsula and occasional island on the eastern end of Martha's Vineyard. Norton Poi ...

: (Wampanoag) "separated island" ** Chicopee (also falls, and

): (Nipmuck) "violent water" ** Cochituate: (Natick) "place of swift water" ** Cohasset: (Natick) "long rocky place" ** Congamond Lake (on Connecticut border – Congamuck Ponds): (Nipmuck) "long fishing place" **

Cotuit Cotuit ( ) is one of the villages of the Town of Barnstable on Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on a peninsula on the south side of Barnstable about midway between Falmouth and Hyannis, Cotuit is bounded by t ...

: (Wampanoag) "long planting field" ** Cummaquid: (Wampanoag) "harbor" **

Cuttyhunk Cuttyhunk Island is the outermost of the Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. A small outpost for the harvesting of sassafras was occupied for a few weeks in 1602, arguably making it the first English settlement in New England. Cuttyhunk is loc ...

: (Wampanoag) "thing that lies out in the sea" ** Gansett Harbor **

Mount Greylock Mount Greylock is a mountain located in the northwest corner of Massachusetts and is the highest point in the state. Its summit is in the western part of the town of Adams (near its border with Williamstown) in Berkshire County. Geologicall ...

: named for a Missisquoi chief ** Hockanum: (Podunk) "hook" **

Hockomock Swamp The Hockomock Swamp is a vast wetland encompassing much of the northern part of southeastern Massachusetts. This land is considered the largest freshwater swamp in the state. It acts as a natural flood control mechanism for the region. History Dur ...

: (Natick-Abnaki) "evil spirit" or "hellish place"; (Narragansett) "hook-shaped place" **

Hoosac Tunnel The Hoosac Tunnel (also called Hoosic or Hoosick Tunnel) is a active railroad tunnel in western Massachusetts that passes through the Hoosac Range, an extension of Vermont's Green Mountains. It runs in a straight line from its east portal, alo ...

: (Mahican) "rock place" **

Humarock Humarock (often called Humarock Beach or Humarock Island) is part of Scituate, Massachusetts, United States. Humarock is a picturesque seaside village surrounded by water and situated on Cape Cod Bay midway between Boston and Plymouth. It was sepa ...

: (Wampanoag) "shell place" or "rock carving" ** Hyannis: (Wampanoag) name of a 17th-century chief, "Iyanogh's" **

Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commun ...

(and

): (Natick) "beaver" **

Manhan River The Manhan River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in western Massachusetts. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River. The river begins near the ...

: (Nipmuck) "island" ** Manomet (and

point Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

): (Wampanoag) "portage place" ** Mashpee: (Wampamoag) "place near great cove" **

Mattapan Mattapan () is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. Historically a section of neighboring Dorchester, Mattapan became a part of Boston when Dorchester was annexed in 1870. Mattapan is the original Native American name for the Dorchester ar ...

: (Natick) "resting place" or "end of portage" ** Mattapoisett: (Wampanoag) "resting place" or "edge of cove" ** Megansett Harbor ** Merrimac: (Pennacook) "deep place" **

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Mas ...

: (Abnaki) "at the deep place" ** Mishaum Point: (Narragansett) "great neck" or "canoe-landing place" **

Lake Monomonac Lake Monomonac is an artificial lake that straddles the border between Rindge, New Hampshire, and Winchendon, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was created from a small pond in New Hampshire by the construction of dams on the North Branch of ...

(NH border): (Abnaki) "at the very deep place" **

Monatiquot River The Monatiquot River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in Braintree, Massachusetts, formed by the confluence of the Farm River and Cochato River ...

(Massachusett) "a lookout-out place" **

Monomoy Island Monomoy Island is an spit of sand extending southwest from Chatham, Cape Cod off the Massachusetts mainland. Because of shifting sands and water levels, it is often connected to the mainland, and at other times is separated from it. It is hom ...

(and

): (Wampanoag) "look-out place" or "deep water" ** Muskeget Island (and

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

): (Wampanoag) "grassy place" **

: (Natick) "great tidal stream" ** Nabnasset: (Nipmuck) ** Nagog Pond:

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

water supply located in

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

Nahant Nahant is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,334 at the 2020 census, which makes it the smallest municipality by population in Essex County. With just of land area, it is the smallest municipality by are ...

: (Natick) "the point" or "almost an island" **

Nantasket Beach Nantasket Beach is a beach in the town of Hull, Massachusetts. It is part of the Nantasket Beach Reservation, administered by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. The shore has fine, light gray sand and is one of the busiest be ...

: (Natick/Wampanoag) "at the strait" or "low-tide place" **

Nantucket Island Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

: (Wampanoag) "in the midst of waters"; (Naragansett) far off, among the waves **

Nashawena Island Nashawena Island is the second largest of the Elizabeth Islands of Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies between Cuttyhunk Island to the west and Pasque Island to the east. The island has a land area of and an official permanen ...

: (Wampanoag) "between" ** Nashoba Brook **

: tribe; "the place I seek" or "home," "place," "clearing" **

Naushon Island Naushon Island is the largest of the Elizabeth Islands in southeastern Massachusetts. It is part of the New England town, town of Gosnold, Massachusetts, and is owned by the Forbes family. As of the United States Census, 2000, 2000 census, the isl ...

: (Wampanoag) "middle" (no clear translation) **

Nemasket River The Nemasket or Namasket River is a small river in southeastern Massachusetts. It flows north U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 from Assawompset Pond in Lake ...

: (Wampanoag) "place where the fish are" **

Neponset River The Neponset River is a river in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. Its headwaters are at the Neponset Reservoir in Foxborough, near Gillette Stadium. From there, the Neponset meanders generally northeast for about to its mouth at ...

: (Natick) possibly "a good fall" (easy for canoe travel) **

Nonamesset Island Nonamesset Island is the most easterly of the Elizabeth Islands of Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The island has a land area of 1.398 km² (0.54 sq mi or 345.5 acres) and was uninhabited as of the United States Census, 2000, 2000 ...

: (Wampanoag) ** Nissitissit: (Nipmuc) "two brooks" or "between two brooks" ** Nonquitt: (Narragansett) "dry or landing place" **

Onota Lake Onota Lake is located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is in area, located entirely in the City of Pittsfield and is owned by it. It is divided into north and south basins due to the old roadway that marked to north end with minimal water exc ...

: (Mahican) "blue/deep" **

Pasque Island Pasque Island is one of the Elizabeth Islands of Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies between Nashawena Island to the west and Naushon Island to the east. The island has a land area of 3.45 km² (1.333 sq mi or 853 acres) and h ...

Penikese Island Penikese Island is a island off the coast of Massachusetts, United States, in Buzzards Bay. It is one of the Elizabeth Islands, which make up the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts. Penikese is located near the west end of the Elizabeth island cha ...

** Pocasset: (Natick) "where the stream widens" ** Pontoosuc: (Mahican or Nipmuck) "falls on the brook" ** Punkatasset Hill (Algonquian) **

Quabbin Reservoir The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts, and was built between 1930 and 1939. Along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, to the east, and 40 other cities and towns in Greate ...

: (Nipmuck) "crooked streams" **

Quaboag River The Quaboag River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in Massachusetts that heads at Quaboag Pond in Brookfield at an elevation of above sea level. ...

: (Nipmuck) "before the pond" or abbreviation of "red pond" (m'squ'boag) **

: (Nipmuck) "long pond" **

Lake Quinsigamond Lake Quinsigamond (also ''Long Pond'') is a body of water situated between the city of Worcester and the town of Shrewsbury in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 4 miles (6 km) long, between 50 and 85 feet (15 and 26 m) ...

: (Nipmuck) "pickerel-fishing place ** Quissett: (Nipmuck) "at the place of small pines" ** Sagamore: (Wampanoag) "chief" ** Santuit: (Wampanoag) "cool water place" ** Saugus: (Natick) "outlet" ** Scituate: (Wampanoag) "at the cold spring or brook" ** Seekonk: (Narragansett) "wild black goose" or (Wampanoag) "mouth of stream" or "wild goose" ** Segreganset River: (Narragansett) "place of hard rocks" **

Shawmut Peninsula Shawmut Peninsula is the promontory of land on which Boston, Massachusetts was built. The peninsula, originally a mere in area,Miller, Bradford A., "Digging up Boston: The Big Dig Builds on Centuries of Geological Engineering", GeoTimes, Octobe ...

: (Algonquian) "ferry" or "place to draw up canoes" **

Siasconset Siasconset is a census designated place (CDP) at the eastern end of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, United States with an elevation of 52 feet (16 m), and a population of 205 at the 2010 census. Although unincorporated, the village has ...

: (Narragansett) "at the place of many/great bones" (whales?) ** Sippewissett **

Snipatuit Pond Snipatuit Pond is a shallow warm water pond in Rochester, Massachusetts. The average depth is five feet and the maximum depth is six feet, except for one very small nine foot hole near the pump station on the west shore. The pond is the headwaters ...

: (Wampanoag) "at the rocky river" **

Squannacook River The Squannacook River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in northern Massachusetts. It is a tributary of the Nashua River and part of the Merrimac ...

: (Nipmuc) "place for taking salmon" ** Squibnocket Point (and

): (Wampanoag) "at the place of dark rocks" (or clay cliff) **

Swampscott Swampscott () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located up the coast from Boston in an area known as the North Shore. The population was 15,111 as of the 2020 United States Census. A former summer resort on Massachusetts Ba ...

: (Natick) "place of red rocks" ** Succanessett **

Taconic Mountains The Taconic Mountains or Taconic Range () are a range of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England from northwest Connecticut to western Massachusetts, north to central western Vermont. ...

: (Natick) "steep ascent" **

Tantiusques Tantiusques ("Tant-E-oos-kwiss") is a open space reservation and historic site registered with the National Register of Historic Places. The reservation is located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and is owned and managed by The Trustees of Rese ...

: (Nipmuck) "black stuff between the hills" **

Tuckernuck Island Tuckernuck is an island in the town and former whaling port of Nantucket, Massachusetts, west of Nantucket Island and east of Muskeget. Its name allegedly means "a loaf of bread". The island has an area of about . The highest point is about . Se ...

: (Wampanoag) "round loaf of bread" **

Uncatena Island Uncatena Island is one of the Elizabeth Islands of Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the most northerly of the Elizabeth Islands and lies just off the northernmost point of Naushon Island. Uncatena has a land area of 0.492 km² ...

Mount Wachusett Mount Wachusett is a mountain in Massachusetts. It straddles towns of Princeton and Westminster, in Worcester County. It is the highest point in Massachusetts east of the Connecticut River. The mountain is named after a Native American term me ...

(and

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

): (Natick) "near the mountain" **

Waquoit Waquoit (February 10, 1983–June 14, 2007) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won races at short and long distances en route to career earnings of more than $2.2 million. Background Standing close to seventeen hands, Waquoit was bre ...

: (Wampanoag) "at the end" **

Mount Watatic Mount Watatic is a monadnock located just south of the Massachusetts–New Hampshire border, in the United States, at the southern end of the Wapack Range. It lies in Ashburnham, Massachusetts and Ashby, Massachusetts. The Wapack Trail and t ...

: (Nipmuck) ** Watuppa Ponds: (Wampanoag) "roots" ** Weepecket Islands **

Weweantic River The Weweantic River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in southeastern Massachusetts. Its name means "crooked" or "wandering stream" in the Wampanoag ...

: (Wampanoag) "crooked" or "wandering stream" ** Wianno ** Minnechaug Regional High School: (Algonquian) "Land of Berries" ** Woronoco: (Nipmuck) "winding about" *Former names: ** Capawack or Capoag: (Wampanoag) "enclosed harbor"

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...

** Cohannet: (Wampanoag or Narragansett) "at the long or pine place"

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

** Poughkeeste: (Wampanoag) "bay with coves"

Buzzards Bay Buzzards Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is approximately 28 miles (45 kilometers) long by 8 miles (12 kilometers) wide. It is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and tourism. Since ...

New Hampshire

Common Languages:

Ammonoosuc River The Ammonoosuc River is a river in northwestern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound. ''Ammonoosuc'' is Abnaki for "small, narrow fishing place". The Ammonoosuc ris ...

( Upper and Lower): (Abnaki) "small, narrow fishing place" ** Amoskeag: (Pennacook) "fishing place"

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Ashuelot River The Ashuelot River is a tributary of the Connecticut River, approximately long, in southwestern New Hampshire in the United States. It drains a mountainous area of , including much of the area known as the Monadnock Region. It is the longest tri ...

(and

): (Pennacook or Natick) "place between" **

Canobie Lake Canobie Lake is a body of water located in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County in southern New Hampshire, United States, in the towns of Salem, New Hampshire, Salem and Windham, New Hampshire, Windham. It is approximately long, an ...

: (Abnaki) "abundant water" ** Contoocook (and

and

): (Pennacook) "place of the river near pines" or (Abnaki) "nut trees river" or (Natick) "small plantation at the river" ** Coös: (Pennacook) "pine tree" ** Hooksett: (Pennacook) possible abbreviation of ''Annahooksett'' "place of beautiful trees" **

Mascoma River The Mascoma River is a river in western New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound. The Mascoma comprises two sections which are split by Mascoma Lake in the communities of Enfi ...

(and

): (Abnaki) "much grass" or "salmon fishing" or "red rocks" ** Massabesic Lake: (Abnaki) "near the great brook" **

(and

) **

Mount Monadnock Mount Monadnock, or Grand Monadnock, is a mountain in the towns of Jaffrey and Dublin, New Hampshire. It is the most prominent mountain peak in southern New Hampshire and is the highest point in Cheshire County. It lies southwest of Concord a ...

: (Natick) "at the most prominent island" (-like mountain) **

Mount Moosilauke Mount Moosilauke is a mountain at the southwestern end of the White Mountains in the town of Benton, New Hampshire, United States. It is the tenth highest and most southwesterly of the 4,000 foot summits in the White Mountains. Moosilauke i ...

: (Abnaki) "good moose place" or "at the smooth place" **

Nashua River The Nashua River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 is a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the United States. It i ...

(and

): (Pennacook/Nipmuck) "between streams" **

(and

and

): (Abnaki) "beyond the water" **

Paugus Bay Paugus Bay is a water body located in Belknap County in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire, United States, in the city of Laconia. A short channel at its north end connects it with Lake Winnipesaukee in the village of Weirs Beach, and ...

: (Abnaki) "small pond" **

Pawtuckaway Lake __NOTOC__ Pawtuckaway Lake (official name Pawtuckaway Pond) is a reservoir in Rockingham County in southeastern New Hampshire, United States, in the town of Nottingham. The lake is located in the Piscataqua River drainage basin. The lake present ...

(and mountains): (Abnaki) "falls in the river" or "clear, shallow river" **

Pemigewasset River The Pemigewasset River , known locally as "The Pemi", is a river in the state of New Hampshire, the United States. It is in length and (with its tributaries) drains approximately . The name "Pemigewasset" comes from the Abenaki word ''bemijijoase ...

: (Abnaki) "extensive rapids" **

(

): tribal name; "at the foothills" **

(Maine border): (Pennacook) "place where the river divides" **

Piscataquog River The Piscataquog River is a river located in southern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Merrimack River, which flows to the Gulf of Maine. The Piscataquog River begins at the outlet of Deering Reservoir, a lake in Deeri ...

: (Abnaki) "place where the river divides" **

Souhegan River The Souhegan River is a tributary of the Merrimack River in the northeastern United States. It is long, with a drainage area of , and flows north and east through southern New Hampshire to the Merrimack River. The river begins in New Ipswich, Ne ...

: (Pennacook or Nipmuck) "watching place" **

Squam Lake Squam Lake is a lake located in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire, United States, south of the White Mountains, straddling the borders of Grafton, Carroll, and Belknap counties. The largest town center on the lake is Holderness. The l ...

(and

): (Abnaki) "salmon" **

Lake Sunapee Lake Sunapee is located within Sullivan County and Merrimack County in western New Hampshire, the United States. It is the fifth-largest lake located entirely in New Hampshire. The lake is approximately long (north-south) and from wide (east ...

(and

): (Pennacook) "rocks in the water", "rocky pond" ** Suncook River (also

lakes A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

and

): (Pennacook) "rocky place" **

Umbagog Lake Umbagog Lake is a wilderness lake located in Coös County, New Hampshire, and Oxford County, Maine. It is one of the most pristine lakes in the state of New Hampshire. It lies in the towns of Errol, New Hampshire, and Upton, Maine, as well as the ...

: (Abnaki) "clear lake" **

Lake Winnipesaukee Lake Winnipesaukee () is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located in the Lakes Region at the foothills of the White Mountains. It is approximately long (northwest-southeast) and from wide (northeast-southwest), covering & ...

(and

): (Pennacook) "land around the lakes" or "good land around lake at mountains" **

Lake Winnisquam Lake Winnisquam is in Belknap County in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire, United States, in the communities of Meredith, Laconia, Sanbornton, Belmont, and Tilton. At , it is the fourth-largest lake entirely in New Hampshire. The lak ...

: (Abnaki) "salmon-fishing place" *Former names: ** Kodaak wadso: (Abnaki) "summit of the highest mountain"

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934, ...

Rhode Island

Common languages: *Northern: Natick,

*Southern: Narragansett ** Apponaug: (Narragansett) "where oysters/shellfish are roasted" or "waiting place" **

Aquidneck Island Aquidneck Island, also known as Rhode Island, is an island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island. The total land area is , which makes it the largest island in the bay. The 2020 United States Census reported its population as 60,109. T ...

: (Narragansett) "at the island" **

Canonchet Canonchet (or Cononchet or Quanonchet, died April 3, 1676) was a Narragansett Sachem and leader of Native American troops during the Great Swamp Fight and King Philip's War. He was a son of Miantonomo. Canonchet was a leader of the separatist Na ...

: a 17th-century Narragansett chief ** Chepachet: (Narragansett) "boundary/separation place" **

Conanicut Island Conanicut Island is the second-largest island in Narragansett Bay in the American state of Rhode Island. It is connected on the east to Newport on Aquidneck Island via the Claiborne Pell Bridge, commonly known as the Newport Bridge, and on th ...

: (Narragansett) named for a 17th-century chief

Canonicus Canonicus (c. 1565 – June 4, 1647) was a chief of the Narragansett Indigenous Peoples. He was wary of the colonial settlers, but he ultimately befriended Roger Williams and other settlers. Biography Canonicus was born around 1565,Benjami ...

** Conimicut: (Narragansett) thought to be named for granddaughter of

(see above) ** Mount Hope: (from Narragansett ''Montop'' or ''Montaup'') "look-out place" or "well-fortified island" **

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sma ...

(and

): tribe: "at the narrow point" **

: tribe; "the place I seek" or "home" **

Pascoag Pascoag is a census-designated place (CDP) and village in Providence County, Rhode Island. The population was 4,577 at the 2010 census. Pascoag is one of eight villages that make up the town of Burrillville. Geography Pascoag is located at (41. ...

(and

): (Nipmuck) "the dividing place" (of river) ** Pawtucket: (Narragansett) "at the falls in the river (tidal stream)" ** Pettaquamscutt Rock (and

): Narragansett) "at the round rock" **

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

: famous mid-18th century Ottawa chief **

Quonochontaug Quonochontaug is a village in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. It is composed of three small beach communities, and is part of Charlestown. Geography Quonochontaug is located between the Ninigret Pond and Quonochontaug Pond and t ...

: (Narragansett) "home of the blackfish" **

Sakonnet River The Sakonnet River is a tidal strait in the state of Rhode Island which flows approximately 14 miles between Mount Hope Bay and Rhode Island Sound. It separates Aquidneck Island from the eastern portion of Newport County. Crossings Below is ...

(and point): (Narragansett) "home of the black goose" **

Scituate Reservoir The Scituate Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in the state of Rhode Island. It has an aggregate capacity of and a surface area of 5.3 square miles (13.7 km²). It and its six tributary reservoirs—which make up a total surface a ...

: (Wampanoag) "at the cold spring/brook" ** Shawomet: (Narragansett) "at the peninsula/neck" (canoe-landing place) ** Usquepaugh: (Narragansett) "at the end of the pond" ** Weekapaug: (Narragansett) "at the end of the pond" **

Woonsocket Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsocket lies directly south of ...

: (Nipmuck) "place of steep descent" **

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

: (Delaware) "large prairie" *Former names: ** Aquidnic: (Narragansett) "the island"

** Niwosaket: (Narragansett) "place of two brooks"

** Manisses: (Narragansett) "little god"; (Niantic) "little island"

Block Island Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...

** Mattoonuc Neck: (Niantic) "place at look-out hill"

Point Judith Point Judith is a village and a small Cape (geography), cape, on the coast of Narragansett, Rhode Island, on the western side of Narragansett Bay where it opens out onto Rhode Island Sound. It is the location for the year-round ferry service that ...

** Maushapogue: (Narragansett) "land at the great cove" Cranston

Vermont

Common languages:

Mount Ascutney Mount Ascutney is a mountain in the U.S. state of Vermont. At , it is the second-highest peak in Windsor County, Vermont, Windsor County. (The highest peak in the county is Gillespie Peak in the Joseph Battell Wilderness.) Mount Ascutney is a mon ...

(and

): (Abnaki) "at the end of the

river fork A river fork is where a river is connected to two or more clearly and equally distinct branches. It describes both tributaries and distributaries. A typical river fork is usually two tributaries merging (a confluence), such as the Nile proper cre ...

" **

Lake Bomoseen Lake Bomoseen ( ) is a freshwater lake in the western part of the U.S. state of Vermont in the towns of Castleton and Hubbardton in Rutland County. It is the largest lake that lies entirely within the state's boundaries, with a surface area of a ...

(and

): (Abnaki) "keeper of ceremonial fire" ** Hoosac Mountains: (Mahican) "stone place" **

Hoosic River The Hoosic River, also known as the Hoosac, the Hoosick (primarily in New York) and the Hoosuck (mostly archaic), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed October 3, 2011 tri ...

Lake Iroquois Lake Iroquois can refer to: *Lake Iroquois (South Dakota) * Lake Iroquois (Vermont) in Vermont in the United States * Lake Iroquois, Illinois in Iroquois County in Illinois in the United States *Glacial Lake Iroquois Glacial Lake Iroquois was a p ...

: (Abnaki-French) "real adders" (describing western enemies of Abnaki) **

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

: (Natick) "beaver" ** Maquam Bay **

Lake Memphremagog Lake Memphremagog (; french: Lac Memphrémagog) is a fresh water glacial lake located between Newport, Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada. The lake spans both Quebec and Vermont, but is mostly in Quebec. Most of the watershed that ...

: (Abnaki) "where there is great expanse of water" **

Mettawee River The Mettawee River (sometimes spelled "Mettowee River") is a tributary of Lake Champlain in western Vermont and eastern New York in the United States, passing the town of Granville, New York. The river is particularly good for rapids and kayaking. ...

Missisquoi River The Missisquoi River is a transboundary river of the east shore of Lake Champlain (via Missisquoi Bay), approximately long, in northern Vermont in the United States and southern Quebec in Canada. It drains a rural area of the northern Green Mount ...

: tribal name ** Monadnock Mountain: (Abnaki) "at the mountain which sticks up like an island" (see New Hampshire) ** Moosalamoo Mountain: (Abnaki) "moose trail" ** Netop Mountain: (Natick) "my friend" ** Nickwaket Mountain: (Abnaki) "at the fork" or "home of squirrels" **

Nulhegan River The Nulhegan River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data accessed April 7, 2016 tributary of the Connecticut River in Essex County, Vermont, Essex County, Vermont. Course The main stem of the ri ...

: (Abnaki) "log trap" or "deadfall" **

Ompompanoosuc River The Ompompanoosuc River is a river, about 25 mi (40 km) long, in eastern Vermont in the United States. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound. According to the Geographic Names Information System, ...

: (Abnaki) "mushy/quaky land" **

Ottauquechee River The Ottauquechee River (pronounced ''AWT-ah-KWEE-chee'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in eastern Vermont in the United States. It is a tributary ...

: (uncertain – Natick?) "swift mountain stream" **

Passumpsic River The Passumpsic River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Connecticut River, in Vermont. Though primarily a Caledonia County river, it i ...

(and

): (Abnaki) "flowing over clear, sandy bottom" **

Pico Peak Pico Peak is a mountain in the Green Mountains in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. Pico Peak is flanked to the south by Ramshead Peak. To the north, it faces Deer Leap Mountain across Sherburne Pass. Seen from the pass, the summit of Pic ...

: (possibly Abnaki) "the pass/opening" ** Pompanoosuc: abbreviation of Ompompanoosuc ** Popasquash Island ** Quechee: abbreviation of Ottauquechee ** Queneska Island: (Abnaki) "elbow" or "long joint" **

Walloomsac River The Walloomsac River () from the Native American name, Wal-loom-sac is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Hoosic River in the northeastern ...

Winooski River The Winooski River (formerly the Onion River) is a tributary of Lake Champlain, approximately long, in the northern half of Vermont. Although not Vermont's longest river, it is one of the state's most significant, forming a major valley way from ...

(and

): (Abnaki) "wild onions" *Former names: ** Mozodepo wadso: (Abnaki) "moose-head mountain"

Mount Mansfield Mount Mansfield is the highest mountain in Vermont with a summit that peaks at above sea level. The summit is located within the town of Underhill, Vermont, Underhill in Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County; the ridgeline, including som ...

** Tawakbodee-esso wadso: (Abnaki) "resting place/sit-down mountain"

Camel's Hump Camel's Hump (alternatively Camels Hump) is a mountain in the Green Mountains in the U.S. state of Vermont. The north slope of the mountain borders the Winooski River, which has carved through the Green Mountains over eons. At , it is tied (with ...

References

*Bright, William (2004). ''Native American Place Names of the United States''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. *''Hartford Courant'' (editors?) (1999)
"Ask the Courant: Where are the beginnings of four shoreline rivers, the Hammonasset, Menunketesuck, Patchogue and Indian rivers, and how did they come by their names?"
*Huden, John C. (1962). ''Indian Place Names of New England'', Museum of the American Indian Heye Foundation *O'Brien, Frank Waabu (2010). ''Understanding Indian Place Names in Southern New England''. Colorado: Bauu Press. *Trumbull, James H. (1881). ''Indian Names of Places, etc., in and on the Borders of Connecticut: With Interpretations of Some of Them.'' Hartford, Conn: Lockwood & Brainerd (reprinted 1974).

External links

(archived 2011)

*
The composition of Indian geographical names, illustrated from the Algonkin languages
', Trumbull, J. Hammond (James Hammond), 1821–1897. artford, Conn.? : s.n., 187-? {{DEFAULTSORT:Place names of Native American origin in New England Native American origin in New England Native American topics New England Native American-related lists

Native American history of Connecticut Native American history of Vermont Native American history of Maine Native American history of Massachusetts Native American history of New Hampshire Native American history of Rhode Island

Formation and transmission of names

Places named after tribes

Connecticut

Maine

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Vermont

See also

References

External links