Some American Indian Names of Places in Narragansett Bay & Surroundings
Selected from author’s free website
http://www.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/IndianPlaceNames.html
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Aquidneck2 Block Island Coasters Harbor Island Dutch Island Fox Island Goat Island Gould Island Hog Island Jamestown (Canonicut Island) Miantanomi (written Miantunnómu by Roger Williams in 1643) Narragansett Patience Island Pojack (Potock) Point Prudence Island Rose Island Sachuest Sakonnet Wampanoag Wannemetonomy
TRANSLATION
“At/on the island” Originally known as Manisses = “Little island” or “little god” Originally known as Woonachasett = “crooked little hill”? or “at the place of separation (boundary)”? Formerly known in Latin as Quentenis (or Quotenis) Island; Originally known as Aquidnesuk = “at the small island” Originally known inter alia as Sowanoxet or Azoiquaneset = “at the small island”? or “spruce-pitch small-island place” Originally known as Nantusiunk = “narrow ford or strait” Originally known as Aguspemokick = “short narrow straits” Originally known as Chisawannock = “principal fishing place” or “muddy bottom” Originally known as Quononicut = “at the especially long place” Famous Narragansett Sachem, probably War Chief, and nephew of Canonicus, executed by Mohegans in 1643. Miantanomi means “he wages war”. Name of largest southern New England Indian Nation in historic times ; Narragansett means “at the small narrow point” (RI). Originally known as Chibacoweda = “separated by a passage” (i.e., from Prudence Island) Name of Narragansett Indian Counselor, ca. 1675 Originally known as Wappewassick = “at the narrow straits” Originally known as Conockonqut = “place at the long point” “Little hill at the outlet” “Black goose abode” or “place of the outlet” “People of the first light” or “Easterners”; name of large Indian Nation in southeastern New England (RI & MA). “Good mountains (or hills)” or “good lookout place”?
Compiled by: Frank O’Brien, NUWCDIVNPT, Code 2242 2531
Sometimes multiple variants exist in spelling and translations of the original Indian terms, which typically are highly corrupted (high “noise”); a few local Bay features were not identified by original name (e.g., islands called Gooseberry, Despair, Hope & Dyer) 2 Some think Aquidneck means “Isle of Peace” from Narragansett word aquene, but this is incorrect
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File = Algonquian Indian Names1.doc <> Created on 4/25/2003 6:29 AM <> NUWC-NPT Inter’l day, June, 2003/2004 <> Page 1 of 1