I am searching for a Native American inspired baby name for our middle spot but don’t want it to be something too difficult to pronounce for non-natives. It doesn’t even necessarily have to be a Native American baby name. Could be a word name, tribe name, etc.
I have quite a few guilty pleasure Native American names that I really like. I will caution you that many tribes see it as offensive and oppressive cultural appropriation when non-natives of a given tribe use names originating from their tribe. I would never use one myself for that reason (I have no Native-American blood, despite, like so many others, hearing family history to the contrary…so often this proves to be false, as in my case). If you have a specific tie to a specific tribe(s), then that’s a great starting point to go forward.
Otherwise, names like [name_u]Sequoia[/name_u] or Cimarron can be as close as you might be able to tow that line without being offensive, specifically because there are other associations there (namely, the tree, and the city, respectively). If you’re inspired by images of nature or word names, then [name_u]Sky[/name_u] or [name_u]Raven[/name_u] or some kind of native plants to the area where you grew up or call home might be a good starting place, too. I have always liked the word Madrone, which is a type of tree where I grew up that I feel could easily make the crossover to name.
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] that helps. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t mean to be a downer. I just think it’s something to be considered that if you’re not Native-American yourself (or your child’s other parent), your choice of what you think is a beautiful name might not feel so innocuous to some others.
[name_f]Winona[/name_f] is Native American and seems to be used by non-natives.
I should have added that I am part [name_u]Cherokee[/name_u] and dad is part Choctaw but the name doesn’t have to be from those tribes specifically as my middle name is from [name_u]Cheyenne[/name_u] and my brothers is [name_f]Shawnee[/name_f] so it’s kind of family tradition on my side to stray from just [name_u]Cherokee[/name_u] names.
I have considered [name_u]Sequoia[/name_u] but my SO isn’t sold on it unfortunately so I’m hoping to find something he’ll love as well. It just seems so difficult because most native words are very difficult for non-natives to pronounce.
Thanks for clarifying.
Kachina (Hopi) is very straightforward and one of my favorites.
I grew up with a girl whose first name was Anasazi. She went by Sazi which was so adorable and spunky.
I feel like Kokopelli and [name_f]Peta[/name_f] (Blackfoot) are also very straightforward in their pronunciation but maybe that’s just me.
I am seriously loving Anasazi. Swoon
Thank you so much, medfordkung!
I love Ayita. I am unfortunately to far removed to say how accurate the information is, but I read that its [name_u]Cherokee[/name_u] and means “first to dance”.
I think you’ll find the following links extremely helpful:
"Native American" Names That Don't Have The Meaning They're Supposed To <- this link has a list of most false Native American names or at least names that have been falsely attributed to Native American languages. Unfortunately, Ayita is one of them.
AYITA: This one is supposed to mean “first dancer” or “first to dance” in Cherokee. This is false. It has no meaning in Cherokee that we know of. It’s possible that it has an origin in a Native American language other than Cherokee, but it definitely is not a traditional name, and we don’t know of any Native American language in which it means “first” or “dancer,” much less both together. This is a recent name (we’ve never heard of anyone named this born before the 70’s). Ayita is apparently the name of a kind of Nigerian dance, and this may be another case of an African name being mistaken for a Native American name by white writers.
Danis or [name_f]Tanis[/name_f] is a Cree name meaning “daughter” (cf. Cree nitânis “my daughter”). [name_u]Tannis[/name_u] of the Flats (1920) is a short story by L.M. [name_m]Montgomery[/name_m] about a Métis girl of Cree descent.
The Mohawk name Waneek supposedly means “keeper of the peace.” Former Olympian Waneek Horn-[name_m]Miller[/name_m] has a sister named Ojistoh, “star.”
If you’re open to names from outside [name_u]North[/name_u] [name_u]America[/name_u], I recently came across a (supposed?) Quechua girls’ name, Illari, derived from Quechua ilariy “resplendent, radiant, aglow, glittering” or, as a noun, “dawn.”
Other ideas:
Moara - Tupi name, one of the daughters of Brazilian politician [name_f]Marina[/name_f] [name_f]Silva[/name_f]
Yma - name of Yma Sumac
[name_f]Yara[/name_f] - another Tupi name
[name_f]Erendira[/name_f] - a Tarascan princess
Tashina - Lakota Sioux name meaning “her shawl,” associated with traditional dancing and found in historic names such as Tȟašína Lúta Wiŋ (Red Blanket) and Tȟašína Máni (She Walks with Her Shawl). There was a Cheyenne character named Tashina in the movie Windwalker (1981), “in which case it may be an alteration of the Cheyenne name Tashena, a shortened form of a longer name derived from taa’eeshe’he ‘moon’.”
Zitkala - Lakota for “bird,” or Zitkála-Šá meaning “red bird” from Lakota ziŋtkála “bird” + šá “red,” the name of a Yankton Dakota writer and political activist (1876-1938).
Weetamoo - name of a Pocasset Wampanoag leader. OK probably unusable
ETA I just remembered, I know a Suquamish woman whose middle name is Feather. I really like that.
Appellation Mountain also has an article on Native American names which echoes a lot of what others here have written.
@roseofjune, what interesting links! I had never heard of Kachina as “dancer” before. I associate Kachina with the dolls, which I know are supposed to be evocative of the mythological creature. Disheartened to learn it would never be given as a name, though.
To help with names that can be pronounced by non-natives you can look at places that carry native names, though I’m unsure if they are always pronounced correctly in this use. Things like [name_u]Denali[/name_u] National [name_m]Park[/name_m] or [name_u]Lake[/name_u] [name_m]Ontario[/name_m], for example.
[name_f]Winona[/name_f] is a good one. I agree with others that place names are actually going to be your best bet, since so many “Native American names” are disputed. [name_f]Topanga[/name_f] has always been a guilty pleasure of mine that would work. I lived in a place called Lenexa for a bit, which was named after a chief’s widow (“Na-Nex-Se”), and I always thought that’d make a nice name. So yeah, place names are great for that.
As others suggested, I really love [name_f]Winona[/name_f]. I find it is a name non-natives use, and it is gorgeous.