Native American Heritage- girls names!

[newmum1508]

My first baby (a girl) is due October 1st!
We are SO stuck on her name.

I’m originally Native American. I was adopted from a native children’s home in Northern New York and came to England when I was 5. Although I don’t know my family, I’d still love to honour my heritage in her name as a first or middle name. Husband also agrees!

However, many native names are very difficult to pronounce so at the moment, most of the names on our list aren’t native inspired.

we currently like:

Lilian (Lily for short)
Vivian
Etta
Ember
Elowen (a little more unusual but love the sound and meaning)
Drew
Charlotte
Hallie
Addison

for Native American inspired names, we like
Dakota (but sounds quite harsh so maybe a middle name?)

Also like Sequoia which means sparrow but I feel like most people will just associate it with the tree.

I like vintage and timeless names and also sometimes like slightly whimsical?

Another top contender for a middle name is Janis. I know it’s a very dated name and may not sound the best to people but it’s after someone so important to us so we would love to honour her.

Sorry for the lengthy post! Any suggestions I’d love to know

Our surname is a VERY common English surname

@newmum1508
Why not use the name Seneca?
Its meaning “people of the standing rock” is lovely.
It’s also easy to spell and pronounce for English speakers

Aiyana
Diyani
Kateri
Soyala

I’m older and have lived all over the UK and the vast majority say ate as eight!

I would avoid Seneca as it’s not an individual’s name and it is also too damn close to a laxative for comfort!

I love Seneca and Sequoia, particularly Sequoia.

If you don't know the Seneca language and you have no relationships or cultural connections, the risk of picking a name or word from the language is that even if you find a name you like that you won't be aware of the nuances and connotations of using that name. (For instance, the point pp made about some of your shortlisted names being from a different nation and the implications of that.)

Seneca is also a Latin male name (and the name of a famous Roman philosopher). People like to make laxative jokes on this forum but in reality if you used that name - especially once you told people about the Seneca nation and that it means people of the standing rock - it would just become her name. People who are interested in history will think of the philosopher rather than get childish sniggers about laxatives.

Think about it, you're introduced to someone with a name you've not come across before so you might have an initial moment of it feeling slightly weird, but once you get to know the person you just associate it with them and all the positive things you like about them.

To English ears the "a" ending makes it sound feminine too. It's easy to spell, easy to pronounce, goes with your other names, doesn't mix and match nations, doesn't risk using a name with negative connotations you weren't aware of. Lilian Seneca Smith. Charlotte Seneca Jones.

I was reading a Seneca dictionary (here senecalanguage.com/ ). It's such a different language from English that I think you'll struggle to find something native English speakers will be able to read or say and where you're happy with what it means. At least not without transliterating or anglicising - which somewhat defeats the purpose and is potentially contentious when you don't have any community connections to run it past.

Plus like I said to begin with, you're not going to know any of the nuances or connotations or euphemisms attached to the words you might pick. Which is always risky.

How about Genessee or Susquehanna?
Both are Iroquois words/ names that have been anglicized. The Seneca were part of the Iroquois federation.

The Susquehanna headwaters are near Cooperstown, NY, and it flows into the Chesapeake Bay.

The Genessee (another anglicized name) flows north into Lake Ontario from Western NY/ eastern Pennsylvania, through the heart of the old Iroquois lands.

There is also the Juniata River, rising and flowing through Pennsylvania to its confluence with the Susquehanna. The name is derived from the Iroquois word Onayutta.

Etta is a lovely name.

I thought Elowen was a Cornish name - the only one I know is named it because they are Cornish.

Tiani (from Otetiani)

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Red-Jacket-Seneca-chief

Genesee (after the river)

Shenoah

Talise (Iroquois girls name meaning beautiful waters)

It is! We live in Cornwall and my husband is Cornish

Genessee is also my suggestion. Has nice shortenings if she wanted to use a shorter name.

It's a nice name and I like that it's spelt how it is said.

I met a little Genossee. I think it’s beautiful and easy to pronounce correctly.

I don't see a problem with Sequoia being a tree. People use Hazel, Rowan, Willow, Holly, Olive.

I love Ember or Elowen. Something to bear in mind with Seneca - it is the name of the learning/homework portal in most secondary schools so would avoid for that reason. Check on Seneca! It's on Seneca! Very frequent phrases in our household and in school.

Yes but it's Cherokee. I don't know a great deal but think the Cherokee come from a lot further South than the OP's background (there may be links I don't know about). I'm absolutely no expert on native American cultures but wouldn't have thought a Cherokee word would be much of a tribute to one's Seneca history, even if it is nice.

The laxative cracks are just childish.

I love Susquehanna!

Nokomis

Many Native American names come from nature and translate into names of birds, rivers etc. There are other influences, of course, but if you want something that fits both English culture and your ancestral culture, you could choose a name that's a nature name, particularly if it's a plant or animal that is found in that area of the world.

Southeast here: we say “eight”

I found a Seneca dictionary online and I randomly found dew is "O'aya" which I think is pretty, and flower is Awëo which I think is pronounced "Away-oh", light frost is Osayo. This is the website: senecalanguage.com I'm sure you must have come across it already. Maybe I if you dig through it you'll find something that chimes with you.

My first thought was Seneca learning! DS just sighs if anyone says the word! It might be gone by the time little one reaches secondary but I wouldn't use it for that reason.

I love Janis as a middle name and I like the Ember Sequoia pair as well.

Aponi. It means butterfly - Blackfoot tribe.

Charlotte or Lilly are lovely names.

As an aside, I've recently read The Nightwatchman by Louise Erdrich, a novel based on her grandfather's struggle for the rights of his people, the Chippewa, and the story of a young woman from his village who goes to the city in search of her missing sister - I would really recommend it, if you want to read something authentic about the lives of American Indians in the 1950s. It doesn't really help with names, though, as most of the female names in the book are Anglo ones.

Ok thanks, I missed the post about it being from a different area