What’s in a name?

I’ve been on a short hiatus; the season has been busy. But I have some things lined up that should be appearing soon. until then, a bit about naming…

If you’ve heard of Chickamauga (and if you haven’t, how did you get here?) then I bet that t he very next phrase you saw or heard was “River of Death.” One follows the other, it seems, like day after night. Or maybe not.

No one really seems to know. But today I saw this article, written by Chuck Hamilton:

“Chickamauga does not mean “river of death”, or “bloody river”, or “dwelling place of the chief”, or ‘the stagnant stream”.  It is definitely not Cherokee, even the Cherokee themselves have always said that, nor is it likely Muskogean.  It almost certainly came from the closest allies of the Cherokee in the wars of the later 18th century, the Shawnee.”

Here’s the whole article, via The Chattanoogan.com

I find this sort of local history fascinating.