North American Indians: Personal Names With Semantic Meaning

Abstract

AbstractThis article describes the significance, characteristics, uses, and problems of personal names and naming practices among North American Indians. The three most important aspects of North American Indian personal naming are their:• Three name forms (European, traditional, and mixed)• Name changes which create name sequences (two or more names at different times) and name sets (two or more names at the same time)• The effects of colonization on North American Indian personal namesNorth American Indian names represent one group of indigenous cultures whose names have semantic meaning, and, as this article suggests, names with semantic meanings may pose onomastic issues all their own.