Browse Names - Behind the Name

Ameyalli f Nahuatl
Means "spring, fountain" in Nahuatl.

Anayeli f Zapotec (Hispanicized)
Variant of Nayeli.

Ayelen f Mapuche
From Mapuche ayelen "laughing", ayliñ "clear" or aylen "ember".

Ayün f Mapuche
Means "love" in Mapuche.

Calfuray f Mapuche (Hispanicized)
Means "violet flower" in Mapuche, from kallfü "purple, blue" and rayen "flower".

Eluney f & m Mapuche
Derived from Mapuche elun meaning "give".

Gouyen f Apache
Variant spelling of Góyąń.

Goyaałé m Apache
Means "one who yawns" in Chiricahua Apache. This was the real name of the Apache leader Geronimo (1829-1909), who fought against Mexican and American expansion into his territory.

Góyąń f Apache
Means "wise" in Chiricahua Apache. This was the name of a 19th-century Apache warrior woman.

Goyathlay m Apache
Variant spelling of Goyaałé.

Licarayen f Mapuche
Means "stone flower" in Mapuche, from likan "a type of black stone" and rayen "flower". According to a Mapuche legend this was the name of a maiden who sacrificed herself in order to stop the wrath of the evil spirit of a volcano.

Mahpiya m & f Sioux
From Dakota or Lakota maȟpíya meaning "cloud, sky". This is the first part of the names of the Dakota chief Mahpiya Wicasta (1780-1863), known as Cloud Man, and the Lakota chiefs Mahpiya Luta (1822-1909), known as Red Cloud, and Mahpiya Iyapato (1838-1905), known as Touch the Clouds.

Millaray f Mapuche
Means "golden flower" in Mapuche, from milla "gold" and rayen "flower".

Nayeli f Zapotec (Hispanicized), Spanish (Mexican)
Possibly from Zapotec nadxiie lii meaning "I love you" or nayele' meaning "open".

Nîpisiy f Cree
Means "willow" in Cree.

Odeserundiye m Mohawk
Possibly means "lightning has struck" in Mohawk. This was the name of an 18th-century Mohawk chief, also called John Deseronto.

Ohiyesa m Sioux
Means "winner" in Dakota or Lakota, from ohíya "winning" and the suffix s'a "commonly, frequently".

Payne f & m Mapuche
Means "(sky) blue" in Mapuche.

Pitikwahanapiwiyin m Cree (Anglicized)
From Cree ᐲᐦᑐᑲᐦᐊᓇᐱᐏᔨᐣ (Pîhtokahanapiwiyin) meaning "sits at the buffalo pound", derived from ᐲᐦᑐᑲᐦᐋᐣ (pîhtokahân) "buffalo pound, buffalo corral" and ᐊᐱᐤ (apiw) "sit". This was the name of a Plains Cree chief, also known as Poundmaker (1842-1886).

Rayen f Mapuche
Means "flower" in Mapuche.

Sayen f Mapuche
Meaning uncertain, possibly a derivative of Mapuche ayün "love".

Sequoyah m Cherokee
Probably derived from Cherokee ᏏᏆ (siqua) meaning "hog". This was the name of the Cherokee man (also known as George Guess) who devised the Cherokee writing system in the 19th century.

Sganyodaiyo m Seneca
Means "handsome lake" in Seneca, from sganyodeo "lake" and the suffix -iyo "good". This name was borne by an 18th-century Seneca prophet.

Sons-ee-ah-ray f Apache
Possibly means "morning star" from Apache sons-ee-ah-ray. This name was featured in the western movie Broken Arrow (1950).

Tamya f Quechua
Means "rain" in Quechua.

Tayanita f Cherokee
Means "young beaver" in Cherokee, derived from ᏙᏯ (doya) meaning "beaver".

Tʉhʉyakwahipʉ m Comanche
Means "horse back" in Comanche, derived from tʉhʉya "horse" and kwahi "back (body part)". This was the name of a 19th-century chief of the Nokoni Comanche.

Wayna m Quechua
Means "young boy" in Quechua.

Wayra m Quechua
Means "wind, air" in Quechua.

Yara 2 f Tupi
Variant of Iara.

Yatzil f Mayan
Means "love, mercy, charity" in Yucatec Maya.

Yaxkin f & m Mayan
From Yaxk'in, the name of the seventh month in the Maya calendar, derived from Classic Maya yax "green, first" and k'in "sun, day".

Yeruti f Guarani (Hispanicized)
Variant of Jeruti.

Yolotl f & m Nahuatl
Means "heart, spirit" in Nahuatl.

Yolotli f & m Nahuatl
Variant of Yolotl.

Yolotzin f & m Nahuatl
Means "beloved heart" in Nahuatl, from yōllōtl "heart" and the suffix tzin "beloved, revered".

Yoloxochitl f Nahuatl
Derived from Nahuatl yōllōtl "heart" and xōchitl "flower".

Yonaguska m Cherokee
Means "drowning bear" from Cherokee ᏲᎾ (yona) "bear" and possibly ᎫᏂᏍᎧ (guniska) "drown". This was the name of a 19th-century Eastern Cherokee chief.

Ysapy f Guarani
Means "dew" in Guarani.

Yuraq m & f Quechua
Means "white" in Quechua.

Zyanya f Zapotec
Possibly means "forever, always" in Zapotec. It appears in the novel Aztec (1980) by the American author Gary Jennings.

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