These
names occur in the
mythologies and legends of the various indigenous peoples who inhabited North and South America.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ACAN m Mayan MythologyMeans "groan". This is the name of the Mayan God of wine and celebration.
AGLOOLIK m & f Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Agloolik is a spirit that lives underneath the ice and gives aid to fishermen and hunters.
AHKIYYINI m Inuit MythologyIn Eskimo folklore there is a skeleton-ghost named Ahkiyyini. He was always dancing when he was alive, and his skeleton comes back every so often to do a jig that shakes the ground and turns boats over in the river...
[more] AHTUNOWHIHO m New World Mythology, CheyenneDerived from Cheyenne
ȧhtóno'e "under, below" and
vé'ho'e "trickster, spider, white man". This is the name of a Cheyenne god who lives under the ground.
AJBIT m Mayan MythologyOne of the thirteen Mayan gods who created human beings. Ajbit assisted in the actual construction work.
AJUT f Greenlandic, Inuit MythologyDerived from Canadian Arctic
ajujuq meaning "runs away". In Greenland mythology Ajut is the name of the woman who flees from her pursuer and becomes the sun.
AKHLUT m & f Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Akhlut is a spirit that takes the form of both a wolf and an orca. It is a vicious, dangerous beast. Its tracks can be recognized because they are wolf tracks that lead to and from the ocean.
ALAHTIN f New World MythologyThe name of the Chumash goddess of the moon who also governs over purification, health and menstruation.
ALIGNAK m Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Alignak is a lunar deity and god of weather, water, tides, eclipses and earthquakes.
ALOM m Mayan MythologyA Mayan god of the sky, and one of the seven gods who created the world and the humans.
AMAROK m Inuit MythologyAmarok is the name of a giant wolf in Inuit mythology. It will hunt down and devour anyone foolish enough to hunt alone at night. It is sometimes considered equivalent to the waheela of cryptozoology.
ANGUTA m Inuit MythologyAllegedly means "man with something to cut" (compare Inuktitut ᐊᖑᑦ
(angut) meaning "man"). In Inuit mythology this is the name of a god, sometimes considered a psychopomp responsible for conveying the souls of the dead to the underworld, Adlivun, where they must sleep for a year...
[more] ANNINGAN m Inuit MythologyVariant of
Aningan. In Greenlandic mythology Anningan is the god of the moon and the brother of
Malîna, the sun goddess. He chases his sister across the sky. The Greenlandic people explained the phases of the moon by saying Anningan forgets to eat while chasing her and becomes thinner and thinner, then leaves for three days to find food before returning to chase his sister again.
APANUUGAK m Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Apanuugak is a culture hero who was sometimes depicted as an error-prone warrior who lives to old age and sometimes as a dastardly villain.
ARNAALUK f Inuit MythologyThe spirit name of a group of Inuit from a particular region, meaning "a big woman", a spirit of the woman under the sea. Prominent in Inuit mythology.
ARNAKUAGSAK f Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Arnakuagsak, meaning "old woman from the sea," was an Inuit goddess, one of the primary deities of the religion, who was responsible for ensuring the hunters were able to catch enough food and that the people remained healthy and strong.
ARNAPKAPFAALUK f New World Mythology, Inuit MythologyMeans "big bad woman". Arnapkapfaaluk was the sea goddess of the Inuit people living in Canada's Coronation Gulf area. Although occupying the equivalent position to
Sedna within Inuit mythology, in that she had control of the animals of the seas, she was noticeably different as can be seen by the English translation of her name.
ARNARQUAGSSAQ f Inuit MythologyThe Inuit goddess of the sea. According to most versions of the legend Arnarquagssaq, commonly known as
Sedna, was once a beautiful mortal woman who became the ruler of Adlivun (the Inuit underworld at the bottom of the sea) after her father threw her out of his kayak into the ocean...
[more] ASIAQ f Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Asiaq is a weather goddess (or, more rarely a god) and was quite frequently invoked by the angakoq for good weather.
ATLAHUA m Aztec and Toltec MythologyThe name of an Aztec god, allegedly a water god, fisherman and archer. There were said to be at least four temples dedicated to him, and supposedly the Aztecs prayed to him when there were deaths in water, such as during Hernán Cortés's conquest of Tenochtitlan (the Ancient Aztec capital on a lake, now Mexico City).
AULANERK f Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Aulanerk is a friendly sea goddess who rules over the tides, waves and joy.
AUMANIL m & f Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Aumanil is a kind and beneficent spirit. Also, it is said that this god lived on land and controlled the movement of the whales.
AWILIX f New World Mythology, Mayan MythologyThe name of the Mayan goddess of the moon, night, underworld, sickness and death. Her name may be derived from the Q'eqchi' Maya word
kwilix/wilix meaning "swallow (bird)".
AZTLAN m & f Aztec and Toltec Mythology, Nahuatl (?), American (Hispanic, Rare), Mexican (Rare)Aztlan is the mythical homeland of the Aztec peoples. In their language (Nahuatl), the roots of Aztlan are the two words: aztatl tlan(tli) meaning "heron" and "place of". The homeland was said to have many heron birds and may have been translated to 'place of white-ness' or even 'brightness' (as used by some Chicanos) because of the large population of the white feathered birds living there...
[more] CAMAZOTZ m Mayan MythologyCamazotz represented bats in Mayan mythology. Bats were considered symbols of rebirth and the underworld.
CHAC m New World MythologyThe Mayan god of Agriculture, Fertility, and Rain. He is also associated with east and the colour yellow.
CH'ASKA f Incan Mythology, QuechuaIn Incan mythology, Ch'aska ("Venus") or Ch'aska Quyllur ("Venus star") was the goddess of dawn and twilight, the planet Venus, flowers, maidens, and sex. She protected virgin girls. This name is of a separate etmology, with the Quechua
ch'aska referring to what they thought was the brightest star but was the planet Venus...
[more] CHEPI f & m Algonquin, New World MythologyMany baby name sites and books list this name as meaning "fairy" in Algonquin but that is incorrect. It more accurately means "ghost", and it was another name for Hobomock, the
manito ('spirit') of death-- a destructive, often evil being...
[more] COATLICUE f Aztec and Toltec MythologyMeans "skirt of snakes" in Nahuatl. She is the Aztec goddess who gave birth to the moon, stars, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war. The goddesses
Tocih “our grandmother”, and
Cihuacoatl “snake woman”, the patron of women who die in childbirth, were also seen as aspects of Coatlicue.
EKKEKO m Incan MythologyA Bolivian god of plenty and wealth. According to an ancient legend, when you place a miniature object on a doll representing the god, you will receive what you wish for the following year. It is considered bad luck to remove those objects from the doll.
GUABANCEX f New World MythologyPossibly means "rider of the hurricane" in Taíno. This was the name of a Taíno wind and water goddess who personified the hurricane. She was the strongest deity in the Taíno pantheon and the only female
zemí.
HINON m New World MythologyMeans "thunder" in Iroquois. He was is the god of thunder in Iroquois and Wyandot mythology, where he is depicted as a thunderbird (the thunderbird is a symbol common to many Native American tribes, Hinon is only represented by the symbol by these specific peoples, not all).
HUITACA f New World MythologyEtymology unknown. This was the name of the Muisca goddess of arts, dance and music, witchcraft, sexual liberation and the Moon who was turned into a white owl.
IGALUK m Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Igaluk is a lunar god. He lusted after his sister, the solar goddess
Malina, but she rejected his advances and fled from him. Their eternal chase explains the movement of the sun and the moon through the sky....
[more] ILASIAQ m Greenlandic, Inuit MythologyMeans "a companion acquired (through magic)" in Greenlandic. This occurs in a legend from the Upernavik region of northern Greenland.
ISSITOQ m Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Issitoq is a deity that punishes those who break taboos. He usually takes the form of a giant flying eye.
ĪTZPĀPĀLŌTL f Aztec and Toltec MythologyDerived from Nahuatl
itztli meaning "obsidian, obsidian knife" and
pāpālōtl "butterfly". This name has been translated as "clawed butterfly", perhaps in effect equal to "bat". In Aztec mythology, Ītzpāpālōtl was a skeletal warrior goddess of infant mortality and women who die in childbirth.
IXTLI f New World MythologyDiminutive of
Ixtaccihuatl, which means "white woman" in Nahuatl from
iztac "white" and
cihuatl "woman". This was the name of a beautiful princess in Mexican legend who fell in love with the hero
Popo, but died of grief when a messenger falsely reported that her lover had died in war...
[more] JUSKAHA m New World MythologySapling, the younger twin brother of
Othagwenda (
Flint), culture heroes of the Seneca. They were born to a young woman magically impregnated by the West Wind. Flint was cast out by his grandmother who hated him, but Juskaha went looking for him and found him in a hollow tree, and took him back home where they grew up together...
[more] KADLU f Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Kadlu refers to either one goddess or three sisters who presided over thunder.
KA-HA-SI m Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Ka-Ha-Si was a lazy Inuit boy who was shunned by his tribe for his constant sleeping.
KEELUT m & f Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Keelut is an evil chthonic spirit who resembles a hairless dog.
KIGATILIK m & f Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Kigatilik is a vicious, violent demon, especially known for killing shamans.
KIVIUQ m Inuit MythologyKiviuq is the hero of epic stories of the Inuit of the Arctic regions of northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland. Kiviuq is an eternal Inuit wanderer.
LICARAYEN f Mapuche, New World MythologyComposed of Mapuche
lica meaning "stone" and
rayen "flower" (compare
Rayen). In legend the beautiful maiden Licarayen sacrificed herself in order to stop the wrath of the evil spirit of the volcano Osorno from destroying her people; it was from the ashes and snow of her sacrifice that Lake Llanquihue in Chile was created.
MAKA f Sioux, New World MythologyMeans "earth, ground, soil" in Lakota. In Oglala Lakota (Sioux) mythology, Makȟá (less correctly spelled Maka) was created by Íŋyaŋ ("stone"), then given the spirit Makȟá-akáŋl ("earth goddess").
MALINA f Inuit Mythology, GreenlandicIn Inuit mythology, Malina is the name of a solar goddess. She is constantly fleeing from her brother, the moon god
Igaluk (Inuit) or
Anningan (Grenlandic), and their eternal chase explains the movement of the sun and moon through the sky.
MULAC m New World MythologyMayan mythological name representing the North and the colour white. One of the Bacabs, gods representing North, South, East, and West. Associated with: Cauac, Kan, and Ix.
NUJALIK f Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Nujalik is the goddess of hunting on land. She is the opposite of the goddess of sea, Sedna.
ONATAH f New World MythologyIn Iroquois mythology, Onatah was one of the Deohako (the Life Supporters, or Three Sisters.) Onatah represented the spirit of the corn, while her two sisters represented beans and squash. In one common Iroquois legend, Onatah was stolen by Tawiscara and hidden underground, causing a great famine until she was found and freed...
[more] OTHAGWENDA m New World MythologySapling, the older twin brother of
Juskaha, culture heroes of the Seneca. They were born to a young woman magically impregnated by the West Wind. Flint was cast out by his grandmother who hated him, but Juskaha went looking for him and found him in a hollow tree, and took him back home where they grew up together...
[more] PAALIAQ m Inuit Mythologya fictional shaman in the book The Curse of the Shaman, written by Michael Kusugak, who supplied Kavelaars with the names of giants from Inuit mythology that were used for other Saturnian moons.
PANA m Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Pana was the god who cared for souls in the underworld (Adlivun) before they were reincarnated....
[more] PINGA f New World Mythology, Inuit MythologyMeans "the one who is up on high". Pinga was an Inuit goddess of the hunt, fertility and medicine. She was also the psychopomp, bringing souls of the newly-dead to Adlivun, the underworld....
[more] POPO m New World MythologyShort form of
Popocatepetl, which means "smoking mountain" in Nahuatl from
popoca "it smokes" and
tepetl "mountain". This is the name of a hero in Mexican legend and Aztec mythology, the lover of Princess
Ixtli...
[more] QAMAITS f New World MythologyEtymology unknown. This was the name of a Nuxalk warrior goddess associated with death, beginnings, creation, earthquakes, forest fires, and sickness.
QUAOAR m & f New World Mythology, AstronomyAlso known as Chingichngish, Ouiamot, Tobet and Saor, Quaoar is the name of an important figure in the mythology of the so-called Mission Indians of coastal Southern California, a group of Takic-speaking peoples, today divided into the Payomkowishum (Luiseño), Tongva (Gabrieliño and Fernandeño), and Acjachemem (Juaneño) tribes or peoples...
[more] QUILLA f Incan Mythology (Spanish)Hispanicized form of
Killa. In Inca mythology Mama Quilla or Mama Killa was the goddess of the moon, worshipped in particular by women and often represented by a disc made of either gold or silver...
[more] QUISSIK m Greenlandic, Inuit MythologyMeans "urinated on" in Greenlandic. Quissik was the name of a shaman, still remembered in local legends, who acquired that name when foxes in human figure urinated on him.
TEKKEITSERTOK m Inuit MythologyThe name of one of the most important hunting gods in the Inuit pantheon. Tekkeitsertok is a god of hunting and the master of caribou.
TENOCH m New World Mythology, Aztec and Toltec MythologyOf the Nahuatl language (also known as Aztec or Mexica). Combination or compund word meaning Tetl, or "rock/stone" and Nochtli, or "prickly pear cactus." Tenoch was an Aztec warrior/ruler who, according to legend, was given a vision in which he saw an eagle atop a cactus plant with a snake in its mouth...
[more] TOCI f Aztec and Toltec MythologyMeans "our grandmother". The name of an Aztec goddess of cleansing and healing, venerated by healers and midwives. She was also a goddess of war.
TOOTEGA f Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology the goddess Tootega is a wizened old woman who lives in a stone hut and walks on water.
TORNARSUK m Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Tornarsuk is a god of the underworld and head of the protective gods known as the tornat.
TORNGASOAK m Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Torngasoak is a very powerful sky god, one of the more important deities in the Inuit pantheon. Leader of the Tornat.
WAKANDA f Literature, New World MythologyUsed by J.K. Rowling in her 'Harry Potter' series of books as a personal name for a minor female character, perhaps due to its similarity to
Wanda, taken from the form of
Wakan Tanka used by the Omaha people...
[more] WENTSHUKUMISHITEU m & f Inuit MythologyIn Inuit mythology, Wentshukumishiteu is a water-elemental spirit which fiercely protected the young of various animal species from human hunters.
WÓȞPE f New World MythologyEtymology unknown. This was the name of a Lakota goddess of peace who was associated with falling stars.
XBALANQUE m Mayan MythologyThe name of one of the hero twins in the Mayan Popul Vuh. He defeated the underworld gods with his brother, Hunahpu.
XELAS m New World Mythology, SalishanName used by the Lummi people of northwest Washington state for the Transformer, a being that appears in the mythologies of many indigenous peoples who inhabited the Pacific Northwest Coast. This legendary figure (or figures) is also known as
Xáays in Squamish and
Xa:ls in Halkomelem.
XOLOTL m Aztec and Toltec MythologyIn Aztec and Toltec mythology, Xolotl is the god of lightning who guides the dead to the Mictlan. The Aztec regard him as the twin brother of
Quetzalcoatl. As lord of the evening star and personification of Venus, he pushes the sun at sunset towards the ocean and guards her during the night on her dangerous journey through the underworld...
[more] YANAULUHA m New World MythologyThe great medicine man of the Zuni. He is associated with civilization, agriculture, animal husbandry, social life, healing and knowledge.
YEHL m New World Mythology, TlingitThe Tlingit creator-god, the bringer of culture as well as a trickster. He stole fire and gave it to humankind. Assuming the shape of a large raven, he flew over the primal fog and dissipated it with his wings until the first lands emerged...
[more] YIMANTUWINGYAI m New World MythologyA culture hero of the Hupa (California) and the one who established world order. He was the leader of the beings (the Kihunai) who inhabited the world before the Hupa. He combined trickiness and eroticism with heroic qualities...
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