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West Virginia Rivers with Native American Names

Many West Virginia rivers bear names derived from Native American languages, reflecting the region’s indigenous heritage (Shawnee, Cherokee, Iroquoian, Algonquian peoples).

Rivers with Indigenous Names

River	Likely Origin / Meaning
Kanawha	Iroquoian (possibly “water way” or “canoe route”); major Ohio tributary.
Monongahela	Unami (Lenape) “Mënaonkihëla” = “falling banks” or “where banks cave in.”
Cheat	Possibly from French “chasse” (hunt) or Shawnee; not directly tribal name.
Gauley	Shawnee “Gwelei” = “falling water” or “tumbling stream.”
Pocatalico	Shawnee “Pocatalico” = “river of fat deer” or “place of many deer.”
Guyandotte	Shawnee “Guyandot” = name of a Wyandot (Huron) band.
Tygart Valley	Named for David Tygart (European), but “Tygart” may derive from “Tygart’s Creek” earlier.
Ohio	Iroquoian (Seneca) “Ohi:yo'” = “good river” or “great river.”
Potomac	Algonquian (Patawomeck) “Patawomeke” = “trading place” or “they bring tribute.”
Shenandoah	Algonquian “Shenandoah” = “daughter of the stars” or “great meadow.”

Notes

“Elk River” and “Greenbrier River” are English descriptive names (elk animals, greenbrier vines), not indigenous.
“New River” is a colonial misnomer (thought new to Europeans); ancient river, possibly “Cohnaway” in Shawnee.
“Tug Fork” named for tugboats, not indigenous.

These names preserve linguistic echoes of the peoples who lived in the Appalachians long before European settlement.

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