Native Names of New York City's Five Boroughs

Before European settlement, Lenape and Algonquian peoples named the lands that became NYC's boroughs:

• Manhattan: Mannahatta — "Island of Many Hills" (Lenape).
• Brooklyn: Paumanok — "Island Shaped Like a Fishhook" (Lenape).
• Queens: Keskachauge / Keskachauge — "Place of the Alders" (Algonquian).
• The Bronx: Rananchqua or Lenapehoking — "Good Land" / "Land of the Lenape" (Algonquian).
• Staten Island: Aquehonga Manacknong — "Good Fishing Place" or "Island of Shells" (Lenape).

These names reflect geography, resources, and Indigenous worldviews.