Below is a list of Cherokee family names listed in a 1904 newspaper article. According to the article, the names are unusual, but in my opinion, that means they are unusual for whites, but not for Cherokees. I believe most who can prove they descend from the historical Cherokee Nation will find some, if not many, of these names in their ancestry or family tree. I have at least seven of these names in my family.
Acorn
Beanstick
Bearpaw
Birdchopper
Bullfrog
Buzzard
Buzzardflopper
Bean
Bearclaw
Bushyhead
Blackbird
Coon
Corntassel
Cornsilk
Cloud
Cricket
Candy
Carselowey
Duckwell
Deer-in-the-water
Dirteater
Dirtpot
Doublehead
Deerskin
Fox
Fivekiller
Featherhead
Fence
Falling
Fallingbuzzard
Gettingdown
Grapevine
Grass
Glory
Grease
Groundhog
Hogshooter
Hatchet
Hare
Hummingbird
Hitcher
Horsefly
Hawk
Heart
Kingfisher
Locust
Muskrat
Mouse
Mixedwater
Noisywater
Nakedhead
Oldfield
Pumpkin
Polecat
Pegg
Paun
Pidgeon
Rabbit
Redbird
Risingfawn
Rattlinggourd
Raven
Roastingear
Squirrel
Swimmer
Starr
Sevenstar
Soap
Sixkiller
Scarcewater
Soldier
Spoon
Springfrog
Sittingdown
Spade
Sweetwater
Trottingwolf
Terrapin
Treekiller
Trickeater
Tadpole
Tincup
Tail
Tehee
Tiger
Whirlwind
Walkingstick
Youngbird
Yellowbird
This is just a list I found in a newspaper article and thought I would share them. It is in no way a complete list of Cherokee family names.
Those are my thoughts for today,
Thank you for reading.
CC
The Granddaughter
(Source - Lincoln Evening News; Lincoln, Nebraska; December 13, 1904; p. 3; "Queer Cherokee Names")
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Acorn
Beanstick
Bearpaw
Birdchopper
Bullfrog
Buzzard
Buzzardflopper
Bean
Bearclaw
Bushyhead
Blackbird
Coon
Corntassel
Cornsilk
Cloud
Cricket
Candy
Carselowey
Duckwell
Deer-in-the-water
Dirteater
Dirtpot
Doublehead
Deerskin
Fox
Fivekiller
Featherhead
Fence
Falling
Fallingbuzzard
Gettingdown
Grapevine
Grass
Glory
Grease
Groundhog
Hogshooter
Hatchet
Hare
Hummingbird
Hitcher
Horsefly
Hawk
Heart
Kingfisher
Locust
Muskrat
Mouse
Mixedwater
Noisywater
Nakedhead
Oldfield
Pumpkin
Polecat
Pegg
Paun
Pidgeon
Rabbit
Redbird
Risingfawn
Rattlinggourd
Raven
Roastingear
Squirrel
Swimmer
Starr
Sevenstar
Soap
Sixkiller
Scarcewater
Soldier
Spoon
Springfrog
Sittingdown
Spade
Sweetwater
Trottingwolf
Terrapin
Treekiller
Trickeater
Tadpole
Tincup
Tail
Tehee
Tiger
Whirlwind
Walkingstick
Youngbird
Yellowbird
This is just a list I found in a newspaper article and thought I would share them. It is in no way a complete list of Cherokee family names.
Those are my thoughts for today,
Thank you for reading.
CC
The Granddaughter
(Source - Lincoln Evening News; Lincoln, Nebraska; December 13, 1904; p. 3; "Queer Cherokee Names")
copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB
Posts
There are some Youngbirds and Yellowbirds up in Minnesota/North Dakota. I think they are from either Ojibwe or Sioux tribes.
ReplyDeleteWhat accounts for all the Collins, Wilcoxen, Stidham, Campbell type names? My fathers theory was because there were a lot of Scots-Irish fur trappers wandering alone in the wilderness, they must have run across some Indian women and married.
ReplyDeleteMany "white" surnames came into the Cherokee tribe from what were called "Indian countrymen." They were whites who had permits to live/trade/operate businesses in the Cherokee Nation. Often they married a Cherokee woman and produced children.
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