Mojave
/moʊˈhɑːvi/noun
A name for a desert region of the southwestern United States and the Indigenous Mojave people associated with the lower Colorado River.
Did you know?The Mojave people traditionally call themselves Pipa Aha Macav, commonly glossed as “people who live along the water,” referring to the Colorado River.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact
Mojave
Pipa Aha Macav
“People who live along or beside the water”
18th Century
Spanish
Mojave / Mohave
“Spanish renderings of the Indigenous name Aha Macav”
1776
Spanish
Mohave
“A name recorded by Spanish explorer Francisco Garcés for the people encountered along the Colorado River”
19th Century
English
Mohave
“English geographic and ethnographic name for the people and their region”
Modern English
English
Mojave
“The established name of the desert, the people, and related geographic features”
Explore more surprising origins