Oconee River
/oʊˈkoʊni ˈrɪvər/noun
A river in Georgia, United States, that flows southward before joining the Ocmulgee River to form the Altamaha.
Did you know?The Oconee name is associated with the Oconee people, an Indigenous group whose historic settlement was recorded near the river in present-day Georgia.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-European contact
Muskogean
Oconee
“An Indigenous ethnonym and place-name associated with the Oconee people; the deeper linguistic analysis is uncertain.”
16th–17th Century
European records
Ocone/Oconee
“Forms recorded by European colonists and mapmakers for the Indigenous community and its territory.”
18th Century
English
Oconee River
“English geographical name applied to the river in colonial and early American records.”
19th Century
English
Oconee River
“Established name for the Georgia river as state surveys and maps standardized regional place-names.”
Modern English
English
Oconee River
“The modern name of the Georgia waterway, which joins the Ocmulgee to form the Altamaha River.”