Okanagan
/ˌoʊ.kəˈnɑː.ɡən/noun
A region, lake, and Indigenous cultural area spanning south-central British Columbia and north-central Washington.
Did you know?“Okanagan” is an English rendering of an Indigenous name associated with the Okanagan people, whose own language is commonly called Nsyilxcən; the original meaning is not securely established.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact period
Nsyilxcən
Okanagan / related Indigenous form
“An Indigenous place-name and ethnonym; the exact original form and meaning remain debated.”
18th–19th Century
European records
Okanagan
“A name recorded by explorers, traders, and missionaries for the people and region.”
19th Century
English
Okanagan
“The established English spelling for the Interior Plateau region and its Indigenous inhabitants.”
19th Century
English
Okanogan
“A variant spelling that became especially common south of the border in Washington State.”
Modern English
English
Okanagan
“A geographic and cultural name referring chiefly to the Canadian valley and lake region, and more broadly to the Syilx/Okanagan homeland.”
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