Omaha
/ˈoʊ.mə.hɑː/noun
A city in Nebraska, and the name of a Native American people and their Siouan language.
Did you know?The name Omaha comes from the people’s own name for themselves, and in their language it is commonly glossed as meaning something like “upriver people,” not a mystical or occult term.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Siouan
PS
*???
“An ancestral form, reconstructed by linguists, behind later Siouan tribal names and words.”
Omaha-Ponca
Omaha
Umoⁿhoⁿ
“The self-name of the Omaha people.”
19th Century
English
Omaha
“An English spelling of the tribal name, later used for the Nebraska city.”
Modern English
English
Omaha
“The standard English form for the people, language, and city name.”
Explore more surprising origins