The Meaning of Oconee

The word Oconee is speculated to mean "Land beside the water". The true Cherokee phrase for "Land beside the Water" is pronounced, Ah-Ma Oo-Tl-Di.

We should first cover a few fundamentals about the Cherokee language to help draw more accurate conclusions from the historical records. Click here for an overview of the Cherokee language.

Over the years many people have recorded their thoughts on the meaning of Oconee. A military journal from 1761, records that "Oconee" originated from the name of a town in the area that had been abandoned in 1750 called Ocunny. It goes on to state that the word seems to be a mispronunciation of the Cherokee name Ukwani or Ukwunu.

In 1775, naturalist William Bartram, wrote that the word originated from the phrase Uk-wu-ni, but the meaning was lost.

Historical maps I've found start at 1748 and label the river in the area as "Occonee". One from 1755 calls it what appears to be "Ocune"and also notes a point on the river as "Ocune O.T.". A 1756 map calls the same river "Achonee". After the 1750's, the name appears to become fairly standardized as "Oconee" except for this map from 1779 that does not even name the river.

Mary Cherry Doyle, quoted James Walter Daniel, in 1935, that the word originated from the word Uk-oo-na which is the plural of, a Mexican influence, Ak-ta Oota Nanna which is supposed to mean "Water eye's of the hills", suggested by the many springs in the area. The correct Cherokee phrase for this would be A-Ma Di-Ka-Na Ga-Du-Se-i-Ye-Dv.

A 1939 Historical Records Survey suggests the words origin was a name for the Cherokee Indians derived from Wocunny.

Myrtle Driver Johnson, similar to others, states that the word means "Land beside the water" but that it is pronounced Ae-quo-nee.

More recent accounts of the meaning do not provide any better conclusion to the meaning or origin of the word Oconee. They all seem to return to the idea that it is simply a word the Cherokee in the region used for their home.

I tried to determine if the word was from the Creek (Muscogee) language, but found no evidence that this could be the case. The Cherokee and Creek languages are so different that the Creek translators I spoke with were very certain that it was not Creek.

It does appear though, if there ever was an equivalent English meaning to the word Oconee, it was lost before 1750. The many Cherokee speakers I have spoken with seem to believe that it was simply a Cherokee word with no English translation, and that the white settlers applied their own meaning.

You can learn more about the Cherokee language from several resources on the internet. The best online resource I've found are the classes offered by the Western Band of the Cherokee. They have designed a downloadable font and have many online resources to assist you. Click here to view the Cherokee Syllabary.