ToponymicaUS City Name Origins
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Indigenous

Yuma

Arizona (AZ)est. 1854pop. 97,908/YOO-muh/

The meaning

“Disputed: 'sons of the river' or 'smoke'”

How it got the name

The Quechan people call themselves Kwtsaan. Spanish missionaries recorded 'Yuma,' possibly from a word for the smoke of their mesquite fires, possibly from a term meaning 'sons of the river.' The crossing here was the only reliable ford on the lower Colorado, which made the name famous far beyond the region.

Disputed / alternate theory

One account derives it from Spanish humo, 'smoke,' after the fires the Quechan kept burning along the riverbank.

Former names

  1. Colorado City
  2. Arizona City
  3. Yuma