Discovering Indigenous Island Names: The West Indies Before European Arrival

ByAsh

Long before 1492, none of these islands were nameless. The Taíno, Kalinago (often erroneously called Carib), Lucayan, and other Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean had lived across the archipelago for centuries, and their names for these places were specific and descriptive — a mountain’s shape, the color of a reef, the wood and fresh water that made an island livable. Columbus renamed what he found; he didn’t discover a blank map. Here’s what some of these islands were actually called first, and what those names meant.

Most of these names come from Arawakan languages — the family spoken by the Taíno, Lucayan, and related peoples across the northern Caribbean — while islands further south and east carry Kalinago names from a different linguistic tradition. Because these languages were passed down orally and only written down after contact, spellings and translations vary between sources, and scholars don’t always agree on the exact meaning of a given name. What’s consistent across all of them, though, is that they describe real, specific features of the land, not decorative labels.

The Greater Antilles

Cuba’s original name is usually recorded as Cubanacán, a Taíno word often translated as roughly “center place” or “place in the middle” — though linguists still debate whether that referred to the whole island or just its fertile interior. Jamaica has kept its Indigenous name almost unchanged: Xaymaca, “land of wood and water,” a fitting description of an island covered in forest and fed by hundreds of rivers and springs. Hispaniola carried at least two names depending on which end of the island you stood on — Ayiti, “mountainous land,” in the west (the direct root of modern Haiti), and Quisqueya, often translated as “mother of all lands,” used more broadly and still a common nickname for the Dominican Republic today. Puerto Rico was Borikén, also spelled Borinquen — “land of the valiant and noble lord” — the source of Boricua, the term Puerto Ricans still use for themselves.

The Lesser Antilles

Moving south and east, the names get even more specific. Guadeloupe was Karukera, often translated as “island of beautiful waters.” Dominica was Wai’tukubuli, “tall is her body,” describing its steep, mountainous silhouette from the sea. Martinique was Madinina, “island of flowers,” a nickname still used affectionately today. Saint Lucia carried the name Hewanorra, or Iouanalao, “where the iguana is found.” Saint Vincent was Hairouna, “land of the blessed.” Grenada was Camerhogne. Barbados, further out in the Atlantic, was Ichirouganaim. And Trinidad was Kairi, or Iere — often translated as “land of the hummingbird,” for the birds that are still one of the island’s most recognizable residents.

The Leeward Islands and the Lucayan Islands

Antigua was Wadadli. Saint Kitts was Liamuiga, “fertile land.” Montserrat was Alliouagana, “land of the prickly bush,” likely a reference to the aloe that grows across the island. And to the north, in what’s now the Bahamas, the Lucayan people had their own names for the low-lying islands and cays — including Guanahaní, the very island where Columbus made his first landfall in the Caribbean on October 12, 1492, before renaming it San Salvador. Historians still debate exactly which island in the Bahamas Guanahaní actually was; several are candidates. But the name itself, and the people who gave it, are well documented.

None of this is ancient history in the way it can feel from a textbook — these names are still used today, in nicknames, in national identity, in the words people use for themselves. It’s part of why “Caribbean-inspired” means something specific to us at TropiCrochet: every piece in our Island Garden and Caribbean Folklore collections is meant as a small, handmade nod to that history, not just a tropical color palette. If this kind of thing interests you, it’s worth sitting with — the islands had stories long before anyone else showed up to write them down.

“Did You Know” infographic slide explaining that Columbus renamed Caribbean islands he encountered, overlooking the indigenous names already in place, and that the new names honored his patrons Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain.
Did You Know?
“Did You Know” infographic slide noting that despite being renamed, the original island names carried deep meaning and a real connection to the land, introducing this island-by-island series.
Let’s begin the journey, island by island.
Infographic card for Anguilla, showing its original name Malliouhana, an Arawak word meaning “arrow-shaped sea serpent.”
Anguilla — Malliouhana, “arrow-shaped sea serpent” (Arawak)
Infographic card for Antigua & Barbuda, showing their original Kalinago names, Waladli and Wa’omoni, meaning “land of fish oil” and “land of the herons.”
Antigua & Barbuda — Waladli & Wa’omoni, “land of fish oil” & “land of the herons” (Kalinago)
Infographic card for Aruba, showing its original name Ora Oubao, translated as either “shell island” (Kalinago) or “well-situated island” (Arawak).
Aruba — Ora Oubao, “shell island” or “well-situated island”
Infographic card for the Bahamas, showing Guanahaní, the Taíno name for the island where Columbus first made landfall in 1492, meaning “small upper waters land.”
The Bahamas — Guanahaní, “small upper waters land” (Taíno) — where Columbus first landed
Infographic card for Barbados, showing its original name Ichirouganai, an Arawak name meaning “red land with white teeth,” a reference to its reefs.
Barbados — Ichirouganai, “red land with white teeth (reefs)” (Arawak)
Infographic card for Belize, showing its original name Belix, a Mayan word meaning “muddy water” or “muddy river.”
Belize — Belix, “muddy water/river” (Mayan)
Infographic card for Bermuda, showing its former name Las Islas Bermudas, named after the Spanish sailor Juan de Bermúdez rather than an indigenous name.
Bermuda — Las Islas Bermudas, named for Spanish sailor Juan de Bermúdez
Infographic card for Bonaire, showing its original name Bonay, a Caquetio (Arawak) word meaning “low country.”
Bonaire — Bonay, “low country” (Caquetio/Arawak)
Infographic card for the British Virgin Islands, showing Dulcina, the Arawak name for Tortola meaning “sweetheart” or “darling.”
British Virgin Islands — Dulcina, “sweetheart/darling” (Arawak, for Tortola)
Infographic card for Curaçao, showing Caiquetios, named after the Caquetio Arawak people who lived on the island.
Curaçao — named for the Caquetio, the Arawak people who lived there
Infographic card for Dominica, showing its original name Wai’tukubuli, a Kalinago phrase meaning “tall is her body,” describing its mountainous shape.
Dominica — Wai’tukubuli, “tall is her body” (Kalinago)
Infographic card for the Dominican Republic, showing Quisqueya, the Taíno name for the entire island of Hispaniola, meaning “mother of all lands.”
Dominican Republic — Quisqueya, “mother of all lands” (Taíno)
Infographic card for French Guiana, showing Guiana, the French form of an Amerindian word meaning “land of many waters.”
French Guiana — Guiana, “land of many waters”
Infographic card for Grenada, showing its original name Camajuya, an Arawak name meaning “thunderbolt.”
Grenada — Camajuya, “thunderbolt” (Arawak)
Infographic card for Guadeloupe, showing its original name Karukera, an Arawak name meaning “the island of beautiful waters.”
Guadeloupe — Karukera, “island of beautiful waters” (Arawak)
Infographic card for Guyana, showing Guiana, an Arawak word meaning “land of many waters.”
Guyana — Guiana, “land of many waters” (Arawak)
Infographic card for Haiti, showing its original name Ayiti, the Taíno name for western Hispaniola meaning “land of high mountains.”
Haiti — Ayiti, “land of high mountains” (Taíno)
Infographic card for Jamaica, showing its original name Xaymaca, a Taíno name meaning “land of wood and water.”
Jamaica — Xaymaca, “land of wood and water” (Taíno)
Infographic card for Martinique, showing its original name Madinina, an Arawak word meaning “land of flowers.”
Martinique — Madinina, “land of flowers” (Arawak)
Infographic card for Montserrat, showing its original name Alliouagana, a Kalinago word meaning “land of the prickly bush.”
Montserrat — Alliouagana, “land of the prickly bush” (Kalinago)
Infographic card for Puerto Rico, showing its original name Borikén, a Taíno name meaning “land of the valiant and noble lord.”
Puerto Rico — Borikén, “land of the valiant and noble lord” (Taíno)
Infographic card for Saba, showing its original name Siba, an Arawak word meaning “the rock.”
Saba — Siba, “the rock” (Arawak)
Infographic card for Saint Barthélemy, showing its original name Ouanalao, an Arawak word meaning “toad on top.”
Saint Barthélemy — Ouanalao, “toad on top” (Arawak)
Infographic card for Saint Kitts & Nevis, showing their original Kalinago names, Liamuiga and Oualie, meaning “fertile land” and “land of beautiful water.”
Saint Kitts & Nevis — Liamuiga & Oualie, “fertile land” & “land of beautiful water” (Kalinago)
Infographic card for Saint Lucia, showing its original name Iouanalao, an Arawak name meaning “land of the iguanas.”
Saint Lucia — Iouanalao, “land of the iguanas” (Arawak)
Infographic card for Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, showing its original name Youroumayïn, named after the Arawakan “Spirit of the Rainbow.”
Saint Vincent & the Grenadines — Youroumayïn, named for the Arawakan “Spirit of the Rainbow”
Infographic card for Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, showing its original names Soualiga and Oualichi, Arawak phrases meaning “the land of salt” and “the island of beautiful women.”
Saint Martin/Sint Maarten — Soualiga & Oualichi, “land of salt” & “island of beautiful women” (Arawak)
Infographic card for Sint Eustatius, showing its original name Aloi, an Arawak word meaning “cashew tree.”
Sint Eustatius — Aloi, “cashew tree” (Arawak)
Infographic card for Suriname, showing Surinen, the name of the indigenous tribe that lived in the Guyanas of South America.
Suriname — named for the Surinen, the tribe who lived across the Guyanas
Infographic card for Trinidad & Tobago, showing their original names Kairi and Urupaina, a Kalinago word meaning “land of the hummingbird” and an Arawak word meaning “big snail.”
Trinidad & Tobago — Kairi & Urupaina, “land of the hummingbird” (Kalinago) & “big snail” (Arawak)
Infographic card for Turks & Caicos, showing its original name Caya Hico, a Lucayan phrase meaning “string of islands.”
Turks & Caicos — Caya Hico, “string of islands” (Lucayan)
Infographic card for the U.S. Virgin Islands, showing its original Taíno names, Ay Ay and Utuana, meaning “the river” and “fertile land.”
U.S. Virgin Islands — Ay Ay & Utuana, “the river” & “fertile land” (Taíno)

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