Why is the mississippi river named that?

Question

why isnt the mississippi river named minnesota river or lousiana river? after all it does run through many states.

Answer 1

Origin of the Name Mississippi - Mississippi is perhaps from the Ojibwa (Chippewa) Indian words "mici zibi," which means "great river" or "gathering of ...

Answer 2

It's not named after the State.  The state of Mississippi is named after the river, and that word happens to be an Anglicized version of a word used by some Indians.  The Ojibwa called it the 'mici zibi' meaning either 'great river' or 'gathering of waters'.

Answer 3

The word Mississippi comes from Messipi, the French rendering of the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe or Algonquin) name for the river, Misi-ziibi (Great River).

The area of the Mississippi valley was first settled by Native American tribes such as the Ojibwa, the Cheyenne, the Mississippian Culture and the Chickasaw. In Cheyenne the Mississippi River is called Maxe-eometaa'e (Big Greasy River).

The Ojibwa called Lake Itasca Omashkoozo-zaaga'igan (Elk Lake) and the river flowing out of it Omashkoozo-ziibi (Elk River). After flowing into Lake Bemidji, the Ojibwe called the river Bemijigamaa-ziibi (River from the Traversing Lake). After flowing into Cass Lake, the name of the river again changed to Miskwaawaakokaa-ziibi (Red Cedar River) and then to Gichi-ziibi (Great River) after flowing into Lake Winnibigoshish.

The Ojibwe name Misi-ziibi applied only to the portion below the Crow Wing River, but the ever-changing names of the river seemed illogical to the English speakers.

After the expeditions by Giacomo Costantino Beltrami and Henry Schoolcraft, the longest stream above the juncture of the Crow Wing River and Gichi-ziibi was named Mississippi River.

Answer 4

The name Mississippi is derived from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi ("Great River") or gichi-ziibi ("Big River") at its headwaters.

Answer 5

Minnesota already has the Minnesota River.