French Names in Arkansas

1
French Names in Arkansas

• Did you know that the name Arkansas is French?
  
• Well, not exactly, but it is the French
  interpretation of the name the Quapaw people
  called this region.
• Early French explorers wrote of acansa, or
  Arkansa, as the river where Quapaw lived. The
  plural form Arkansas, referring to the people
  who lived along this river, became the name given
  to the territory and eventually the state.

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Thanks to early French explorers, trappers, and
tradesmen, many geographical features of the
state have French names.  Though much of these
frontiersmen's history is lost, some places have
retained their French names, while others have
become Anglicized versions of their original
names.  Here is an interactive map of Arkansas
with many examples of these names.  Click on some
of the rivers and towns to hear them in French
and English!
French Names in Arkansas
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Gravette
Delaplaine
Fayetteville
Ozark
Fort Smith
Russellville
Galla Rock
Auvergne
Dardanelle
Cadron
Des Arc
Fourche
Petit Jean
Poteau
Palarm
Maumelle
Little Rock
Lagrange
Avant
Bayou Meto
De Roche
Buie
Lawrenceville
Mazarn
De Queen
Pine Bluff
Arkadelphia
Click on a river, county, or city to hear the
French and English names!
Arkansas Post
Antoine
Dumas
Ozan
Tollette
De Ann
Bodcaw
Camden
Bellaire
Frenchport
Montrose
Lamartine
Smackover
Chicot
Boeuf