Is Niagara an Indian name?

The name Niagara comes from an Indian word, but it is thought that the word was originally very different from what it now is. In old records from way back in the middle of the 17th century,, the word Ongniaahra crops up as the name of the present day Niagara neighborhood. This Indian word may have meant bisected bottom land, and if so it probably referred to the farmlands on either side of the Niagara river.

Much later, the same name was given to the glorious falls, though by this time it had become very much simplified. If you try saying Ongniaahra a few times you will agree that the simplification was very much needed.