overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

Manhattan.

An indigenous people of North America who lived in present day New York State.

9 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

name/mænˈhætn̩/Received-Pronunciation/mænˈhætn̩/General-American[mænˈhæʔn̩]General-American/mənˈhætn̩/New-York-City

  1. An indigenous people of North America who lived in present day New York State.

  2. A borough of New York City, New York, United States, mainly on Manhattan Island; in full, Borough of Manhattan.

  3. An island of New York, United States; in full, Manhattan Island.

  4. A number of places in the United States: A ghost town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States.

  5. A number of places in the United States: An unincorporated community in Manatee County, Florida, United States.

  6. A number of places in the United States: A township in Will County, Illinois, United States.

  7. A number of places in the United States: A village in Will County, Illinois, United States.

  8. A number of places in the United States: An unincorporated community in Putnam County, Indiana, United States.

  9. A number of places in the United States: A city, the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States.

  10. A number of places in the United States: A town in Gallatin County, Montana, United States.

  11. A number of places in the United States: An unincorporated community in Nye County, Nevada, United States.

Where this word comes from

From the earlier form Manna-hata recorded by Dutch travelers and settlers, from its name in Unami, the local Algonquian language. The name generally understood to be a compound of Unami mënatay (“island”) or Munsee munahan (compare Abenaki manahan) with another element. According to a report by John Heckewelder, the name is connected to a wooded area whose trees were suitable for making bows. Linguist Ives Goddard explains the early forms Manna-hatta(n) and Mannahachtink as spellings of Munsee manaháhtaan (“place for gathering the wood to make bows”) and its related locative form manaháhteenk. This interpretation breaks down the word as a compound of manah- (“gather”) + -aht (“bow”) + -aan (“place”).

noun/mænˈhætn̩/Received-Pronunciation/mænˈhætn̩/General-American[mænˈhæʔn̩]General-American/mənˈhætn̩/New-York-City

  1. A cocktail made from whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters.

Where this word comes from

From the earlier form Manna-hata recorded by Dutch travelers and settlers, from its name in Unami, the local Algonquian language. The name generally understood to be a compound of Unami mënatay (“island”) or Munsee munahan (compare Abenaki manahan) with another element. According to a report by John Heckewelder, the name is connected to a wooded area whose trees were suitable for making bows. Linguist Ives Goddard explains the early forms Manna-hatta(n) and Mannahachtink as spellings of Munsee manaháhtaan (“place for gathering the wood to make bows”) and its related locative form manaháhteenk. This interpretation breaks down the word as a compound of manah- (“gather”) + -aht (“bow”) + -aan (“place”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

Manhattan has 9 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

Manhattan studioManhattan workshello, Manhattan

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.