Native Tribe Name Generator

Indigenous peoples and nations from every continent

Real-World Names & CulturesPart of: real-world name generators1,000 names

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Explore 1,000 real names of Indigenous peoples worldwide, from the Māori, Sámi and Ainu to the Maasai, Yanomami, Yolngu and Inuit, including many nations' names for themselves. Useful for geography lessons, travel research and writers who want a real people rather than a made-up tribe.

About native tribe names

Roughly 476 million people belong to more than 5,000 distinct Indigenous peoples across some 90 countries. Their names for themselves very often mean 'the people' or 'real people': Inuit, Diné, Anishinaabe, Ainu, Kalaallit and Yolngu all translate roughly that way. Names given by outsiders tend to describe location, language or, sometimes, insults that have since been dropped, which is why Eskimo has given way to Inuit and Yup'ik, Lapp to Sámi, and Bushmen to San or the specific group name Ju/'hoansi.

Many peoples nest inside larger groupings. Māori is the collective name, while iwi (tribes) like Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Tahu and Tūhoe are the working political units. Maya covers more than 30 language groups including K'iche', Kaqchikel and Yucatec. Aboriginal Australians belong to hundreds of nations, among them the Noongar, Yolngu, Arrernte and Wiradjuri, and Torres Strait Islanders are a separate people again. In Siberia and the Russian north, dozens of small nations such as the Nenets, Evenki, Chukchi and Sakha keep reindeer-herding and hunting cultures alive.

The list spans the Americas, Africa, Oceania, Asia and the Arctic, from Canada's First Nations to India's Adivasi, and gives preference to each people's own name where it is widely used. Use it as a starting point for research, a geography quiz, or to anchor a story in a real place and culture.

How to choose native tribe names

  • Use the people's own name where one is established (Sámi not Lapp, Inuit not Eskimo, San or Ju/'hoansi not Bushmen, Rarámuri alongside Tarahumara).
  • Be specific: 'a Māori character' is fine, but naming their iwi (Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tahu) is what a Māori reader would expect.
  • Check whether a name is a broad grouping (Maya, Aboriginal, Bantu) or a specific people (K'iche', Noongar, Zulu) and use the level that fits.
  • For fantasy worldbuilding, borrow structural ideas (a people-word plus a place-word) rather than lifting a real people's name for an invented culture.
  • Some peoples, such as the Sentinelese and several Amazonian groups, remain uncontacted; treat them as living communities, not as adventure-story props.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a tribe, a nation and an ethnic group?

They overlap. 'Nation' or 'people' emphasizes political self-government and is preferred by many Indigenous communities; 'tribe' is a legal category in some countries and considered outdated in others; 'ethnic group' is the neutral anthropological term for a people sharing language and descent.

How many Indigenous peoples are there in the world?

The United Nations estimates more than 5,000 distinct Indigenous peoples speaking over 4,000 languages, totaling around 476 million people, roughly 6 percent of the global population.

Why do some peoples have two names?

Usually one is what they call themselves (an endonym) and the other is what neighbors or colonizers called them (an exonym). Diné/Navajo, Sámi/Lapp, Wixárika/Huichol and Kalaallit/Greenlanders are typical pairs, and the endonym is now generally preferred.

Can I use a real people's name in a fantasy setting?

It's best not to. Give invented cultures original names and use real names only in stories set in the real world, where you can research the actual people accurately.

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All 1,000 native tribe names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 70 names

  • 'Are'are
  • Abaza
  • Abelam
  • Abenaki
  • Abkhaz
  • Aché
  • Achi
  • Acholi
  • Achuar
  • Acoma
  • Adi
  • Adnyamathanha
  • Adyghe
  • Aeta
  • Afar
  • Agta
  • Ainu
  • Aka
  • Akan
  • Akawaio
  • Akha
  • Akie
  • Aleut
  • Algonquin
  • Altai
  • Aluku
  • Alutiiq
  • Alyawarre
  • Amazigh
  • Amhara
  • Amis
  • Amungme
  • Amuzgo
  • Anangu
  • Angami

A, continued

  • Anindilyakwa
  • Anishinaabe
  • Anmatyerre
  • Ao
  • Apache
  • Apatani
  • Apinajé
  • Apurinã
  • Arabana
  • Arapaho
  • Arapesh
  • Arawak
  • Araweté
  • Argobba
  • Arhuaco
  • Arrernte
  • Asante
  • Ashaninka
  • Asmat
  • Assiniboine
  • Assyrians
  • Asurini
  • Atacameño
  • Atayal
  • Ati
  • Atikamekw
  • Atoni
  • Avar
  • Awá
  • Awabakal
  • Awajún
  • Aweer
  • Aymara
  • Ayoreo
  • Azande

B: 70 names

  • B'laan
  • Badaga
  • Baduy
  • Baganda
  • Bagobo
  • Bahnar
  • Bai
  • Baiga
  • Baining
  • Baka
  • Bakairi
  • Bakgalagadi
  • Balkar
  • Ballardong
  • Baloch
  • Bambara
  • Bamileke
  • Banaban
  • Baniwa
  • Banyjima
  • Barabaig
  • Barasana
  • Bardi
  • Bari
  • Barkindji
  • Barngarla
  • Bashkir
  • Batak
  • Batammariba
  • Batek
  • Bedouin
  • Beja
  • Bemba
  • Benet
  • Beothuk

B, continued

  • Berber
  • Berti
  • Bhaca
  • Bhil
  • Bhumij
  • Bhutia
  • Biak
  • Bidayuh
  • Bininj
  • Birhor
  • Biripi
  • Blackfoot
  • Boandik
  • Bodo
  • Bonda
  • Bontoc
  • Boonwurrung
  • Bora
  • Borana
  • Bororo
  • Boruca
  • Bouyei
  • Bribri
  • Bru
  • Bugis
  • Bugkalot
  • Bundjalung
  • Bunuba
  • Bunun
  • Burarra
  • Burji
  • Burunge
  • Burusho
  • Buryat
  • Butchulla

C: 48 names

  • Cabécar
  • Caddo
  • Cañari
  • Canela
  • Cayuga
  • Ch'orti
  • Chachi
  • Chagga
  • Chakma
  • Cham
  • Chamacoco
  • Chamorro
  • Charrúa
  • Chatino
  • Chechen
  • Chenchu
  • Chepang
  • Cherokee
  • Chewa
  • Cheyenne
  • Chickasaw
  • Chimbu
  • Chin
  • Chinantec
  • Chinook
  • Chipaya
  • Chiquitano
  • Choctaw
  • Chol
  • Chuj
  • Chukchi
  • Chumash
  • Chuukese
  • Chuvash
  • Ciboney
  • Cinta Larga
  • Circassian
  • Coast Salish
  • Cofán
  • Comanche
  • Cook Islands Māori
  • Cora
  • Cree
  • Crow
  • Cubeo
  • Cucapá
  • Cup'ik
  • Curripaco

D: 31 names

  • Daasanach
  • Dagomba
  • Dai
  • Dakota
  • Damara
  • Dane-zaa
  • Dani
  • Dargin
  • Darkinjung
  • Darug
  • Darumbal
  • Datoga
  • Daur
  • Dawro
  • Dayak
  • Dena'ina
  • Dene
  • Denesuline
  • Derung
  • Desana
  • Dharawal
  • Diaguita
  • Dieri
  • Dimasa
  • Diné
  • Dinka
  • Dja Dja Wurrung
  • Dogon
  • Dolgan
  • Dong
  • Dunghutti

E: 15 names

  • Edo
  • Efik
  • El Molo
  • Emberá
  • Enawenê-Nawê
  • Endorois
  • Enets
  • Enga
  • Enlhet
  • Eora
  • Ese Eja
  • Even
  • Evenki
  • Ewe
  • Eyak

F: 8 names

  • Fang
  • Fante
  • Fijian iTaukei
  • Fon
  • Fore
  • Fulani
  • Fulni-ô
  • Futunan

G: 33 names

  • G//ana
  • G/wi
  • Gadaba
  • Gamilaraay
  • Garifuna
  • Garo
  • Garrwa
  • Gavião
  • Gayo
  • Ghomara
  • Gija
  • Girramay
  • Gitxsan
  • Gofa
  • Gond
  • Gooniyandi
  • Gorowa
  • Great Andamanese
  • Griqua
  • Guajajara
  • Guaraní
  • Guarani Kaiowá
  • Guarani Mbya
  • Gumatj
  • Gumbaynggirr
  • Guna
  • Gunaikurnai
  • Gunditjmara
  • Gurindji
  • Guro
  • Gurung
  • Guugu Yimithirr
  • Gwich'in

H: 29 names

  • Hadza
  • Hai//om
  • Haida
  • Haisla
  • Hamar
  • Hani
  • Hanunó'o
  • Harakmbut
  • Haudenosaunee
  • Hausa
  • Hawaiian
  • Hazara
  • Heiltsuk
  • Herero
  • Higaonon
  • Himba
  • Hlubi
  • Hmong
  • Ho
  • Ho-Chunk
  • Hopi
  • Huarpe
  • Huastec
  • Huave
  • Huichol
  • Huli
  • Huni Kuin
  • Hupda
  • Huron-Wendat

I: 26 names

  • I-Kiribati
  • Iatmul
  • Ibaloi
  • Iban
  • Ifugao
  • Igbo
  • Igorot
  • Ijaw
  • Ik
  • Ilchamus
  • Imraguen
  • Inga
  • Ingush
  • Innu
  • Inuinnait
  • Inuit
  • Iñupiat
  • Inuvialuit
  • Irob
  • Irula
  • Itelmen
  • Itneg
  • Itza'
  • Ivatan
  • Ixil
  • Izhorians

J: 7 names

  • Jakun
  • Jarai
  • Jarawa
  • Jaru
  • Jawoyn
  • Ju/'hoansi
  • Juang

K: 110 names

  • !Kung
  • K'iche'
  • Ka'apor
  • Kabardian
  • Kabyle
  • Kachin
  • Kadazan-Dusun
  • Kadiwéu
  • Kafficho
  • Kainai
  • Kaingang
  • Kakataibo
  • Kala Lagaw Ya
  • Kalaallit
  • Kalapalo
  • Kalash
  • Kalenjin
  • Kalinago
  • Kalinga
  • Kallawaya
  • Kalmyk
  • Kaluli
  • Kamayurá
  • Kamba
  • Kamëntsá
  • Kamoro
  • Kanak
  • Kānaka Maoli
  • Kankanaey
  • Kankuamo
  • Kanuri
  • Kaqchikel
  • Karachay
  • Karaim
  • Karajá
  • Karajarri
  • Karakalpak
  • Karamojong
  • Karbi
  • Karelian
  • Karen
  • Kariña
  • Karitiana
  • Kasena
  • Kāti Māmoe
  • Katu
  • Kaurareg
  • Kaurna
  • Kavalan
  • Kawaiwete
  • Kawésqar
  • Kayan
  • Kayapó
  • Kaytetye
  • Kazakh

K, continued

  • Kelabit
  • Kenyah
  • Ket
  • Khakas
  • Khanty
  • Kharia
  • Khasi
  • Khmu
  • Khoikhoi
  • Khond
  • Khwe
  • Kichwa
  • Kikuyu
  • Kiowa
  • Kisêdjê
  • Kiwai
  • Klamath
  • Kogi
  • Kokama
  • Kokatha
  • Kolla
  • Komi
  • Konyak
  • Korana
  • Korku
  • Korowai
  • Korubo
  • Koryak
  • Kosraean
  • Koya
  • Koyukon
  • Kpelle
  • Krahô
  • Krenak
  • Krymchak
  • Ktunaxa
  • Kuikuro
  • Kuki
  • Kuku Yalanji
  • Kulina
  • Kumeyaay
  • Kumyk
  • Kuna
  • Kunwinjku
  • Kurds
  • Kurumba
  • Kuvale
  • Kuy
  • Kwaio
  • Kwakwaka'wakw
  • Kwangali
  • Kwara'ae
  • Kwegu
  • Kwele
  • Kyrgyz

L: 27 names

  • Lacandon
  • Ladakhi
  • Lahu
  • Lak
  • Lakota
  • Lango
  • Lani
  • Lardil
  • Larrakia
  • Lemba
  • Lenape
  • Lenca
  • Lenje
  • Lepcha
  • Lezgin
  • Lhoba
  • Li
  • Limbu
  • Lisu
  • Livonians
  • Lotuko
  • Lozi
  • Lumad
  • Lumbee
  • Lun Bawang
  • Luo
  • Luritja

M: 100 names

  • Maasai
  • Maban
  • Magar
  • Mah Meri
  • Majang
  • Maká
  • Makah
  • Makonde
  • Makushi
  • Maleku
  • Mam
  • Mamanwa
  • Manchu
  • Mandan
  • Mandaya
  • Mandinka
  • Mangarevan
  • Manggarai
  • Mangyan
  • Manobo
  • Mansi
  • Māori
  • Mapuche
  • Maranao
  • Margi
  • Mari
  • Marind
  • Marquesan
  • Marsh Arabs
  • Marshallese
  • Martu
  • Marubo
  • Matis
  • Matsés
  • Matsigenka
  • Maxakali
  • Maya
  • Mayangna
  • Mazahua
  • Mazatec
  • Mbendjele
  • Mbuti
  • Me'phaa
  • Mee
  • Mehinaku
  • Meitei
  • Mekeo
  • Melanau
  • Melpa
  • Mende

M, continued

  • Menominee
  • Mentawai
  • Meriam
  • Merina
  • Métis
  • Mfengu
  • Mi'kmaq
  • Miao
  • Mien
  • Minahasa
  • Minangkabau
  • Mirarr
  • Miriwoong
  • Mirning
  • Misak
  • Mishmi
  • Mising
  • Miskito
  • Mixe
  • Mixtec
  • Mizo
  • Mlabri
  • Mnong
  • Mocoví
  • Mohawk
  • Mohegan
  • Mojave
  • Mojeño
  • Moken
  • Mon
  • Mongol
  • Monpa
  • Mopan
  • Mordvin
  • Moriori
  • Mosetén
  • Mossi
  • Mosuo
  • Motu
  • Mpondo
  • Muaūpoko
  • Muisca
  • Munda
  • Munduruku
  • Muong
  • Murrinh-Patha
  • Mursi
  • Murut
  • Muruwari
  • Muscogee

N: 74 names

  • Naga
  • Nahua
  • Nama
  • Nambikwara
  • Nanai
  • Nara
  • Naro
  • Narragansett
  • Narungga
  • Nasa
  • Nasioi
  • Naso
  • Nauruan
  • Navajo
  • Naxi
  • Ndebele
  • Ndyuka
  • Negidal
  • Nenets
  • Netsilik
  • Newar
  • Nez Perce
  • Ngā Rauru
  • Ngaanyatjarra
  • Ngäbe
  • Ngāi Tahu
  • Ngāi Te Rangi
  • Ngaju
  • Nganasan
  • Ngāpuhi
  • Ngarigo
  • Ngarluma
  • Ngarrindjeri
  • Ngas
  • Ngāti Apa
  • Ngāti Hauā
  • Ngāti Kahu

N, continued

  • Ngāti Kahungunu
  • Ngāti Koata
  • Ngāti Kuia
  • Ngāti Kuri
  • Ngāti Manawa
  • Ngāti Maniapoto
  • Ngāti Maru
  • Ngāti Mutunga
  • Ngāti Pāoa
  • Ngāti Porou
  • Ngāti Ranginui
  • Ngāti Raukawa
  • Ngāti Ruanui
  • Ngāti Toa
  • Ngāti Tūwharetoa
  • Ngāti Wai
  • Ngāti Whātua
  • Ngiyampaa
  • Ngunnawal
  • Ni-Vanuatu
  • Nias
  • Nicobarese
  • Nisga'a
  • Niuean
  • Nivaclé
  • Nivkh
  • Nkoya
  • Nogai
  • Noongar
  • Nubian
  • Nuer
  • Nukak
  • Nuu-chah-nulth
  • Nuxalk
  • Nyangumarta
  • Nyikina
  • Nyishi

O: 21 names

  • Odawa
  • Ogiek
  • Ojibwe
  • Okinawan
  • Oneida
  • Onge
  • Onondaga
  • Orang Asli
  • Orang Laut
  • Orang Rimba
  • Orang Seletar
  • Oraon
  • Oroch
  • Orokaiva
  • Oromo
  • Oroqen
  • Osage
  • Ossetian
  • Otavalo
  • Otomí
  • Ovambo

P: 47 names

  • Pa'O
  • Paí Tavyterã
  • Paiute
  • Paiwan
  • Palauan
  • Palaw'an
  • Palawa
  • Palikur
  • Pame
  • Pamiri
  • Panará
  • Panare
  • Paniya
  • Pankararu
  • Papuan
  • Parakanã
  • Paresi
  • Pashtun
  • Passamaquoddy
  • Pataxó
  • Pawnee
  • Pech
  • Pedi
  • Pehuenche
  • Pemon
  • Penan
  • Penobscot
  • Peramangk
  • Piaroa
  • Piikani
  • Pijao
  • Pilagá
  • Pipil
  • Pirahã
  • Pitjantjatjara
  • Pnar
  • Pohnpeian
  • Pomo
  • Poqomchi'
  • Potawatomi
  • Potiguara
  • Powhatan
  • Pukapukan
  • Pumé
  • Punan
  • Purépecha
  • Puyuma

Q: 7 names

  • Q'anjob'al
  • Q'eqchi
  • Qashqai
  • Qiang
  • Qom
  • Quandamooka
  • Quechua

R: 16 names

  • Rama
  • Rangitāne
  • Rapa Nui
  • Rarámuri
  • Rendille
  • Rhade
  • Riffian
  • Rikbaktsa
  • Rirratjingu
  • Rohingya
  • Rongowhakaata
  • Rotenese
  • Rotuman
  • Rukai
  • Rutul
  • Ryukyuan

S: 66 names

  • Sahariya
  • Sahrawi
  • Saisiyat
  • Sakalava
  • Sakha
  • Salar
  • Sáliba
  • Sama-Bajau
  • Samburu
  • Sámi
  • Samoan
  • San
  • Sandawe
  • Sanema
  • Santal
  • Saora
  • Sápara
  • Saraguro
  • Saramaka
  • Sasak
  • Sateré-Mawé
  • Secoya
  • Secwépemc
  • Seediq
  • Selk'nam
  • Selkup
  • Semai
  • Seminole
  • Seneca
  • Sengwer
  • Sentinelese
  • Senufo
  • Serer

S, continued

  • Seri
  • Seto
  • Shan
  • Shawi
  • Shawnee
  • Sherpa
  • Shilha
  • Shilluk
  • Shipibo
  • Shompen
  • Shona
  • Shor
  • Shoshone
  • Shuar
  • Siksika
  • Sikuani
  • Silt'e
  • Siona
  • Sirionó
  • Somali
  • Songhai
  • Soninke
  • Sotho
  • Squamish
  • St'át'imc
  • Stó:lō
  • Subanon
  • Sukuma
  • Suruí
  • Svan
  • Swahili
  • Swazi
  • Syilx

T: 93 names

  • T'boli
  • Ta'ang
  • Tabasaran
  • Tacana
  • Tagbanwa
  • Tahitian
  • Tai Dam
  • Taíno
  • Tairona
  • Talang Mamak
  • Tamang
  • Tangkhul
  • Tao
  • Tarahumara
  • Tariana
  • Taromenane
  • Tatar
  • Taungurung
  • Tausug
  • Te Arawa
  • Te Āti Awa
  • Te Aupōuri
  • Te Rarawa
  • Te Whakatōhea
  • Te Whānau-ā-Apanui
  • Tehuelche
  • Teleut
  • Tembé
  • Temiar
  • Temne
  • Tengger
  • Tepehuán
  • Terena
  • Tetum
  • Thao
  • Tharu
  • Thembu
  • Tibetan
  • Ticuna
  • Tigray
  • Tikopia
  • Tiriyó
  • Tiv
  • Tiwi
  • Tłı̨chǫ
  • Tlingit

T, continued

  • Tobelo
  • Toda
  • Tofalar
  • Tohono O'odham
  • Tojolabal
  • Tokelauan
  • Tolai
  • Tolupan
  • Tongan
  • Topnaar
  • Toraja
  • Torres Strait Islanders
  • Totonac
  • Toubou
  • Toucouleur
  • Tremembé
  • Tripuri
  • Triqui
  • Trobriand Islanders
  • Truku
  • Tsáchila
  • Tsakhur
  • Tsamai
  • Tsilhqot'in
  • Tsimane
  • Tsimshian
  • Tsonga
  • Tsou
  • Tsuut'ina
  • Tswana
  • Tuareg
  • Tūhoe
  • Tujia
  • Tukano
  • Tupi
  • Tupinambá
  • Tupiniquim
  • Turkana
  • Turkmen
  • Turrbal
  • Tuscarora
  • Tuvaluan
  • Tuvan
  • Twa
  • Tz'utujil
  • Tzeltal
  • Tzotzil

U: 10 names

  • U'wa
  • Udege
  • Udi
  • Udmurt
  • Uilta
  • Ulch
  • Unangan
  • Uru
  • Ute
  • Uyghur

V: 3 names

  • Vedda
  • Venda
  • Veps

W: 38 names

  • Wa
  • Wai-Wai
  • Waikato-Tainui
  • Waimiri-Atroari
  • Wajãpi
  • Wajarri
  • Wakhi
  • Wakka Wakka
  • Wallisian
  • Walmajarri
  • Wampanoag
  • Waorani
  • Wapichana
  • Warao
  • Wardaman
  • Wari
  • Warli
  • Warlpiri
  • Warumungu
  • Wathaurong
  • Waurá
  • Wayana
  • Wayuu
  • Wemba Wemba
  • Wet'suwet'en
  • Whadjuk
  • Wichí
  • Wik Mungkan
  • Wiradjuri
  • Witoto
  • Wiwa
  • Wixárika
  • Wolastoqiyik
  • Wolof
  • Wonnarua
  • Worimi
  • Wounaan
  • Wurundjeri

X: 8 names

  • Xavante
  • Xerente
  • Xhosa
  • Xibe
  • Xikrin
  • Xinca
  • Xokleng
  • Xukuru

Y: 34 names

  • Yaaku
  • Yaghan
  • Yaghnobi
  • Yagua
  • Yakama
  • Yakan
  • Yakut
  • Yali
  • Yamatji
  • Yanesha
  • Yanomami
  • Yanyuwa
  • Yapese
  • Yaqui
  • Yawanawá
  • Yawuru
  • Ye'kuana
  • Yi
  • Yidinji
  • Yindjibarndi
  • Yine
  • Yolngu
  • Yoreme
  • Yorta Yorta
  • Yoruba
  • Yucatec Maya
  • Yudjá
  • Yugambeh
  • Yuin
  • Yukaghir
  • Yukpa
  • Yup'ik
  • Yuracaré
  • Yurok

Z: 9 names

  • Zafimaniry
  • Zapotec
  • Zemba
  • Zenú
  • Zhuang
  • Zo'é
  • Zoque
  • Zulu
  • Zuni