[FN] Dr. D. G. Brinton wrote me "I believe you are right in identifying Oringkes with Owine—possibly with locative k."
[Succasunna,] Morris County, N. J., is probably from Sûkeu, "Black," and -achsün, "Stone," with substantive verbal affix -ni. It seems to describe a place where there were black stones, but whether there are black stones there or not has not been ascertained.
[Aquackanonck,] Aquenonga, Aquainnuck, etc.. is probably from Achquam'kan-ong, "Bushnet fishing place." Zeisberger wrote "Achquanican, a fish dam." The locative was a point of land formed by a bend in Pasaeck River on the east side, now included in the City of Paterson. Jasper Bankers and Peter Sluyter wrote, in 1679-80: "Acquakenon: on one side is the kil, on the other is a small stream by which it (the point) is almost surrounded." The Dutch wrote here, Slooterdam, i. e. a dam with a gate or sluiceway in it, probably constructed of stone, the sluiceway being left open to enable shad to run up the stream, and closed by bushes to prevent their return to the sea. (Nelson.)
[Watchung] (Wacht-unk, Del.) is from Wachtschu (Zeisb.), "Hill or mountain," and -unk, locative, "at" or "on." Wachtsûnk, "On the mountain" (Zeisb.); otherwise written Wakhunk. The original application was to a hill some twelve miles west of the Hudson. The first deed (1667) placed the boundmark of the tract "At the foot of the great mountain," and the second deed (1677) extended the limit "To the top of the mountain called Watchung."
[Achkinckeshacky;] Hackinkeshacky, 1645; Hackinghsackin, Hackinkesack (1660); Hackensack (1685); Ackinsack, Hockquindachque; Hackquinsack, are early record forms of the name of primary application to the stream now known as the Hackensack, from which it was extended to the adjacent district, to an Indian settlement, and to an Indian sachem, or, as Van Tienhoven wrote, "A certain savage chief, named Haickquinsacq." (Breeden Raedt.) The most satisfactory interpretation of the name is that suggested by the late Dr. Trumbull: "From Huckquan, Mass., Hócquaan, Len., 'Hook,' and sauk, 'mouth of a river'—literally, 'Hook-shaped mouth,' descriptive of the course of the stream around Bergen Point, by the Kil van Kull, [FN-1] to New York Bay." Campanus wrote Hócküng, "Hook," and Zeisberger, Hócquaan. [FN-2] The German Hacken, now Hackensack, means "Hook," as in German Russel Hacken, "Pot-hook," a hook incurved at both ends, as the letter S; in Lenape Hócquoan (Zeisb.). Probably simply a substitution.
[FN-1] Before entering New York Harbor, Hudson anchored his ship below the Narrows and sent out an exploring party in a boat, who entered the Narrows and ascended as far as Bergen Point, where they encountered a second channel which they explored as far as Newark Bay. The place where the second channel was met they called "The Kils," or channels, and so it has remained—incorrectly "Kills." The Narrows they called Col, a pass or defile, or mountain-pass, hence Kil van Col, channel of the Narrow Pass, and hence Achter Col, a place behind the narrow channel. "Those [Indians] of Hackingsack, otherwise called Achter Col." (Journal of New Neth., 1641-47, Doc. Hist. N. Y., iv, 9.) . . . "Whether the Indians would sell us the hook of land behind the Kil van Col." (Col. Hist. N. Y., xiii, 280.) Achter Col became a general name for all that section of New Jersey. Kul and Kull are corruptions of Col. Arthur Kull is now applied to Newark Bay.
[FN-2] Heckewelder wrote "Okhúcquan, Woâkhucquoan, or short Húcquan for the modern Occoquan, the name of a river in Virginia, and remarked, 'All these names signify a hook.'" (Trumbull.) Rev. Thomas Campanus (Holm), who was chaplain to the Swedish settlements on the Delaware, 1642-9, and who collected a vocabulary, wrote Hócküng (ueug), "Hook." This sound of the word may have led the Dutch to adopt Hackingh as an orthography—modern Haking, "Hooking," incurved as a hook.
[Commoenapa,] written in several forms, was the name of the most southern of the six early Dutch settlements on the west side of Hudson's River, known in their order as Commoenapa, Aresseck, Bergen, Ahasimus, Hoboken-Hackingh, and Awiehacken. Commoenapa is now preserved as the name of the upland between Communipaw Avenue and Walnut Street, Jersey City, but was primarily applied to the arm of the main land beginning at Konstabel's Hoek, and later to the site of the ancient Dutch village of Gamœnapa, as written by De Vries in 1640, and by the local scribes, Gamœnapaen. [FN] (Col. Hist. N. Y. xiii, 36, 37.) Dunlap (Hist. N. Y., i, 50) claimed the name as Dutch from Gemeente, "Commons, public property," and Paen, "Soft land," or in combination, "Tillable land and marsh belonging to the community," a relation which the lands certainly sustained. (Col. Hist. N. Y., xiii, 234.) The lands were purchased by Michael Pauw in 1630, and sold by him to the Dutch government in 1638. Although clearly a Dutch name it has been claimed as Indian, from Lenape Gamenowinink (Zeisb.), "England, on the other side of the sea." Gamœnapaug, one of the forms of the name, is quoted as the basis of this claim; also, Acomunipag, "On the other side of the bay." The Dutch did substitute paen for paug in some cases, but it is very doubtful if they did here.