The name Manhattan originated from the Lenapes language, Munsee, manaháhtaan (where manah- means "gather", -aht- means "bow", and -aan is an abstract element used to form verb stems). The Lenape word has been translated as "the place where we get bows" or "place for gathering the (wood to make) bows".

For more than two centuries, New York City consisted only of Manhattan Island. The word “Manhattan” comes from a dialect of the Lenape Native Americans, and can be translated as “a thicket where wood can be found to make bows.” The bow and arrow were a chief means of hunting.

The modern Manhattan is derived from these early names. Dutch settlers named the lower part of the island New Amsterdam in 1624. When the English seized the land in 1664, they renamed it New York in honor of the Duke of York.