Shyanne

Shyanne is a phonetic re-rendering of Cheyenne, a modern American name invention taken from the Native American Indian nation that once inhabited the region between the Missouri and Arkansas rivers in the Great Plains. The word “Cheyenne” is French Canadian and ultimately derived from the Sioux Dakota word “šahíyena” meaning “speak incoherently” from the elements “ša” (red) and “ya” (speak). The Dakotas considered their own Sioux-based language clear and understandable (i.e., “white-talkers”); but to them the Algonquian-based language of the Cheyenne was incoherent and alien sounding (hence “red-talkers”). The Cheyennes were one of the most prominent of all the Great Plains nations and were closely allied with the Lakotas to the east and the Arapahos to the south. As time went on, the Cheyenne people were eventually pushed more northwest (Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas). In fact, the state capital of Wyoming is named after the Cheyenne Indians. As Cheyenne has become more popular in the United States for baby girls, the respellings (or misspellings?) of Cheyanne and Shyanne soon appeared.