Oconomowoc was derived from Coo-no-mo-wauk. This was the Pottawatomie term for distinguishing a waterfall in the vicinity."Beaver dam," although one of the joking interpretations has been "I-can-no-mo'-walk. Oconomowog is an Algic, not a Chippewa word. It is perhaps a corrupt form of "okanima," a bone. Perhaps there are nearby bone-hills, "Buttes des morts," possibly so called from the discovery of human bones in Indian mounds. Oh-kun-nim-muh-gag, "the region of beaver dam woods," i.e where timber for beaver dam grows. There are other words and designations suggestive of the American name, but the historic fact as to which one actually gave the name to the place.

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[Source: p. 378 of Butterfield's History of WaukeshaMilwauke Journal, Feb. 21st, 1932Card file at the Wisconsin Historical Library reference desk.]