 Theories differ as to the origin of the name of the falls.According to Iroquoian scholar Bruce Trigger, "Niagara" is derived from the name given to a branch of the local native Neutral Confederacy, who are described as being called the "Niagagarega" people on several late-17th-century French maps of the area.According to George R. Stewart, it comes from the name of an Iroquois town called "Onguiaahra", meaning "point of land cut in two".