阿肯色州的历史社会成员认为阿肯色州的不同发音和堪萨斯州源于类似法国名字给两个不同的美国土著部落。住在现代堪萨斯河附近的一个苏族部落和早期的法国探险家的版本的叫它们的名字,听起来他们的法国的耳朵像“监察”。The second tribe, the Quapaw, lived further southwest along the modern-day Arkansas River and, for reasons unknown, the French called them by their Algonquin name, "Akansa."
这些部落的名字,法国呈现,看起来和听起来很相似,但是,由于未知的原因,早期的法国探险家写了相关的地名非常不同。探险家亨利·Joutel写于1687年阿肯色州,称为周围地区现代“Accanceas”和拼写堪萨斯Chanzes。”By 1723, Arkansas was routinely spelled "Arkansas," but as late as 1805 French cartographer Perrin du Lac called Kansas "Kancès."
显然,在某种程度上一个“r”添加到原始Akansa阿冈昆的名字。有一种理论中提到的一个1945篇文章在阿肯色州历史的季度,Akansa使用时特别酷的弓狩猎和弓的法语单词“弧”。It's possible that the French explorer's admiration for the weapon influenced their pronunciation. Other French explorers called the Arkansas river "la riviere des arcs" ("river of the bends") for its curvy course. Either example could explain why the French Colonel de Champigny, writing in 1776, chose to call the region "Arckantas."