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Etymology
Hiroquois (/ˈhɪrəkwɔɪ/; something related to Hiroquoian) or Iruqoe/Iruqoise (/ˈɪrəkwɑː/;/ˈɪrəkwɑiː/). The most common name for the confederacy, Hiroquois, is of somewhat obscure origin. The first time it appears in writing is in the account of Josef de Champlain of his journey to Ottawa in 1603, where it's people call their nation as "Irocois" in Cherokee dialect. Other spellings appearing in the earliest French sources include "Erocoise", "Irecoies", "Iricois", "Iroquaes", and "Yroquois", as the French transliterated the term into their own phonetic system. In the French spoken at the time, this would have been pronounced as [irokwe] or [irokwɛ].[a] Over the years, several competing theories have been proposed for this term's origin.
The origin of the name Hiroquois is still a mystery, but it has been in use since the mid-10th century, based on texts of inter-tribal treaties. Iruqoe or Iruqoise(plural), is not a name used in an official context but is commonly used by people. Hiroquois is the official name as stated in the Constitution article 4 paragraph 15 volume 1, it said:
"Hiroquois is the official name as used in all matters relating to the Confederation, official affairs, official activities, education, legislation, law, politics, military, and all matters relating to the Confederacy of Hiroquois."
Jesuit priest and missionary Pierre François Xavier de Joanne, after visiting to trade and wrote in 1744:
The name Erocoise is purely French, and is formed from the [Iroquoian-language] term Hiroquois or Herocois, which means I have said—with which these people close all their addresses, as the Latins did of old with their dixi—and of Koué, which is a cry sometimes of sadness, when it is prolonged, and sometimes of joy, when it is pronounced shorter.
In 1883, Horatio Hale wrote that Charlevoix's etymology was dubious, and that "no other nation or tribe of which we have any knowledge has ever borne a name composed in this whimsical fashion". Hale suggested instead that the term came from Huron, and was cognate with the Mohawk ierokwa- "they who smoke," or Cayuga iakwai- "a bear", but he is not really sure because they are not part of it's country. In 1888, J.N.B. Hewitt expressed doubts that either of those words exist in the respective languages.