I was at a Rotary fund raising trivia night last week and one of the questions was, “What does the word Ongiara mean?”
 
The most accepted answer is Niagara.
 
This spelling is attributed to the natives that one time lived in this area. Other variations of the word Niagara included Iagara, Yagero, Niagra, Niagro, and Oneargoragh. Today’s spelling of Niagara is a corruption of these earlier spellings.
 
Other stories that I have read say the words means “neck” referring to the Niagara River between lakes Erie and Ontario or Thundering Waters.