Underneath this diversity of spelling a common phonetic background can be discerned. Linguist James Hammond Trumbull explains that "naiag" or "naiyag" means a corner or angle in the Algonquian languages, so that the prefix "nai" is found in the names of many points of land on the sea coast and rivers of New England (e.g. Nayatt Point in Barrington, RI, and Noyack on Long Island). The word "na-ig-an-set", according to Trumbull, signifies "the territory about the point", and "na-ig-an-eog" means "the people of the point".