Publisher's note: This long post is one of the chapters from my latest book, The Idaho Conversion Kit. It is offered here free of charge in the hope that some new broadcaster will get a whiff of it and spend a few minutes learning how to pronounce Idaho's place names. You can order a copy of the book from this page, from Amazon, or you can find it in local book stores.
You’ll never be a real Idahoan until you learn how to pronounce the state’s trickiest place names. I’m listing the most challenging and most interesting names, working a pronunciation guide into the sentence in place of the name itself, occasionally, to keep repetition at a minimum.
There are hundreds of other Idaho names you might want to learn. The book Idaho Place Names, A Geographical Dictionary, by Lalia Boone, is probably the best single source for such research. Unfortunately, it’s no longer in print. I used Lalia’s book a lot when compiling the following list. I also used the Pronunciation Guide for the State of Idaho by William J. Ryan. Sadly, it is so rare as to be practically non-existent. It was published by the Journalism Department of Idaho State University in 1975 to help keep broadcasters from making fools of themselves.
A
Acequia The Idaho pronunciation is uh-SEEK-we-uh. Spanish language speakers would probably say a-SAKE-e-ya. It means canal or irrigation ditch in Spanish.
Ahsahka Pronounce it uh-SOCK-uh. It’s Nez Perce for “fork in the river.”
Athol. Be especially careful with this one. Named for an Indian chief, it is pronounced ATH-ul.
B
Basalt If you’re a geologist, you call that rock bu-SALT. If you live in this tiny Bingham County community, it’s pronounced BAY-salt.
Benewah Named after another Indian Chief, say BEN-u-wah.
Boise No Z. Really. One can debate why residents prefer the soft S in BOY-see, but you may as well stamp NOT FROM AROUND HERE on your forehead if you say BOY-zee.
Bruneau BROO-no is the way to say it. Why are the town, the river, the canyon, and the state park called that? Maybe it’s French for “dark water.” Maybe it was named for a trapper by that name.
C
Cassia Call it CASH-uh unless you’re French. If you’re from Paris (not the one in Idaho), you’re welcome to say ka-shee-uh. It is peasant French for “raft,” but there are other theories about where the name came from. Since the community of Raft River is in Cassia County, I’m going with that.
Cataldo Named after missionary Father Joseph Cataldo, pronounce this one kuh-TAUL-doe.
Chatcolet Often shortened to just “Chat” by the locals, say CHAT-koe-let. Some say it is Coeur d’Alene for “place where animals are trapped.” It’s in Benawah County, near Heyburn State Park.
Cocolalla Try koe-koe-LAW-luh. It means very cold in Coeur d’Alene. The name is attached to several features in Bonner County.
Coeur d’Alene Pronounce it kore-duh-LANE. Ironically, this isn’t a Coeur d’Alene word. It was given to the Tribe by French trappers. “Heart of the Awl” is the literal meaning. It is said this somehow conveyed that Tribal members were shrewd traders.
D
Desmet Named after Father Pierre Jean De Smet, you should say dee-SMET. The missionary was so popular that another Idaho town tried to appropriate the name. Postal officials didn’t want two Desmets in Idaho, arguing that could be confusing. So, the residents of that town decided to spell it backwards, Temsed. For whatever reason, when the paperwork came back, officials had changed the spelling to Tensed. That stuck.
Detrich Judge Frank S. Detrich said it was pronounced DEE-trick.
Dubois The county seat of Idaho’s least populated county, is pronounced DOO-boyss. That’s the way Senator Dubois pronounced it. Away with your doo-BWAH, I say!
Dworshak Named in honor of Senator Henry Dworshak, the dam is pronounced D-WORE-shack.
E
Egin Allegedly, the Shoshone name for “cold” is pronounced EE-jin. It’s a town in Fremont County.
Enaville EE-nuh-vill is a good way to say it. The tiny town was named after Princess Ena, the daughter of Queen Victoria and later Queen of Spain. It was a supply station in Shoshone County in the 1880s.
F
Farragut Admiral Farragut, who famously said, “Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead!” pronounced his name FAIR-uh-gut. This state park was a naval training station during WWII.
Fernan It’s a lake, it’s creek, it’s a ridge! And, it’s pronounced fur-NAN.
G
Gannett Unlike the newspaper company, this Blaine County community is GAN-net.
Geneva Summits of high-ranking international officials are sometimes held in the Swiss town of the same name. In Idaho, you can go to Geneva Summit by driving up a hill. Juh-NEE-vuh.
H
Hamer No, you can’t drive nails with Hamer. Not enough Ms. HAY-mur.
Hammett It has the Ms, so it’s pronounced HAM-mut.
Heise Famous for hot springs and pools, say HIGH-see.
Huetter Near Post Falls, this town name sounds like HUT-ur.
I
Idavada This might vary, depending on how you pronounce Nevada. It’s a portmanteau, or the combining of two words, in this case, the state names of Idaho and Nevada. My source says eye-duh-VAY-da.
Indianola You’ll run across this name more often in Iowa than Idaho. There, it’s a town of about 15,000. Here, it’s a Forest Service field station. You’ll find the name in other states, too. Pronounce it Indian-NO-la.
J
Jacques Don’t get all French about the name of this spot in the road. Say JACKS.
Juliaetta When Postmaster Charles Snyder decided to combine the names of his two daughters, he came up with the prettiest town name in Idaho. Say joo-lee-ETT-uh.
K
Kalispell The Montana town is better known, but Idaho has Kalispell Bay. KAL-iss-pell.
Kamiah If you’re looking for The Heart of the Monster, it’s near Kamiah, pronounced KAM-ee-eye. That monster tale is the creation story of the Nez Perce.
Kaniksu This means “black robe” in the language of the Coeur d’alenes. It refers to the missionaries who came West to tell their story. It is pronounced kun-NICK-sue.
Ketchum David Ketchum built a cabin here in 1879. When the population justified a post office someone thought Leadville would be a good name. Too many Leadvilles, postal officials said. Ketchum, KETCH-um, was the second and better choice.
Keuterville Henry Kuther wanted this little town named Kutherville. The bleary-eyed officials at the Post Office Department misread it. What they say goes. So, now we pronounce it KYOO-tur-vill.
Kimama What is it with names in Idaho that start with a K? Wrap your tongue around kuh-MY-muh. Railroad officials who named the siding thought it meant “butterfly” in some Indian language.
Kooskia This is easy to pronounce. Just leave off the last letter. KOOSS-kee. It means “where the waters join,” in the Nez Perce language. Sort of. The original word is Kooskooskia.
Kootenai KOO-tun-ay comes from the Kootenai Tribal word meaning “water people.” The Kootenai Tribe started what was probably the last war with Indians in the U.S. They declared war on the government in 1974. Not a single shot was fired, but the action got them official recognition as a Tribe, something they knew they were since forever.
Kuna This bustling community southwest of Boise is called KYOO-nuh. It was named by someone who thought it was an Indian word for “smoke. Or “snow.” Or “the end.” Or “Greenleaf.” Or something.
L
Laclede You’ll find a lot of French place names in Idaho. Luh-KLEED was named after a French engineer.
Lago LAY-go could be the Italian word for “lake” or an Indian word, the meaning of which has gone the way of so many Indian words.
Lanark Near Bear Lake, LAN-ark is named for a town in Scotland.
Lapwai Call it LAP-way. It’s from a couple of Nez Perce words, lap-lap, meaning “butterfly,” and wai meaning “stream.”
Latah LAY-taw, is the way to pronounce it. It’s allegedly a Nez Perce word meaning “the place of pine trees and pestle.” If a major part of your diet was camas roots, you might have a name like that for the place you ground those roots into flour.
Leadore Some Idaho place names are so simple that you wonder how you could mispronounce them. LED-ore is how you pronounce this one unless you pronounce it LEED-ore, which would be wrong.
Leonia A railroad worker is said to have named it for his home in Italy. Lee-OWN-ee-uh.
Lochsa This is said to be a Flathead Indian word meaning “rough water.” Indeed, the river has some. Say LOCK-saw.
M
Mackay This name famously gives newcomers fits. Pronounce it MACK-ee.
Malad Two rivers and a town have this name. It is muh-LAD after the French “malady.” A good demonstrative sentence of its meaning might be: “The trappers ate too much beaver tail, and it gave them a malady.”
McCammon Another name that came to Idaho via railroad. It, muh-KAM-un, was named after a railroad promoter.
Medimont Remember that portmanteau in the listing for Idavada? Here’s another. Medimont, MED-ih-mont is a combination of “medicine” and “mountain.” Why they didn’t just call it Medicine Mountain, as the nearby mountain is called, is a puzzle.
Menan The Menan Buttes, muh-NAN, in Southeastern Idaho are two of the largest tuff cones in the world. Tuff is a rock made up of more than 75 percent volcanic ash.
Michaud Michaud Flats, mish-ODD, is between American Falls and Pocatello. The irrigation project there goes by that name, as does a small phosphate-related Super Fund site.
Minidoka We have lost the meaning of so many Indian names. This one, min-ih-DOKE-uh, is probably Indian, but there’s a dispute over which language it came from before you even get to the dispute about what the word means. Maybe “well spring.” Maybe “broad expanse.”
Minnetonka The definition of min-ee-TONKA-uh seems more certain than many. It seems to be from the Sioux language, with minne meaning “water” and tonka meaning “big.” Minnetonka Cave is big—the biggest formation cave in Idaho. The water associated with this Bear Lake County wonder is just slow drips.
Mohler Say MOE-lur. Named for a railroad guy, this was once a small town that is now more of an area in Lewis County.
Montour The name, MAWN-toor, has hazy French roots. It once meant something like “a setting.” It’s in Gem County.
Montpelier The better-known Montpelier, mawnt-PELL-yur, is in Vermont. That’s where Brigham Young was from. He named the town in Bear Lake County.
Moscow The easy way to remember how to pronounce Moscow is to remember that there are no cows there. Wait. That doesn’t work. Still, it’s pronounced MOSS-koe. It is one of about 20 towns that carry that name in the U.S. None of them claim a relationship to the one in Russia.
Moyie You’ll find the Moyie River, Moyie Springs, and Moyie Falls near Bonners Ferry. The name, MOY-ee, came from an area in British Columbia. It may mean “wet,” or it could be a type of quartz.
N
Nampa Say NAM-puh. It probably means something like “footprint” or “big foot.” The Shoshoni word seems not to have anything to do with a sasquatch.
Nezperce Pronounce it nezz-PURSE, just like the two-word version. It means “pierced nose” in French. Trappers applied it to natives who already had a perfectly good name, Nimiipuu. The Tribe did not practice nose piercing, but the name stuck. Nezperce is the county seat of Lewis County.
Notus I’ll put you on notice that Notus is pronounced NO-tuss. What the name means is in dispute. Various stories have it as a Greek name, an Indian name, and a conjunction of Not Us. You pick.
O
Ola Names sometimes just pop up. Take Ola, OH-luh, for example. It was allegedly named for an old Swede who just happened along when they were picking a new name for the post office.
Onaway This Latah County community doesn’t have much of a backstory for its name, ON-uh-way. It was named after a town in New York.
Oneida Speaking of New York, Oneida County, oh-NYE-duh, was named for that state’s Lake Oneida. That, in turn, was named for the Oneida Indians.
Oreana With “ore” in the name, it’s a good bet mining was involved in the naming oh-ree-ANNA. But don’t take that bet. It’s a Spanish word for an “unbranded but earmarked calf.”
Orofino On the other hand, or-uh-FEEN-oh, is all about the gold. It means “fine gold” in Spanish.
Orogrande Pronounced or-uh-GRAND, this name has the same roots as Orofino. It was a popular one, being attached to a town in Custer County, another town in Idaho County, and a creek in Clearwater County.
Owyhee Aloha. Pronounce this oh-WYE-hee and notice the similarity to the way you say Hawaii. No accident. The county was named for three island natives who went looking for beaver in the mountains and never came back. Americans were calling the people of what were then known as the Sandwich Islands, Owyhees.
P
Pahsimeroi Pronouncing puh-SIMMER-eye is easier than spelling it. The river and the valley get their name from a Shoshoni word or words for “water,” “grove,” and “one.” Think “one grove of trees on the water.”
Paris You already know how to pronounce this. What you may not know is that the name of the Idaho town has nothing to do with the home of the Eifel Tower. The town was named after Fredrick Perris, the man who platted it. Why they spelled it differently is open to question. Probably those scoundrel postal officials and their persnickety pens. They were always “helping” towns get their names right.
Palouse Pronounce it puh-LOOSE, then argue about where the name came from. Pelouse, meaning “grassy” in French, seems like a good source. French trappers were terrorizing beavers and naming places for many years in what is now Idaho. A better explanation for the name is that it comes from the Sachaptin Indian name of a nearby village called, Palus. Either way, the Palouse is a rolling prairie now turned pioneer quilt with the squares of colored crops alternating, mostly in yellows and greens.
Pegram PEA-gram, located in Bear Lake County, was named for a railroad engineer.
Pend Orielle Say pond-uh-RAY, and you’ll be right. Named for an Indian Tribe that French trappers said wore earrings. That tribal description is now disputed by anthropologists. Some creative minds have pointed out that the lake—Idaho’s deepest—looks something like an ear itself. However, naming it after its shape would have required at least a helicopter, if not an orbiting satellite.
Picabo Named after Olympian Picabo Street… Sorry, no, she was named after the Blaine County town of PEEK-uh-boo. It may be an Indian word whose definition has faded away.
Pingree PING-gree was named after a developer. It's in Bingham County, about 20 minutes southwest of Blackfoot.
Plummer Say it like you were calling someone to fix your leaky sink. It’s probably named after Henry Plummer, a notorious outlaw who had a hideout nearby. The Nez Perce Tribal Headquarters is here.
Pocatello This probably tops the list of Idaho odd names, though we’re pretty used to it by now. The city, poe-kuh-TELL-oh, was named for a great Shoshoni leader. He never called himself that, but white settlers gave him the moniker for unknown reasons. One popular, though highly suspect, story is that he often came to town to pick up pork and tallow. It seems an obvious backformation meant to belittle a man who in no way deserved it.
Portneuf The river by this name, PORT-nuff, flows through Pocatello. The river and various features in the area are named after a fur trapper.
Potlatch It was a tradition among the Chinook tribes to exchange gifts at annual gatherings. POT-latch is the pronunciation of the word associated with those gatherings. It became attached to a town, a river, a creek, and a timber company.
R
Rathdrum. RATH-drum was not the first choice for the name of the town in Kootenai County that bears the name. Citizens wanted to call it Westwood. Postal officials—always trying to avoid confusion—decided there were already too many towns of that name. Residents opted for the Irish birthplace of one of their own as a second choice.
Reubens I include ROO-buns only because we’re a little short of towns in Idaho whose name begins with R. The name has an unexpected backstory. James Reubens, for whom the town is named, was a Nez Perce Indian who sided with US troops during the Nez Perce War of 1877.
S
Sagle It’s easy enough to say SAY-gull. What’s interesting about the name of this town, near Sandpoint, is how it got its name. Those pesky post office officials balked at naming the town Eagle, because there was already another town named Eagle in Idaho. It wasn’t the current town of Eagle, but it did have the first Eagle Post Office. Someone simply substituted an “S” for the first “E” in eagle. That got the needed approval from the Post Office Department.
St. Maries The name of the county seat of Benewah County, is called saint MARYS. Father Pierre-Jean De Smet named the town in honor of the Virgin Mary.
Samaria The town of suh-MARY-uh is more of an area these days. It lost its post office in 1983. Near Malad City, Samaria was named thus because residents were known as Good Samaritans.
Secesh Many minors who worked in the area in Idaho County were from the Confederate States. Because they were secessionists, they were called “Secesh Doctrinaires.” The name for the basin and the river is pronounced SEE-sesh.
Shoshone There’s a town and a waterfall by this name in Southern Idaho and a county in Northern Idaho that goes by the same name. All are named for the Shoshoni Indians. Pronounce it show-SHOWN.
Skitwish This peak in Kootenai County is pronounced just as it reads, SKIT-wish. I included it because it’s fun to say and because the name is derived from the Coeur d’Alene word Skitswish. That’s what they called their nation before French trappers started calling the Indians Coeur d’Alenes.
Tamarack The western larch is also commonly called the TAM-uh-rack. There’s a creek by that name in Clearwater County and there was an early settlement called that in Adams County. Today, it’s most prominently attached to a ski resort on Lake Cascade.
Targhee Early Idahoans loved Indian names, even though they tended to misinterpret them when they attached one to a town or feature. This is understandable since the indigenous people of the Northwest didn’t have a written language. TAR-gee is a good example. In honoring a Bannock chief, the spelling of the name morphed from Ty-gee, to Ti-ge, and finally to Targhee. The name is on a Forest, a creek, and a ski resort. The latter is in Wyoming, but Idaho often lays claim to it since you can’t get there from Wyoming.
Teton If you’re eleven, you probably snicker when you hear this word, knowing that it is French for “breast.” The Tetons, firmly in Wyoming, are clearly visible from Idaho. They have lent their name, TEE-tawn, to a county, river, and town in Idaho. The latter is called Tetonia. Pronounce that tee-TOE-nee-uh.
Tyhee This Bannock County town is on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. TIE-hee is named for a Bannock leader. His name meant “swift.”
U
Ucon This is another Idaho town that owes its name to the postal people in Washington, DC. Citizens wanted to call it Elba, but bureaucrats pointed out there was already an Elba in the Big Book of Post Offices. Don’t spend a lot of time looking for a copy. I just made that name up. As did postal officials when it came to choosing a name for YOU-con. Apparently, feeling generous, they gave residents of the little town a list of choices. Residents picked Ucon, which was something like an acronym for Union Pacific Mining Company.
V
Viola They called her VI-oh-luh. She was the first child born in the community, then became the first schoolteacher there. When her father became the first postmaster, naming the Latah County community Viola just seemed right.
W
Waha This is an Indian word that means, maybe, “beautiful” or “subterranean water.” WAAH-haw is in Nez Perce County. It was a town and is a valley and a lake.
Wapello What were they thinking when they named this little community in Bingham County? Chief wah-PELL-oh was a Fox Indian. The Tribe lived in the Midwest.
Wasatch The WAH-satch Mountain Range is mostly in Utah but stretches into the Bear Lake country. It is a Ute word for “mountain pass.”
Weippe This word, one of Idaho’s most-often mispronounced, is an Indian term for “gathering place.” Pronounce it WEE-ipe.
Weiser We’ll end with another oft-bungle name. WEE-zur is the county seat of Washington County.
You’ll never be a real Idahoan until you learn how to pronounce the state’s trickiest place names. I’m listing the most challenging and most interesting names, working a pronunciation guide into the sentence in place of the name itself, occasionally, to keep repetition at a minimum.
There are hundreds of other Idaho names you might want to learn. The book Idaho Place Names, A Geographical Dictionary, by Lalia Boone, is probably the best single source for such research. Unfortunately, it’s no longer in print. I used Lalia’s book a lot when compiling the following list. I also used the Pronunciation Guide for the State of Idaho by William J. Ryan. Sadly, it is so rare as to be practically non-existent. It was published by the Journalism Department of Idaho State University in 1975 to help keep broadcasters from making fools of themselves.
A
Acequia The Idaho pronunciation is uh-SEEK-we-uh. Spanish language speakers would probably say a-SAKE-e-ya. It means canal or irrigation ditch in Spanish.
Ahsahka Pronounce it uh-SOCK-uh. It’s Nez Perce for “fork in the river.”
Athol. Be especially careful with this one. Named for an Indian chief, it is pronounced ATH-ul.
B
Basalt If you’re a geologist, you call that rock bu-SALT. If you live in this tiny Bingham County community, it’s pronounced BAY-salt.
Benewah Named after another Indian Chief, say BEN-u-wah.
Boise No Z. Really. One can debate why residents prefer the soft S in BOY-see, but you may as well stamp NOT FROM AROUND HERE on your forehead if you say BOY-zee.
Bruneau BROO-no is the way to say it. Why are the town, the river, the canyon, and the state park called that? Maybe it’s French for “dark water.” Maybe it was named for a trapper by that name.
C
Cassia Call it CASH-uh unless you’re French. If you’re from Paris (not the one in Idaho), you’re welcome to say ka-shee-uh. It is peasant French for “raft,” but there are other theories about where the name came from. Since the community of Raft River is in Cassia County, I’m going with that.
Cataldo Named after missionary Father Joseph Cataldo, pronounce this one kuh-TAUL-doe.
Chatcolet Often shortened to just “Chat” by the locals, say CHAT-koe-let. Some say it is Coeur d’Alene for “place where animals are trapped.” It’s in Benawah County, near Heyburn State Park.
Cocolalla Try koe-koe-LAW-luh. It means very cold in Coeur d’Alene. The name is attached to several features in Bonner County.
Coeur d’Alene Pronounce it kore-duh-LANE. Ironically, this isn’t a Coeur d’Alene word. It was given to the Tribe by French trappers. “Heart of the Awl” is the literal meaning. It is said this somehow conveyed that Tribal members were shrewd traders.
D
Desmet Named after Father Pierre Jean De Smet, you should say dee-SMET. The missionary was so popular that another Idaho town tried to appropriate the name. Postal officials didn’t want two Desmets in Idaho, arguing that could be confusing. So, the residents of that town decided to spell it backwards, Temsed. For whatever reason, when the paperwork came back, officials had changed the spelling to Tensed. That stuck.
Detrich Judge Frank S. Detrich said it was pronounced DEE-trick.
Dubois The county seat of Idaho’s least populated county, is pronounced DOO-boyss. That’s the way Senator Dubois pronounced it. Away with your doo-BWAH, I say!
Dworshak Named in honor of Senator Henry Dworshak, the dam is pronounced D-WORE-shack.
E
Egin Allegedly, the Shoshone name for “cold” is pronounced EE-jin. It’s a town in Fremont County.
Enaville EE-nuh-vill is a good way to say it. The tiny town was named after Princess Ena, the daughter of Queen Victoria and later Queen of Spain. It was a supply station in Shoshone County in the 1880s.
F
Farragut Admiral Farragut, who famously said, “Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead!” pronounced his name FAIR-uh-gut. This state park was a naval training station during WWII.
Fernan It’s a lake, it’s creek, it’s a ridge! And, it’s pronounced fur-NAN.
G
Gannett Unlike the newspaper company, this Blaine County community is GAN-net.
Geneva Summits of high-ranking international officials are sometimes held in the Swiss town of the same name. In Idaho, you can go to Geneva Summit by driving up a hill. Juh-NEE-vuh.
H
Hamer No, you can’t drive nails with Hamer. Not enough Ms. HAY-mur.
Hammett It has the Ms, so it’s pronounced HAM-mut.
Heise Famous for hot springs and pools, say HIGH-see.
Huetter Near Post Falls, this town name sounds like HUT-ur.
I
Idavada This might vary, depending on how you pronounce Nevada. It’s a portmanteau, or the combining of two words, in this case, the state names of Idaho and Nevada. My source says eye-duh-VAY-da.
Indianola You’ll run across this name more often in Iowa than Idaho. There, it’s a town of about 15,000. Here, it’s a Forest Service field station. You’ll find the name in other states, too. Pronounce it Indian-NO-la.
J
Jacques Don’t get all French about the name of this spot in the road. Say JACKS.
Juliaetta When Postmaster Charles Snyder decided to combine the names of his two daughters, he came up with the prettiest town name in Idaho. Say joo-lee-ETT-uh.
K
Kalispell The Montana town is better known, but Idaho has Kalispell Bay. KAL-iss-pell.
Kamiah If you’re looking for The Heart of the Monster, it’s near Kamiah, pronounced KAM-ee-eye. That monster tale is the creation story of the Nez Perce.
Kaniksu This means “black robe” in the language of the Coeur d’alenes. It refers to the missionaries who came West to tell their story. It is pronounced kun-NICK-sue.
Ketchum David Ketchum built a cabin here in 1879. When the population justified a post office someone thought Leadville would be a good name. Too many Leadvilles, postal officials said. Ketchum, KETCH-um, was the second and better choice.
Keuterville Henry Kuther wanted this little town named Kutherville. The bleary-eyed officials at the Post Office Department misread it. What they say goes. So, now we pronounce it KYOO-tur-vill.
Kimama What is it with names in Idaho that start with a K? Wrap your tongue around kuh-MY-muh. Railroad officials who named the siding thought it meant “butterfly” in some Indian language.
Kooskia This is easy to pronounce. Just leave off the last letter. KOOSS-kee. It means “where the waters join,” in the Nez Perce language. Sort of. The original word is Kooskooskia.
Kootenai KOO-tun-ay comes from the Kootenai Tribal word meaning “water people.” The Kootenai Tribe started what was probably the last war with Indians in the U.S. They declared war on the government in 1974. Not a single shot was fired, but the action got them official recognition as a Tribe, something they knew they were since forever.
Kuna This bustling community southwest of Boise is called KYOO-nuh. It was named by someone who thought it was an Indian word for “smoke. Or “snow.” Or “the end.” Or “Greenleaf.” Or something.
L
Laclede You’ll find a lot of French place names in Idaho. Luh-KLEED was named after a French engineer.
Lago LAY-go could be the Italian word for “lake” or an Indian word, the meaning of which has gone the way of so many Indian words.
Lanark Near Bear Lake, LAN-ark is named for a town in Scotland.
Lapwai Call it LAP-way. It’s from a couple of Nez Perce words, lap-lap, meaning “butterfly,” and wai meaning “stream.”
Latah LAY-taw, is the way to pronounce it. It’s allegedly a Nez Perce word meaning “the place of pine trees and pestle.” If a major part of your diet was camas roots, you might have a name like that for the place you ground those roots into flour.
Leadore Some Idaho place names are so simple that you wonder how you could mispronounce them. LED-ore is how you pronounce this one unless you pronounce it LEED-ore, which would be wrong.
Leonia A railroad worker is said to have named it for his home in Italy. Lee-OWN-ee-uh.
Lochsa This is said to be a Flathead Indian word meaning “rough water.” Indeed, the river has some. Say LOCK-saw.
M
Mackay This name famously gives newcomers fits. Pronounce it MACK-ee.
Malad Two rivers and a town have this name. It is muh-LAD after the French “malady.” A good demonstrative sentence of its meaning might be: “The trappers ate too much beaver tail, and it gave them a malady.”
McCammon Another name that came to Idaho via railroad. It, muh-KAM-un, was named after a railroad promoter.
Medimont Remember that portmanteau in the listing for Idavada? Here’s another. Medimont, MED-ih-mont is a combination of “medicine” and “mountain.” Why they didn’t just call it Medicine Mountain, as the nearby mountain is called, is a puzzle.
Menan The Menan Buttes, muh-NAN, in Southeastern Idaho are two of the largest tuff cones in the world. Tuff is a rock made up of more than 75 percent volcanic ash.
Michaud Michaud Flats, mish-ODD, is between American Falls and Pocatello. The irrigation project there goes by that name, as does a small phosphate-related Super Fund site.
Minidoka We have lost the meaning of so many Indian names. This one, min-ih-DOKE-uh, is probably Indian, but there’s a dispute over which language it came from before you even get to the dispute about what the word means. Maybe “well spring.” Maybe “broad expanse.”
Minnetonka The definition of min-ee-TONKA-uh seems more certain than many. It seems to be from the Sioux language, with minne meaning “water” and tonka meaning “big.” Minnetonka Cave is big—the biggest formation cave in Idaho. The water associated with this Bear Lake County wonder is just slow drips.
Mohler Say MOE-lur. Named for a railroad guy, this was once a small town that is now more of an area in Lewis County.
Montour The name, MAWN-toor, has hazy French roots. It once meant something like “a setting.” It’s in Gem County.
Montpelier The better-known Montpelier, mawnt-PELL-yur, is in Vermont. That’s where Brigham Young was from. He named the town in Bear Lake County.
Moscow The easy way to remember how to pronounce Moscow is to remember that there are no cows there. Wait. That doesn’t work. Still, it’s pronounced MOSS-koe. It is one of about 20 towns that carry that name in the U.S. None of them claim a relationship to the one in Russia.
Moyie You’ll find the Moyie River, Moyie Springs, and Moyie Falls near Bonners Ferry. The name, MOY-ee, came from an area in British Columbia. It may mean “wet,” or it could be a type of quartz.
N
Nampa Say NAM-puh. It probably means something like “footprint” or “big foot.” The Shoshoni word seems not to have anything to do with a sasquatch.
Nezperce Pronounce it nezz-PURSE, just like the two-word version. It means “pierced nose” in French. Trappers applied it to natives who already had a perfectly good name, Nimiipuu. The Tribe did not practice nose piercing, but the name stuck. Nezperce is the county seat of Lewis County.
Notus I’ll put you on notice that Notus is pronounced NO-tuss. What the name means is in dispute. Various stories have it as a Greek name, an Indian name, and a conjunction of Not Us. You pick.
O
Ola Names sometimes just pop up. Take Ola, OH-luh, for example. It was allegedly named for an old Swede who just happened along when they were picking a new name for the post office.
Onaway This Latah County community doesn’t have much of a backstory for its name, ON-uh-way. It was named after a town in New York.
Oneida Speaking of New York, Oneida County, oh-NYE-duh, was named for that state’s Lake Oneida. That, in turn, was named for the Oneida Indians.
Oreana With “ore” in the name, it’s a good bet mining was involved in the naming oh-ree-ANNA. But don’t take that bet. It’s a Spanish word for an “unbranded but earmarked calf.”
Orofino On the other hand, or-uh-FEEN-oh, is all about the gold. It means “fine gold” in Spanish.
Orogrande Pronounced or-uh-GRAND, this name has the same roots as Orofino. It was a popular one, being attached to a town in Custer County, another town in Idaho County, and a creek in Clearwater County.
Owyhee Aloha. Pronounce this oh-WYE-hee and notice the similarity to the way you say Hawaii. No accident. The county was named for three island natives who went looking for beaver in the mountains and never came back. Americans were calling the people of what were then known as the Sandwich Islands, Owyhees.
P
Pahsimeroi Pronouncing puh-SIMMER-eye is easier than spelling it. The river and the valley get their name from a Shoshoni word or words for “water,” “grove,” and “one.” Think “one grove of trees on the water.”
Paris You already know how to pronounce this. What you may not know is that the name of the Idaho town has nothing to do with the home of the Eifel Tower. The town was named after Fredrick Perris, the man who platted it. Why they spelled it differently is open to question. Probably those scoundrel postal officials and their persnickety pens. They were always “helping” towns get their names right.
Palouse Pronounce it puh-LOOSE, then argue about where the name came from. Pelouse, meaning “grassy” in French, seems like a good source. French trappers were terrorizing beavers and naming places for many years in what is now Idaho. A better explanation for the name is that it comes from the Sachaptin Indian name of a nearby village called, Palus. Either way, the Palouse is a rolling prairie now turned pioneer quilt with the squares of colored crops alternating, mostly in yellows and greens.
Pegram PEA-gram, located in Bear Lake County, was named for a railroad engineer.
Pend Orielle Say pond-uh-RAY, and you’ll be right. Named for an Indian Tribe that French trappers said wore earrings. That tribal description is now disputed by anthropologists. Some creative minds have pointed out that the lake—Idaho’s deepest—looks something like an ear itself. However, naming it after its shape would have required at least a helicopter, if not an orbiting satellite.
Picabo Named after Olympian Picabo Street… Sorry, no, she was named after the Blaine County town of PEEK-uh-boo. It may be an Indian word whose definition has faded away.
Pingree PING-gree was named after a developer. It's in Bingham County, about 20 minutes southwest of Blackfoot.
Plummer Say it like you were calling someone to fix your leaky sink. It’s probably named after Henry Plummer, a notorious outlaw who had a hideout nearby. The Nez Perce Tribal Headquarters is here.
Pocatello This probably tops the list of Idaho odd names, though we’re pretty used to it by now. The city, poe-kuh-TELL-oh, was named for a great Shoshoni leader. He never called himself that, but white settlers gave him the moniker for unknown reasons. One popular, though highly suspect, story is that he often came to town to pick up pork and tallow. It seems an obvious backformation meant to belittle a man who in no way deserved it.
Portneuf The river by this name, PORT-nuff, flows through Pocatello. The river and various features in the area are named after a fur trapper.
Potlatch It was a tradition among the Chinook tribes to exchange gifts at annual gatherings. POT-latch is the pronunciation of the word associated with those gatherings. It became attached to a town, a river, a creek, and a timber company.
R
Rathdrum. RATH-drum was not the first choice for the name of the town in Kootenai County that bears the name. Citizens wanted to call it Westwood. Postal officials—always trying to avoid confusion—decided there were already too many towns of that name. Residents opted for the Irish birthplace of one of their own as a second choice.
Reubens I include ROO-buns only because we’re a little short of towns in Idaho whose name begins with R. The name has an unexpected backstory. James Reubens, for whom the town is named, was a Nez Perce Indian who sided with US troops during the Nez Perce War of 1877.
S
Sagle It’s easy enough to say SAY-gull. What’s interesting about the name of this town, near Sandpoint, is how it got its name. Those pesky post office officials balked at naming the town Eagle, because there was already another town named Eagle in Idaho. It wasn’t the current town of Eagle, but it did have the first Eagle Post Office. Someone simply substituted an “S” for the first “E” in eagle. That got the needed approval from the Post Office Department.
St. Maries The name of the county seat of Benewah County, is called saint MARYS. Father Pierre-Jean De Smet named the town in honor of the Virgin Mary.
Samaria The town of suh-MARY-uh is more of an area these days. It lost its post office in 1983. Near Malad City, Samaria was named thus because residents were known as Good Samaritans.
Secesh Many minors who worked in the area in Idaho County were from the Confederate States. Because they were secessionists, they were called “Secesh Doctrinaires.” The name for the basin and the river is pronounced SEE-sesh.
Shoshone There’s a town and a waterfall by this name in Southern Idaho and a county in Northern Idaho that goes by the same name. All are named for the Shoshoni Indians. Pronounce it show-SHOWN.
Skitwish This peak in Kootenai County is pronounced just as it reads, SKIT-wish. I included it because it’s fun to say and because the name is derived from the Coeur d’Alene word Skitswish. That’s what they called their nation before French trappers started calling the Indians Coeur d’Alenes.
Tamarack The western larch is also commonly called the TAM-uh-rack. There’s a creek by that name in Clearwater County and there was an early settlement called that in Adams County. Today, it’s most prominently attached to a ski resort on Lake Cascade.
Targhee Early Idahoans loved Indian names, even though they tended to misinterpret them when they attached one to a town or feature. This is understandable since the indigenous people of the Northwest didn’t have a written language. TAR-gee is a good example. In honoring a Bannock chief, the spelling of the name morphed from Ty-gee, to Ti-ge, and finally to Targhee. The name is on a Forest, a creek, and a ski resort. The latter is in Wyoming, but Idaho often lays claim to it since you can’t get there from Wyoming.
Teton If you’re eleven, you probably snicker when you hear this word, knowing that it is French for “breast.” The Tetons, firmly in Wyoming, are clearly visible from Idaho. They have lent their name, TEE-tawn, to a county, river, and town in Idaho. The latter is called Tetonia. Pronounce that tee-TOE-nee-uh.
Tyhee This Bannock County town is on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. TIE-hee is named for a Bannock leader. His name meant “swift.”
U
Ucon This is another Idaho town that owes its name to the postal people in Washington, DC. Citizens wanted to call it Elba, but bureaucrats pointed out there was already an Elba in the Big Book of Post Offices. Don’t spend a lot of time looking for a copy. I just made that name up. As did postal officials when it came to choosing a name for YOU-con. Apparently, feeling generous, they gave residents of the little town a list of choices. Residents picked Ucon, which was something like an acronym for Union Pacific Mining Company.
V
Viola They called her VI-oh-luh. She was the first child born in the community, then became the first schoolteacher there. When her father became the first postmaster, naming the Latah County community Viola just seemed right.
W
Waha This is an Indian word that means, maybe, “beautiful” or “subterranean water.” WAAH-haw is in Nez Perce County. It was a town and is a valley and a lake.
Wapello What were they thinking when they named this little community in Bingham County? Chief wah-PELL-oh was a Fox Indian. The Tribe lived in the Midwest.
Wasatch The WAH-satch Mountain Range is mostly in Utah but stretches into the Bear Lake country. It is a Ute word for “mountain pass.”
Weippe This word, one of Idaho’s most-often mispronounced, is an Indian term for “gathering place.” Pronounce it WEE-ipe.
Weiser We’ll end with another oft-bungle name. WEE-zur is the county seat of Washington County.
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