What's That Mean?

There is no lack of odd city names and the origins of many of them come from native influence. For instance we've all heard of Punxsutawney, PA but what the heck does it mean? Derived from the Lenape language it means town of sandflies, or town of mosquitoes from the early insect problems before the swamps were drained. The next one is a little bit gruesome, Baton Rogue, LA named by a French explorer in 1699 when he came across a bloody cypress pole decorated with fish and bear heads, used to mark a boundary between two tribes hunting grounds. Last city for today is Tucson, AZ, the name coming from the O'odham tribe, meaning black base, or at the foot of black mountain, referring to Sentinel Peak, aka "A" mountain.