The Game of Names
“Generations of scholars have had to confront two confounding questions in their efforts to resolve the meaning of Oregon, "the most disputed of U.S. names." --- Ives Goddard and Thomas Love
Another point of view is contained in this excerpt from webtrails>
To this day there is controversy over the name of the state. World Book Encyclopedia states: The Columbia River was at one time called the Oregon or Ouragan, which means Hurricane in French. Others believe the name was derived from a mapmaker's error in the 1700s. The Wisconsin River was named the Ouisconsink and was picked up by travelers referring to the country west of the Great Lakes as Ourigan.
More knowledge of the origin of the word Oregon has surfaced in the last hundred years. Jonathan Carver may have appropriated the word, not the spelling from Major Robert Rogers. Rogers used the form Ouragon or Ouregan in a petition for an exploring expedition into the country west of the Great Lakes. This took place in London is 1765. His petition was not granted. Jonathan Carver is the first person to use the form Oregon in referring to the river of the west that falls into the Pacific Ocean. This report was published in 1778.
Neither Vancouver (1778), nor Gray (1778) used the name Oregon by any spelling during their explorations. The name was not used by Lewis and Clark nor Astor's petition to Congress in 1812. Poet William Cullens Bryant, after reading a volume of Jonathan Carver's travels mentioned Oregon in his poem "Thanatopsis" published in 1817. Pioneer travelers headed west to "Oregon, God's fertile land of plenty". So, however the name was derived or created, it stuck, and The Great Migration on the Oregon Trail had begun.
What do you think of when you hear the word Oregon?
At least two sides to every story
Even the Oregon flag is different depending on which side you look at
quote of the day
Just ‘cause some human writ it down, don’t make it a fact.
---Crasher Cat, 2008
Some of the best info comes to us from bloggers (but not always)
This BLOG is fun and gives a good summary of what is known and claimed about Oregon on the web.
http://lumisnow.blogspot.com/2007/09/about-beaver-state.html
Here is a total “guess”
Etymology: prob. < AmInd ouragan (lit., birch-bark dish), native name of the Columbia River.
Well worded and respectful
Excerpt from “HistoryLink”, a fine web resource covering Washington State History.
“ How this area became known as "Oregon" is murky at best. Some have suggested that the word originated in the Mississippi Valley; others surmise that it stems from the French word for storm, ouragan, or the Spanish words oye agua, meaning "hear the water." Most historical accounts agree that English Army Major Robert Rogers first wrote the term "Ouragon" in an unsuccessful 1765 petition to explore the American West. American Captain Jonathan Carver used "Oregon" to refer to the fabled "River of the West" in his 1778 book, Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America.”
From
The first written record of the name "Oregon" comes to us from a 1765 proposal for a journey written by Major Robert Rogers, an English army officer. It reads, "The rout... is from the Great Lakes towards the Head of the Mississippi, and from thence to the River called by the Indians Ouragon. ..." His proposal rejected, Rogers reapplied in 1772, using the spelling "Ourigan."
The first printed use of the current spelling appeared in Captain Jonathan Carver's 1778 book, "Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America 1766, 1767 and 1768." He listed the four great rivers of the continent, including "the River of Oregon, or the River of the West, that falls into the Pacific Ocean at the Straits of Annian."
Historians say Oregon was most likely named after one of two rivers. The Columbia River, which forms a coastline along the northern border, was at one time called the Oregon or Ouragan, which is French for "hurricane." Others believe the name was derived from a mapmaker's error in the 1700s. The Wisconsin River was named the Ouisconsink and was picked up by travelers
Oregon Place Names reflect an inventive, often casual mix of languages ranging from native words nearly impossible to write down with latin letters to attempts to honor friends and families.
Is it KoKwel or Coquille?
Is it Goose or Coos?
It isn’t Ott anymore.
