Most People Don't Know The Meaning Behind These 12 Alaska Towns
By Casea Peterson|Published October 20, 2015
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Casea Peterson
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Casea Peterson grew up archery hunting, fishing, and camping throughout the Pacific Northwest. Motivated by her love for the outdoors she moved to Alaska to attend school and to spend time exploring the last frontier. If she doesn’t have a pen in hand or her nose in a book, she can be found out on a lake or up in the woods around a fire with friends.
The towns and cities of Alaska translate into some pretty awesome names. So the next time you’re out and about with friends and family, entertain them with some fun trivia about the meanings of some of the names around Alaska. For instance, Alaska means “mainland” in Aleut, which literally means “the object towards which the action of the sea is directed.” Cool, huh?! Check out the meanings of these other towns and cities around your state and remember them so you can throw in a fun fact when you’re out with friends!
Sure, the city's nickname is The City of Lights and Flowers, but its true meaning is, you guessed it, the area that can accommodate a ship at anchor. There's no wonder how Anchorage got it's name being right on the shores of the Cook Inlet.
The motto of Fairbanks is The Golden Heart City but the original settlement was named after Charles W. Fairbanks, a senator who would possibly offer aid if the flourishing city ever needed it.
Juneau is cool simply because unlike any other capital in the United States, there is no road connecting it with the rest of Alaska OR North America for that matter. Juneau was named after a prospector in 1881, Joe Juneau.
Kodiak has a beautiful motto I think we can all agree with, Alaska's Emerald Isle. But the meaning of Kodiak has been passed down from the Alutiiq word kadiak, meaning island, and then translated to Kad’yak by a Russian explorer, and finally translated to Kodiak by British Captain James Cook.
And last but not least, my favorite, Nome. There are theories about the origin of this city's name, but my favorite one by far is that Nome was translated from the Inupiaq word Naami, only the translation was misunderstood and the meaning of the name is "Where at?" I'd say that's pretty fitting for Nome!
What other interesting town names can you think of? Share your town’s story in the comments below.
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