Meaning of Tacoma

The name of our city comes from the Native American name for what is now known as Mt. Rainier. According to the sign posted by the replica of Job Carr's house (see below), the name "Tacoma" comes from the [Native American] name..., Tacopid, meaning "She who gives us the waters." NationMaster.com gives a similar explanation, Tacobet, or "mother of waters." Others have analyzed the original name Tacoma or Tahoma to mean "snow covered mountain." Still others state matter-of-factly, but without documentation, that Tahoma means "the mountain that was god." None of these translations of Tahoma/Tacoma are mutually exclusive. A snow-covered mountain is obviously the source or "mother" of waters for the region around it. I've not found hard evidence that natives of the Northwest ever believed Mt. Rainier to have been a god at one time, but if some once held that superstition, it may have been in recognition of the mountain being the source of the local waters that nourished and sustained them .* The name of our city always makes me think of a favorite scripture, John 7.37,38. Please click on the photo below to magnify it for easier viewing!

*Though I think there is a legend, somewhat suspect, attributing the mountain's deification to its primeval volcanic activity.