That's not exactly egg on Des Moines' face

 

The name "Chicago" probably comes from a Native American word meaning "skunk cabbages," "wild onions," or in any case, some form of foul-smelling plant that grew in profusion on the banks of Lake Michigan long ago. But it seems that the name of my adopted hometown has an even more embarrassing origin.

Officially, Des Moines gets its name from the French for "of the monks," supposedly derived from the river's name. It is claimed that some monks once lived on its banks. Another story says that the river and the city get their name from the French word for "average." According to the secondary origin story, some Frenchman described the waterway as "an average river," and the name stuck.

But linguistic research has revealed another rather embarrassing origin story for our fair city's name. Turns out it might derive from a 330-year-old practical joke. 

In 1673 Father Jacques Marquette met some representatives of the Peoria tribe near the mouth of the modern-day Des Moines River. He asked them the name of the rival tribe that lived near the confluence of that river and another one, known today as the Raccoon. The Peoria told him that tribe was called the Moingoana, which became the root for the word 'Moines.' Add the French article, of course, and the name becomes "Des Moingoana," and ultimately (or so the story goes), "Des Moines."

Researcher Michael McCafferty of Indiana University, while studying the now extinct Miami-Illinois language, discovered that Moingoana, translated literally, is a rather crude insult suggesting a close association between excrement and one's visage. Evidently, the Peoria were having a little fun at their rival's expense. 

The city of Des Moines has not yet acknowledged the true meaning of its name for some reason. Of course, it would leave us with something more pungent than egg on our faces.