Etymology Sonoma County, California



pomo girl c. 1924, edward s. curtis north american indian volume 14.


according book california place names, name of indian tribe mentioned in baptismal records of 1815 chucuines o sonomas, chamisso in 1816 sonomi, , repeatedly in mission records of following years.


according coast miwok , pomo tribes lived in region, sonoma translates valley of moon or many moons . legends detail land moon nestled, hence names sonoma valley , valley of moon. translation first recorded in 1850 report general mariano guadalupe vallejo california legislature. jack london popularized in 1913 novel valley of moon.


in native languages there recurring ending tso-noma, tso, earth; , noma, village; hence tsonoma, earth village. other sources sonoma comes patwin tribes west of sacramento river, , wintu word nose . per california place names, name doubtless derived patwin word nose , padre arroyo (vocabularies, p. 22) gives sonom (suisun). spaniards may have found indian chief prominent protuberance , applied nickname of chief nose village , territory. name may have applied nose-shaped geographic feature.








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