WASHINGTON STATE BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES NAMING GUIDELINES
Minimum Guidelines Established by Law:
- Serve the public interest.
- Avoid the duplication of names for similar features whenever possible.
- Establish the official names for features within Washington State.
- Assign names to features for which no single generally accepted names have been in use.
- Retain the significance, spelling, and flavor of names associated with the early history of Washington States.
Naming Guidelines:
In addition, the Washington State Board on Geographic Names is authorized to establish policies to carry out the purposes of the law. Guidelines for acceptable names are:
- Names in dominant local usage that are strongly supported by local residents.
- Names significant to the early history of Washington State, such as names of Native American, pioneer or pertinent foreign origin.
- Names created by municipal councils or other local governing bodies, unless the name is in conflict with the established principles of the Washington State Board on Geographic Names.
- Names that conform to the flavor of the existing names in the area.
- Pertinent, concise names in good taste, without derogatory or defamatory implications.
- Names that are not duplicated within the State, particularly in small or contiguous areas.
Additional Guidelines:
- One name is preferable for all parts of the same feature, such as the main stem of a stream or the length of a single mountain range.
- It is preferable that the name of a river follow its longest branch.
- Hyphens and apostrophes should be avoided.
- Names with commercial overtones should be avoided.
Commemorative Names:
- The person being commemorated must not be living.
- The person must have been deceased at least five (5) years before the Washington State Board on Geographic Names will consider the application.
- Only one feature of a kind may be named after the same person.
- The person should have enduring fame to the region.
- Public service credentials should be considered.
- The relative importance of a feature must be equal to the importance of the person being honored. Thus, it is inappropriate to name a major peak for a relatively unknown individual, or a small pond for a major personality.
- The person should have been closely associated with the feature.
Changes in naming, spelling, or application:
Changes in existing names are generally limited to the elimination of names that are inappropriate, duplicative, defamatory or derogatory; and to the correction of names that have historically changed or been corrupted from their original form.
Changes in spelling are encouraged in order to standardize the form of a single, identical name given to related features, to eliminate the use of the possessive apostrophe; and to correct obvious spelling errors.
Changes in application are encouraged when the name is applied to the wrong feature, or where the title does not correctly reflect the technical definition of the feature to which applied.
Approved by the Washington State Board on September 2, 1983