From Wiki:
Origin of name
Des Moines takes its name from Fort Des Moines (1843–1846), which was named for the
Des Moines River. The French
"des Moines" (pronounced
[demwan] (
listen)) translates literally to either "monks" or "of the monks".
The historian Virgil Vogel documented changes in the name of the Des Moines River over time, and determined that "Des Moines" ultimately derived from "
Moingona", the name for a group of
Illinois who lived along the Des Moines River, and that the name was gradually changed by French traders and mapmakers to "Des Moines", probably because it was easier to transcribe. Vogel felt "Moingona" was derived from the Algonquan clan name "Loon".
[9]
Other historians and linguistic researchers concluded that
Moingona meant "people by the portage" or something similar, a reference to the
Des Moines Rapids, where the earliest meetings between the Moingona and European explorers took place.
[10]
One popular interpretation of "Des Moines" ignores Vogel's research, and concludes that "Des Moines" refers to French
Trappist monks, who lived in huts on top of what is now known as
Monks Mound near
St. Louis some 200 miles (320 km) from the Des Moines River.
[11]
A controversial recent hypothesis using a study of Miami-Illinois tribal names concludes the word
Moingona comes from
mooyiinkweena, a derogatory name which translates roughly to "the excrement-faces." The name was apparently given to
Marquette and
Joliet by a tribal leader to dissuade them from doing business with a neighboring tribe.
[12] But the deviser of this hypothesis admits it is improbable ("strange" as he puts it). This alternative etymology is rejected by the amateur historian Jim Fay, who feels the interpretation of
Moingona as "excrement face" is refuted by a large body of first-hand accounts and detailed ethnolinguistic research.
[10]
