Who determines names for natural landmarks in Washington?

Ebey Slough and Washington’s Soap Lake are being considered for name changes this year. But who gets to make these decisions?

Seattle is named after Chief Sealth. Tumwater is named for the Chinook Indian name for waterfall. Whidbey Island was named after the explorer that mapped it. Most places in Washington are named after explorers, pioneers, famous settlers or have Native American ties.

But not every stream, hill or outcropping is named for someone important. Most are simply referred to as something by the locals until the name sticks and is adopted.

The state gets name requests all the time and twice a year they decide on them. Changing the name of Soap Lake and Ebey Slough are on this year’s list.

The Washington State Committee on Geographic Names has the job of taking naming requests from the public. There is a request to change Ebey Slough to Ebey Estuary because some people don’t think slough is a nice enough name for the area. Soap Lake could be changed to Lake Smokiam if the committee follows the proposal of a group that wants it changed back to its native name. Smokiam is translated to “healing waters,” and Soap Lake is well known for its mineral properties. It was called Soap Lake by settlers because it froths up in the rain.

But there are a bunch of regulations and requirements that these name change requests have to meet. You can’t name something for yourself, at least while you’re alive.

Caleb Maki, the executive secretary of the committee, said one of the major guidelines is that the person being commemorated has to have been deceased at least five years.

The committee also likes names to be in common use by the people who live around the natural landmark being named.

“The committee prefers names in local usage already or at least supported by local residents,” Maki said. “That really is the main criteria.”

Most of the naming requests are for landmarks that are currently unnamed, and they are most often streams or creeks.

And don’t expect to put one past the committee if you’re underlying goal is to profit off the name.

“One of the red flags for the committee members is commercial purposes,” Maki said. “We frown upon that. We don’t want a Coca-Cola Mountain.”

Another requirement is that the person being commemorated must match the feature being named.

“If it’s a small feature and it’s a commemorative name, we’d obviously prefer not to commemorate a very well-known individual for a small feature and vice versa.” As the rules state, it is inappropriate to name a major peak for a relatively unknown individual or a small pond for a major personality.

The naming committee meets twice a year to consider requests from the public. The next meeting is May 18 in Olympia. There are ten names being considered. You can find the proposals and make comments at the current proposal page at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources website.