At a Glance
- Meaning
- Place of cold or frozen water
- Origin
- Salish (place name)
- Gender
- Unisex
- Pronunciation
- mih-ZOO-luh
Missoula is a Salish (place name) unisex name meaning “place of cold or frozen water”. It appears in 2 of our baby name lists.
Meaning & Origin of Missoula
Meaning: Place of cold or frozen water.
Origin: Salish (place name).
A common claim: One list claims Missoula derives from "Nimíipuu," a Nez Perce word. Actually: This conflates two different peoples/languages — Missoula's documented etymology is Salish, not Nez Perce; "Nimíipuu" just means "the people" in Nez Perce and isn't connected to Missoula's name.
Source: Wiktionary.
How to Pronounce Missoula
mih-ZOO-luhIPA /mɪˈzuːlə/
Popularity of Missoula
Missoula doesn’t appear in U.S. Social Security birth records, which include every name given to at least five babies in a year — so it’s rare in the U.S.
Lists That Include Missoula
- 225+ City Names for Babies With a World-Traveler Soul
- 175+ State-Inspired Baby Names as American as They Come
Similar Names
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