Missoula: Name Meaning, Origin & Popularity

At a Glance: Name: Missoula – 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

Phonetic: mih-ZOO-luh   IPA: /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

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