WIKI:
The many Indigenous peoples who have lived near Mount Rainier for millennia have many names for the mountain in their various languages. A linguistic analysis published in 2025 identified 20 names in indigenous languages for the mountain.[19]
Lushootseed speakers have several names for Mount Rainier, including xʷaq̓ʷ and təqʷubəʔ.[c][5] xʷaq̓ʷ means “sky wiper” or “one who touches the sky” in English.[5] The word təqʷubəʔ means “snow-covered mountain”.[5][6] təqʷubəʔ has been anglicized in many ways, including ‘Tacoma’ and ‘Tacobet’.[20]
Cowlitz speakers call the mountain təx̣ʷúma or təqʷúmen.[7] Sahaptin speakers call the mountain Tax̱úma, which is borrowed from Cowlitz.[8]
Another anglicized name is Pooskaus.[21][clarification needed]
George Vancouver named Mount Rainier in honor of his friend, Rear Admiral Peter Rainier.[22] The map of the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804–1806 refers to it as “Mt. Regniere”. Although Rainier had been considered the official name of the mountain, Theodore Winthrop referred to the mountain as “Tacoma” in his posthumously published 1862 travel book The Canoe and the Saddle. For a time, both names were used interchangeably, although residents of the nearby city of Tacoma preferred Mount Tacoma.[23][24]
In 1890, the United States Board on Geographic Names declared that the mountain would be known as Rainier.[25] Following this in 1897, the Pacific Forest Reserve became the Mount Rainier Forest Reserve, and the national park was established three years later. Despite this, there was still a movement to change the mountain’s name to Tacoma and Congress was still considering a resolution to change the name as late as 1924.[26][27]
Is that pronounced like it is spelled?