ToponymicaUS City Name Origins
Back to the atlas
French

Boise

Idaho (ID)est. 1863pop. 236,634/BOY-see/

The meaning

“Wooded”

How it got the name

French-Canadian trappers crossing the sagebrush plain caught sight of the river's cottonwood gallery and reportedly cried 'les bois!' — the woods. The river became the Boise, and the fort and city followed. Locals insist on the -see ending; the -zee pronunciation marks an outsider instantly.

Former names

  1. Fort Boise
  2. Boise